Saved my ass too. Pump repair Co. was about to sell me a pump and install of that pump. All for a $15.00 capacitor. Thanks for taking the time to help people you don't even know. It was greatly appreciated.
Not sure if you are tired of hearing thank you, but as a first time well owner, THANK YOU! $13 cap at the local plumbing and electrical store and now the wife, kids and myself are happy to have running water again! Thanks for posting.
Saved the day! Large well company in Panama City told me I had a problem with the electrical line running from the house to the well - $1.5K estimate to fix. Turns out it was a $30 capacitor that was available at a local AC supply store. Plus another $300 to fix all the electrical that the original company spliced open to “troubleshoot”. Loved the video - I could pinpoint the issue myself by visually inspecting the capacitor.
Thanks for the information. I've bought four pumps in 17 years and now without water again. Was already in panic mode over the cost until I saw your video. Will head out daylight in search for a new capacitor instead of a 250.00 pump again.
Thank you Thank you Thank you. Right here before Christmas and freezing weather moving in, we lost our water. Wasn't sure which component had failed. But after watching this video was able to determine quickly that I had a bad capacitor same as you. Quick trip to Lowe's to buy a new control box and I'm back in business! Can't thank you enough!
Excellent video. You saved me $$$ with your clear and concise troubleshooting techniques. I really appreciated that you took the time to explain your solution to our problem. I went to our Saratoga Springs, NY plumbing supply center, they matched up the old motor capacitor/start unit, and following a one minute installation, we had well water again. Winter time (20 degrees/10 inches of new snow), is my least favorite time of the year for indoor/outdoor plumbing problems. Needless to say my wife was very pleased!
Woke up this morning and had no water. Where I live the well guys charge $180/hr on Saturdays with a 2 hour minimum. So I hit the internet looking to find out about the starting capacitor and the pressure switch hoping it wasn't the pump. Found your video and I have nearly the exact same Franklin style box, mine was 1 H.P.. Sure enough the capacitor was actually much worse than yours was where you said to look. I went down, got the 1HP box for $95 and changed it in about 30 minutes. Pump went right back on. This video saved me $500 easy. Thanks!!! Hope all is "well" your way, Take Care!
Great Vid.! Quick and to the point. TIP to all. Take inventory of all appliaices in your charge. Watter Well including relay, A/C , heater elements and contactors. Buy spares now and at 11 PM on a Friday night your are ready.
Had to replace ours yesterday, I wish I could have found your video earlier. But so far you are the only one that I could find that talks about that going bad. Thank
First, I like videos that get right to the point. Thank you for that. Second, that was exactly my problem - bad capacitor. Third, your tip about the color of the dot on the end was the easiest diagnostic of all the videos I viewed. Mine was yellow and slightly bulged. You saved me a lot of time. Pumps up and running! Thanks. Have a great day!
hi, thanks for your youtube video. I got a pump that is humming, we replaced the pump and found it is not the pump, we think that one phase is not working, we checked the circuit breaker panel and it is fine, could this be the capacitor or the relay?
awesome! thanks VERY much for sharing. your detailed illustration and info enabled me to test my control box and just buy the replacement part instead of shelling out for a service call plus their hourly rate plus the cost of parts (including whatever markup they add).
pretty well done. know pun intended ... one thing when you check voltage in single phase should go between L1 and L2 just to if have 23OV/240V TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE 180 DEG. SPLIT.
Thank you, I found a broken wire at the 60 ft level and an open circuit on the red wire. Pulled the pump, repaired the wire and I was good to go. The cap was good, easy to test on the bench, built up a charge using the ohm meter, reverse contacts and it built up towards 200 ohms in a few seconds, a good one will show infinite ohms after it reaches a charged state. Infinite resistance is an open wire or a bad motor, either way the pump needs to come out. Better to know what is going on rather than throw parts at it, but, having an extra control box or a cap on hand is not a bad thing. I repaired mine with a connector kit for 5 bucks. It's nice to have water again.
