Why will lower voltage capacitor work my pump?

[Albgoblue]

I have a tester and it showed it is pulling in 120 volts. The pump appears to be wired for high voltage. If the case is that the pump is wired for high voltage but only low voltage is going to the pump, how did it work for 2 years? I have a friend who is better at electricity than I am to confirm that only 120 is coming into the pump.

[mas985]

Most single speed pump motors can be wired for either 120v or 240v. Normally, a motor will pop a breaker not run at all if wired incorrectly.

[Albgoblue]

It appears my pump is fixed and the issue solved. There is indeed only 120 volts coming into the pump and the pump was wired for high voltage. I switched the pump wiring to low voltage and everything is now running great with the original 370 vac capacitor. The pump ran all night and has not shut down at all. The question is why did it run for 2 years wired incorrectly and why did the pool people who installed the pump not switch the wiring to the correct setting? I guess we do not need to answer that. Anyway, thanks for your responses and help. I am happy I have a running pump again.

[PoolDoc]

There is indeed only 120 volts coming into the pump and the pump was wired for high voltage. I switched the pump wiring to low voltage and everything is now running great with the original 370 vac capacitor. ---- The question is why did it run for 2 years wired incorrectly and why did the pool people who installed the pump not switch the wiring to the correct setting?

For the record -- and for all the other people who may read this thread in the future -- I'm very doubtful that the pump actually DID run for years wired 240V, but supplied 120V. As far as I know, with most pool motors, this is not possible.

I'd guess that somewhere in the assembly and repair process, some wiring got switched around.

[PoolDoc]

membership updated.