New Whisperflo Trips Breaker

I just finished installing my new 1.5 HP Whisperflo Pump (one speed 230V). My old pump pump was a 2HP Mustang (230v). I connected electrical with ground going to ground, one hot to Line 1 and the other to Line 2. I fired up the pump and after about 3 or 4 seconds of the pump trying to prime it trips the 20 amp breaker. Suspect of my connections I reconnected and made sure they were tight, fired up the pump again only to have it trip the breaker again. I pulled the connections off one more time and pulled out my voltage meter and both line 1 and line 2 measure 120 v. I don't understand as the old pump was running fine with the same electrical circuit and runs at a higher amperage rating then the whisperflo.

One thing I don't understand is the factory has a white wired connection on one of the Line 2 poles that connects somewhere into the motor. does this white wire stay connected? Of course Pentair seems to have no trouble shooting information anywhere that I can find for electrical issues.

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem with the Whisperflo? I can't believe I may have to call for pool service because of a tripping breaker!

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Don't know anything specific about that pump but does it come up to speed before the breaker trips?
al

It seems like it's trying to get up to speed, starts drawing water and then trips the breaker.

Open the pump basket lid so it can't pump water to essentially unload the motor. The motor should come up to speed and you will hear the starter winding switch click as it opens. When you kill power you should hear it click closed as the speed slows down. The slowdown should take a couple seconds since is isn't pumping. If the starter winding is staying powered that would cause a breaker trip. It's only used to get the thing spinning in the right direction and overcome initial load.
Will be travelling tomorrow and won't be back on the forum until tomorrow evening sometime but may check in real early in the morning.
Al

So I can start the pump with the lid opened? If the starter winding stays powered do you think it's a defective pump? I really appreciate your help!!

Jason

Yes...running with the lid open for a few minutes won't hurt anything. You can fill it with a bucket if the basket was totally dry just to wet the seal. If the winding is staying powered then yes, the switch is defective. You'll also hear a somewhat loud hum or groan as the winding is a low impedance and will pull a lot of current. Usually switches fail open because the contacts get cruddy but something could have broke in the spring loaded centrifugal mechanism. Very odd for a new pump.There's a pic of the back end of my Hayward Superpump in this thread. May be of help.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=4800

Time for bed...long drive home tomorrow.
Al

Thanks for your help AL. I'll give that a try. Have a safe trip!

I tried the pump with the cover off. It sounds like it's starting up and then trips the breaker. I do hear a click after a few seconds when power is cut. I checked and the propeller spins freely. Feeling that maybe it's my breaker, replaced it, but that did not improve anything. I actually think it's getting worse each time I try it. I called Pentair to start a warranty claim. Hopefully that will go smooth.

Could very well be a shorted turn or turns on the running winding. Hope the warranty process goes smoothly and quickly. Would be interesting if you had a clamp on ampmeter just to see what kind of current it's really pulling. Just the curious part of me.
Good Luck and post back to let us know the outcome.
Al

Just got off the phone with Pentair. Looks like they are sending me a new motor. Hopefully thats the problem! Now I just have to figure out how to install it when it comes.

I received my new motor from Pentair via the Warranty process. I put the defective one on the tool bench and decided to inspect the starting cap again. After removing the cover this time I noticed two tiny black marks on the inside cover where the wires attach to the capacitor. I suddenly realized that the cap was shorting on the inside cover because it was not seated in the correct position. I reseated it correctly, put the new pump back inline, and presto it works!!

I could of saved myself much aggravation if I just noticed that before!

Thanks for all your help Al!

Glad it was a simple fix even with the added grief and wasted time. Guess it just slipped through their QC inspection. I'd certainly let them know what you found. Thanks for the update too.
Al