Hi Caleb, do you know if you were still getting any voltage at all to the pump or did you just go straight to changing the capacitor ? I'm getting some kind of voltage at my well shaft (using a voltage sniffer, not a meter) but my control capacitor looks to have blown. I'm a new owner so I don't know when the pump was last used and the previous owner switched to city water at least ten years ago. Just want to try to get my well working for garden watering.
@@Mandinka711You can have 120v on each line at the well pump motor connection even with a blown capacitor. A fresh cap will start the pump, a blown cap will not.
Our capacitor is so old, 35years by the date on the front of the franklin electric box, that there is no dot on it. There is just like a brown cardboardish thing there. There is some white crystalization coming out from the edges tough. Husband just ran to Lowes for a new box, hopefully it was the capacitor.
If you have an old well pump research something called a hard start capacitor. The older motor might need more than the original motor farads to get the old motor started. This is a sign your motor is on its last leg but if a $11 part can get you another year or three, worth a shot.
Set the meter to resistance, discharge the cap, hook up and the numbers will climb. Reverse the leads and it will swing the other way. First it will start charging and then go to infinity, this is normal. Resistance will climb, and reach infinity, meaning the cap is good.
great video. My control box tries to switch on, buzzes for 5 seconds every 55 seconds. Capacitor does not look blown. Any ideas? I'm about to take it in the shorts by well company unless I can make some headway. No water as of last night.
Not all broken capacitors will look blown, and yet failed over decades of use, which is a good sign all around. Test the cap, likely a new one with a similar micro farad (uf) rating will last a long time.
I had a capacitor that had blown in my control box, instead of purchasing the capacitor alone, I just replaced the whole control box. Once installed, I flipped the switch at the breaker box and 3 seconds later, POP! Capacitor Blown! I've been troubleshooting the system ever since then. Any ideas on what the issue might be? Other than the pressure switch, pressure tank or the submersible pump itself? Thinking of purchasing a new pump with a built-in switch and doing away with the control box altogether. I'll of course be replacing the pressure switch as well. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Stuck With No Water In Georgia 😁 I live on a fixed income and can't afford a professional well service company! Any suggestions helpful 👍😎 Thanks 🙏
You can ohm test a cap, put meter on highest setting 20k, 200k ect, reading should continue to slowly rise... remember to cross out the terms first or if the cap is charged it will blow you meter...
Thank you for the video. I replaced the control box completely. Pump still did not work. I checked at the well head that it was getting power. I then checked the ohms test as you showed and this is what I got. Black to Yello the control box range wanted 13 -16. My reading was bouncing all over the place as high as 180 and all the way to o and even number in between. Just kept bouncing. Second test red to yellow they wanted 3.6 to 4.5. My reading was nothing. No reading. Can anyone explain a little on what my reading means. I know it means I have a bad pump or bad wiring but why did the Black to Yellow reading jump around like that? Thank You
You might want to make sure that capacitor is fully discharged B4 poking your fingers at the terminals or putting a meter to it if you choose to test it that way (easier to do with a high input impedance analog meter.)...
Hello I have a well 240 feet under. Don’t know what horse power HP it has but i always use 240v 30amp generator to make it work? What control box do I use sir? Thank you
I have a new 1hp pump and control... 1 hp, 3 B,R,Y & ground, All the OMS are good in between recommend on label, I have 240 volts power, and the capicitor is new. I tested both 1hp and 3/4 new control panels...and still nothing. Do you think its just a bad pump? The only thing is that my power is coming from two different Breakers both direct to panel...Does the 230 volt need to come from the same breaker??
I just replaced my capacitor (the connector end had completely blown off, and there was a big crack running down it’s length), but my well still isn’t running. I cleaned all the connections in the control box, now I’m out of ideas. I guess I’ll just take the whole control box into the hardware store and see if they can test the relay? That aside, I’ve got nothing.
