[Michale32086]

I had such great help with my daughter's central air unit, I thought ya'all might be able to help with my well pump just dying...

Well pump died..

I am fairly sure that I am getting power to the pump. There is a Water Softener attached to the electrical and I hear it ticking so I am pretty sure I have power..

There is a box attached to the well pump and that has been a problem in the past...

I cleaned the contacts and, as you can see they are in the CONTACT position... (RED BOXES)

The GREEN are the wires coming in from the ground. The BLUE are the wires that go into the pump..

Is it a good/bad/ARE YOU NUCKING FUTZ!!! idea to directly connect the hot wires coming in to the pump to see if the pump is working??

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated as I really REALLY need a shower... :^/

 

[joed]

I would start by checking for voltage on the green wires.
Check the breaker supplying the power.
If the cable runs underground there could be a fault in the cable. That does not look like underground cable.

 

[gregzoll]

Those contacts can get burned and not work. It depends on if closed is off or on.

You can try bypassing the relay and see if the pump will run. If it does, go to the local electrical warehouse and pick up a new relay box.

 

[Michale32086]

OK, the breaker has been ON since I posted the initial post...

I went out to swap over the wires to bypass the relay...

The pump was literally too hot to touch...

That would seem to indicate that my pump is fried....

That sound about right???

 

[Tom738]

OK, the breaker has been ON since I posted the initial post...

I went out to swap over the wires to bypass the relay...

The pump was literally too hot to touch...

That would seem to indicate that my pump is fried....

That sound about right???

How were you touching the pump? I'm not an expert, but in my experience a residential pump is usually submerged at the bottom of a drilled well...

 

[joed]

The pump is the issue. I imagine if it was turning you would have heard it. so it must be seized.
It could also be running dry. that would overheat the pump.
Sounds like you need a new pump.

 

[gregzoll]

New Pump, new relay. Are they using a tank right now for water, or some other way? How hard is it going to be to pull the pump? Some people have built rigs out of fence piping or Steel Conduit, to help give a way to hook on a couple of pulleys to help bring the pump up.

 

[Michale32086]

The water pump is above ground..

I had left the breaker off all night, hoping magical elves would come and fix my pump..

No such luck... :vs_mad:

I'll get some shots of unit when I get home this afternoon...

 

[joed]

The pump likely has a centrifugal start switch. If that switch is stuck in the run position the pump will never spin and it will heat up.
The first thing to do is to spin the pump by hand and see if it turns.

 

[Michale32086]

Thanx...

I am at work right now.. I should be home around 1600hrs EST, USA and will check that...

Thanx to all for the replies...

 

[Michale32086]

OK Home now..

The pump is kinda a sealed unit. No way to manually turn it...

I pulled the end-cap off thinking that the spindle might stick out..

No such luck..

 

[rjniles]

Unbolt the pump from the motor.
.

 

[Michale32086]

Just occurred to me..

If I loosen the bolts marked in red and try and separate the pump from the front (impeller??) housing, I might be able to A) turn the pump manually and 2) see if anything in the front housing is jamming up the pump...

Idea???

 

[Michale32086]

unbolt the pump from the motor.
.

esp!!!!! :d

 

[rjniles]

If the motor is shot and the pump is good, just replace the motor. A lot less plumbing.

 

[Michale32086]

OK I got the 4 bolts off.. I can turn the motor from side to side slightly (a couple inches) but I can pull it out from the front housing?? Is there something I am missing??

 

[rjniles]

Brute force. Try driving a putty knife between the motor and the pump housing.

 

[Michale32086]

OK I think I found the problem...

The impeller was half busted off when I pulled the motor out.. That indicates to me that it was probably wedged against the side which froze up the motor...

The motor turns freely so I am thinking (hoping) that, if I replace the impeller, all should be good and right with the world...

Is there a "trick" to getting it off?? Or is it just a matter of securing the broken plastic and turning that flat head screw in the center with a buttload of force??

 

[joed]

Does the pump spin now? How about if you apply power.?

No matter a new pump is in order. You probably can't buy just the impeller. You should be able to find one that is almost an exact fit plumbing wise. Those pumps are pretty standard.

 

[gregzoll]

Hit up the local farm and home store in the morning.

Also if the pump siezed, it can cause the impeller to snap. Especially if there was a cold snap over overnight and a couple of days.