No water - Franklin 2801054915 ControlBox & Aeromotor A+5SS-50 PumpEnd


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Old 11-28-19, 10:46 AM
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No water - Franklin 2801054915 ControlBox & Aeromotor A+5SS-50 PumpEnd

Woke this morning to "hey there's no water"
Of course, we were hosting Thanksgiving this year (relocated)

So, I'm trying to troubleshoot the system-

System failed "on" with pressure switch on - no action from pump-
Checked the connections, all good, when disconnecting, get sparks from all 4 contacts.


Checked the Control box, large capacitor is leaking a bit.

So, what are most likely failure modes -

A) Bad capacitor?
B) Overheat switch in pump head?
C) replace pump head
 
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Old 11-28-19, 10:56 AM
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If the start capacitor didn't start the pump..... it would sit there trying to start and shutdown on thermal overload. The next logical step would be to replace the capacitor.

That could be difficult on a holiday. You may be able to shut the pump down, allow it 10-15 minutes to cool and then try running it again. It may start and run. If it started it would keep running but that is not happens with a well pump. The continuous stopping and starting are going to put you back into the same boat.
 
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Old 11-28-19, 06:41 PM
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The next logical step would be to replace the capacitor.
Which is what I'm doing first.

So, I figure next steps will be

A) check voltage at the pressure switch and control box.
B check for loose connections in the control box and check continuity.
C) test the control box's large and small capacitors to see if they are shorted or open
D) check the wires from control box to motor for continuity & resistance-
E) dig out the crab claw amp-meter and check current at the Control box for start wire
& run wire.
F) open the well cap and check voltages and amps there

Anybody think of anything else to test?

That could be difficult on a holiday.
Yes, you could say that - most electrical supply shops are closed over the long weekend, so it looks like online shopping and "one business day delivery" and a replacement capacitor should be here on Sunday.

Looks like we'll be playing "frontier house" for at least the next two days.

However, not such bad shape over all - just did all the laundry, have 2 cases of bottled water which covers washing hands, dishes and making coffee.

The main water hog is the toilet, but groundwater from the sump pump hole will work for that. (Yep, the supply valves are off to prevent any possible backflow; and the water heater is turned off as well)
Fortunately our basement sump pump hole is over-sized; roughly 3x3 foot and 2.5 foot deep, so you can actually fill a 5 gallon bucket from the groundwater intthe sump.
 
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Old 11-30-19, 12:40 AM
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FYI

Franklin Electric online manual for Control Boxes and Pump Heads

Includes ohm values and specifications for troubleshooting.

https://franklinwater.com/more/service/aim-manual/
 
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Old 12-04-19, 07:28 AM
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Solution - the water level had dropped, leaving the pump hanging 4 feet about the water level.

We're near a quarry, so they fixed the situation, lowered the pump
so the water intake is now 80 feet deeper, with a higher hp pump due to the deeper.

The simple diagnostic I missed was to open the well cap and listen for the pump running. But, you have to first turn off the pump, wait for the overheat switch to reset, THEN turn the breaker back on

Also learned that if the pump IS running suspended in the air, you won't get the amperage numbers you'd expect, because a pump spinning freely draws fewer amps than the pump under load.
 
 

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