Hello how about a capacitor that keeps blowing I see the pressure switch is stuck on and it had a relay below it even when de-energized by the main breaker the switch contacts are touching
I did same test but disconnected my well pump wires from control box (also R, Y and BLK) and I get 2.8ohms between yellow and black (so there is continuity) but nothing between red and yellow. what does this mean? I also suspect bad run cap so I ordered one.
we ended up calling the company to pull the pump and we have a bad pump. The wires are good. they are however recommending to realign the pump for $2,000 due to rust. Just sucks
I have a 1.5 HP pump 230 V. 2 days ago it stopped working. The reset is tripped. I reset it stays on the first time for 10-15 seconds and trips again. All subsequent resets only stay on for 3-5 seconds. The capacitor does not have that on top but does have a resistor.
Is there a way to determine the size of the pump without pulling it? I just bought a property that has a deep well but the previous owner doesn't know what size pump is in the well.
Shayne MacKinnon I called around and no one has any record of drilling or servicing this particular well. The house that was there was built in 1978 so whoever drilled the well is probably no longer in business. Thank you for the reply!
Very good vid with great info. Well pump quit working after a 2 day power outage. Pump always comes on after an outage, but it didn't come back on. Any ideas or thoughts ??? Thanks.
Just replaced my starter box a hour ago then I watched your video 5 minutes ago and now I know what happened.. New box $120 What causes this problem.. is it pump starting to fail mine is 18 years old 3/4 hp
The way he test for 220 volt is wrong you have to test zl1 to l2 if you test ground to zl1 and l2 you could get a false reading if you have power on only 1 wire it go through moter winding and show on other wire
Most half decent digital meters will read out the microfarads directly. Just compare the rating on the cap. Analog meters deflect full scale then fall off on the resistance setting indication a good cap. Learn to use your meters. They are your friends. From the old as hell electrician guy.......
Saved my ass too. Pump repair Co. was about to sell me a pump and install of that pump. All for a $15.00 capacitor. Thanks for taking the time to help people you don't even know. It was greatly appreciated.
Not sure if you are tired of hearing thank you, but as a first time well owner, THANK YOU! $13 cap at the local plumbing and electrical store and now the wife, kids and myself are happy to have running water again! Thanks for posting.
Saved the day! Large well company in Panama City told me I had a problem with the electrical line running from the house to the well - $1.5K estimate to fix. Turns out it was a $30 capacitor that was available at a local AC supply store. Plus another $300 to fix all the electrical that the original company spliced open to “troubleshoot”. Loved the video - I could pinpoint the issue myself by visually inspecting the capacitor.
Thanks for the information. I've bought four pumps in 17 years and now without water again. Was already in panic mode over the cost until I saw your video. Will head out daylight in search for a new capacitor instead of a 250.00 pump again.
Thank you Thank you Thank you. Right here before Christmas and freezing weather moving in, we lost our water. Wasn't sure which component had failed. But after watching this video was able to determine quickly that I had a bad capacitor same as you. Quick trip to Lowe's to buy a new control box and I'm back in business! Can't thank you enough!
3am in the morning found this video thank you now i can go to sleep found the bad spot .. thanks so much
Excellent video. You saved me $$$ with your clear and concise troubleshooting techniques. I really appreciated that you took the time to explain your solution to our problem. I went to our Saratoga Springs, NY plumbing supply center, they matched up the old motor capacitor/start unit, and following a one minute installation, we had well water again. Winter time (20 degrees/10 inches of new snow), is my least favorite time of the year for indoor/outdoor plumbing problems. Needless to say my wife was very pleased!
Woke up this morning and had no water. Where I live the well guys charge $180/hr on Saturdays with a 2 hour minimum. So I hit the internet looking to find out about the starting capacitor and the pressure switch hoping it wasn't the pump. Found your video and I have nearly the exact same Franklin style box, mine was 1 H.P.. Sure enough the capacitor was actually much worse than yours was where you said to look. I went down, got the 1HP box for $95 and changed it in about 30 minutes. Pump went right back on. This video saved me $500 easy. Thanks!!! Hope all is "well" your way, Take Care!
