[fishbax]

Guys
This is my first post here so take it easy on me if leave anything out or otherwise screw up. Here is the story: Last Thursday my neighbor and I took the top concrete section off of my well and lowered the basket that holds the pump down one section to make it flush with ground level (for aesthetic purposes, as he is building a house on the lot next door). He is a contractor that builds boat houses and retaining walls so one would think he knows what is what. Water was back on and everything was covered with dirt except a small access port for the pump. Fast forward to Monday, water was working when I left for work but when my wife got home nothing, no water. After I tried all my little pump tricks (I am an oilfield worker so am pretty good at plumbing and the like but I have limited knowledge of electricity) I unplugged the power at the well and plugged my drill into it to test if I had power. Bingo no power, it was late and raining so I just ran an extension cord to my neighbors house and boom the pump kicked right on. I dug the power supply line that goes to the pump up as far as I could but I did not see any places where it had been cut. Why would it work fine for 4 days and then quit? I checked the breakers and none were tripped. I just bought a cheap multimeter and outlet tester today but I could use a little help on what to do next. Sorry for the long post and Thanks in advance. BTW I am in East Texas.

 

[jbfan]

Did you turn the breaker all the way off then back on?
By using a plug, this is a shallow well pump and not a submersible?

 

[fishbax]

Yes I tried turning the breaker all the way off and on, and yes this is a shallow well pump not a submersible. Pump appears to be a 110. Whoever put it in wired in a plug instead of hard wiring. Thanks

 

[joed]

Find where the power line leaves the house and check for power there. If power is present at the house exit then you know the line has a problem somewhere and you can dig the rest of it. If no power as it leaves the house then look inside for the problem.

 

[rrolleston]

If you can verify that it's 110 plug a light into the receptacle and see if it lights up when you plug it in. Then you need to check out the pump.

 

[joed]

If you can verify that it's 110 plug a light into the receptacle and see if it lights up when you plug it in. Then you need to check out the pump.

The pumps works. He already plugged it into an extension cord and it ran.

 

[md2lgyk]

Have you checked the pressure switch? They do occasionally fail.

 

[fishbax]

Pressure switch is good. The pump works fine off an extension cord. It looks like the female plug in the well (from the house) has a short. The hot wire coating is burned thru and is touching the ground wire. It was getting dark and St. Valentine was calling yesterday so I will try to trim the plug back a bit and re-wire it (the plug appears to be good). I think the issue is that the new top on the well itself is now steel instead of concrete like it used to be. There is some water condensation that I think caused the short in the plug. Any suggestions on making this connection waterproof? Will report back when I get home from work (9ish hrs from now). Thanks

 

[fishbax]

Problem fixed. The female plug was shorted out. After trimming back the wire and reattaching the plug everything worked fine. Turns out the back of the plug where the rubber seal was, had been tightened down vertically on the wire witch was kind of flat. This put some torque on the wires causing the black and ground wires to touch. I covered it with electrical tape but can i put silicone caulk over the tape to help waterproof it, or would this be a bad idea? Thanks

 

[Missouri Bound]

The best thing you can do is replace the female receptacle and it's enclosure if it's allowing water and moisture in. There should never be a need to silicone or tape any receptacle if mounted properly, in the proper enclosure.:yes: Burnt wires are another problem. More than likely it was caused because of a loose connection, they tend to create heat which in turn burns insulation and wire. But you should check the amperage of the pump as well, when running to make sure it isn't on the road to failure. Purchase a good quality receptacle with clamps rather than relying on the screws to hold the wire.