Rick Sundberg that is so cool.. thanks for watching
Great Vid.! Quick and to the point. TIP to all. Take inventory of all appliaices in your charge. Watter Well including relay, A/C , heater elements and contactors. Buy spares now and at 11 PM on a Friday night your are ready.
Awesome video. Simple to the point. I think you saved my ass if only I could find where I put the capacitor & control panel after taking it off.
This has been EXCEEDINGLY helpful. It pointed me in precisely the right direction. EIGHT dollars later, we have water again. You da man. Thanks. -Jim
Had to replace ours yesterday, I wish I could have found your video earlier. But so far you are the only one that I could find that talks about that going bad. Thank
First, I like videos that get right to the point. Thank you for that. Second, that was exactly my problem - bad capacitor. Third, your tip about the color of the dot on the end was the easiest diagnostic of all the videos I viewed. Mine was yellow and slightly bulged. You saved me a lot of time. Pumps up and running! Thanks. Have a great day!
cool
hi, thanks for your youtube video. I got a pump that is humming, we replaced the pump and found it is not the pump, we think that one phase is not working, we checked the circuit breaker panel and it is fine, could this be the capacitor or the relay?
awesome! thanks VERY much for sharing. your detailed illustration and info enabled me to test my control box and just buy the replacement part instead of shelling out for a service call plus their hourly rate plus the cost of parts (including whatever markup they add).
I like your use of duct tape to hold your meter - great idea!
on point, tell us how to fix it, no babble, you are the hero of the week (at my house anyway) thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!
Thank you very very much! The best video I have found on explaining how to troubleshoot. Thanks once again!!! 👍🏼💯
Thank you so much ...although I called a plumber I was still able to tell him what was wrong. He grabbed a box and back in business within mins.
pretty well done. know pun intended ... one thing when you check voltage in single phase should go between L1 and L2 just to if have 23OV/240V TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE 180 DEG. SPLIT.
Thank you thank you extremely helpful I was even using the same hobo freight meter
Thank you, I found a broken wire at the 60 ft level and an open circuit on the red wire.
Pulled the pump, repaired the wire and I was good to go.
The cap was good, easy to test on the bench, built up a charge using the ohm meter, reverse contacts and it built up towards 200 ohms in a few seconds, a good one will show infinite ohms after it reaches a charged state.
Infinite resistance is an open wire or a bad motor, either way the pump needs to come out.
Better to know what is going on rather than throw parts at it, but, having an extra control box or a cap on hand is not a bad thing.
I repaired mine with a connector kit for 5 bucks.
It's nice to have water again.
The higher ohm reading are due to the Wire run to the Pump. the Stated readings are from the Pump it's self.
also, could be partly due to Harbor Freight probes. Meters arent bad for cheapies, however the leads are horendous.
Thank you so much for the video you saved the day! Wasn't ready to go dry cabin living in Alaska... 😊
Emily Sky thanks for watching
This video saved me 4 to 6 hours of unnecessary work. Thanks for sharing this. it was on point and very easy to comprehend.
Thanks for a great video. My capacitor was bad and you showed me what to look for.
Thanks for the help buddy if I could post a pic of cap that had blown for us,....completely toast. Happy new year
This was a great video. I was able to find just the capacitor on Amazon for under $20
Hi Caleb, do you know if you were still getting any voltage at all to the pump or did you just go straight to changing the capacitor ? I'm getting some kind of voltage at my well shaft (using a voltage sniffer, not a meter) but my control capacitor looks to have blown. I'm a new owner so I don't know when the pump was last used and the previous owner switched to city water at least ten years ago. Just want to try to get my well working for garden watering.
@@Mandinka711You can have 120v on each line at the well pump motor connection even with a blown capacitor. A fresh cap will start the pump, a blown cap will not.
You may have just saved my thanksgiving friend.
Our capacitor is so old, 35years by the date on the front of the franklin electric box, that there is no dot on it. There is just like a brown cardboardish thing there. There is some white crystalization coming out from the edges tough. Husband just ran to Lowes for a new box, hopefully it was the capacitor.
Thank you very much saved a lot of money and it worked
Thank you!!!! Saved me lots of money
Should you get a voltage reading on Line1 to R,Y,B
If you have an old well pump research something called a hard start capacitor. The older motor might need more than the original motor farads to get the old motor started. This is a sign your motor is on its last leg but if a $11 part can get you another year or three, worth a shot.
good explanation of the control box. I bumped mine open a little and wanted to know why it worked when i closed it up properly
Set the meter to resistance, discharge the cap, hook up and the numbers will climb.
Reverse the leads and it will swing the other way.
First it will start charging and then go to infinity, this is normal. Resistance will climb, and reach infinity, meaning the cap is good.
great video. My control box tries to switch on, buzzes for 5 seconds every 55 seconds. Capacitor does not look blown. Any ideas? I'm about to take it in the shorts by well company unless I can make some headway. No water as of last night.
Coach Fagan what did you figure out?
Not all broken capacitors will look blown, and yet failed over decades of use, which is a good sign all around. Test the cap, likely a new one with a similar micro farad (uf) rating will last a long time.
love the duct tape on the meter! that's original
Jesse Harris and
I had a capacitor that had blown in my control box, instead of purchasing the capacitor alone, I just replaced the whole control box. Once installed, I flipped the switch at the breaker box and 3 seconds later, POP! Capacitor Blown!
I've been troubleshooting the system ever since then. Any ideas on what the issue might be? Other than the pressure switch, pressure tank or the submersible pump itself?
Thinking of purchasing a new pump with a built-in switch and doing away with the control box altogether. I'll of course be replacing the pressure switch as well.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Stuck With No Water In Georgia 😁
I live on a fixed income and can't afford a professional well service company!
Any suggestions helpful 👍😎
Thanks 🙏
You can ohm test a cap, put meter on highest setting 20k, 200k ect, reading should continue to slowly rise... remember to cross out the terms first or if the cap is charged it will blow you meter...
Good explanation, thanks
spot on video. thanks .
Thank you for the video. I replaced the control box completely. Pump still did not work. I checked at the well head that it was getting power. I then checked the ohms test as you showed and this is what I got.
Black to Yello the control box range wanted 13 -16. My reading was bouncing all over the place as high as 180 and all the way to o and even number in between. Just kept bouncing.
Second test red to yellow they wanted 3.6 to 4.5. My reading was nothing. No reading.
Can anyone explain a little on what my reading means. I know it means I have a bad pump or bad wiring but why did the Black to Yellow reading jump around like that?
Thank You
Thanks bud saved me money
I think this is my problem- Thank You
Amazon has capacitors for $12 on prime. Buy 2.
Does the relay ever need changed?
You might want to make sure that capacitor is fully discharged B4 poking your fingers at the terminals or putting a meter to it if you choose to test it that way (easier to do with a high input impedance analog meter.)...
Hello I have a well 240 feet under. Don’t know what horse power HP it has but i always use 240v 30amp generator to make it work? What control box do I use sir? Thank you
I have a new 1hp pump and control... 1 hp, 3 B,R,Y & ground, All the OMS are good in between recommend on label, I have 240 volts power, and the capicitor is new. I tested both 1hp and 3/4 new control panels...and still nothing. Do you think its just a bad pump? The only thing is that my power is coming from two different Breakers both direct to panel...Does the 230 volt need to come from the same breaker??
Was the power off when you checked resistance between B and Y or do you leave power on.
You help me out thanks for your video 😊
My well starts but it keeps tripping. I have to reset the box every time. I wonder if it’s the capacitor. Mine has two.
I just replaced my capacitor (the connector end had completely blown off, and there was a big crack running down it’s length), but my well still isn’t running. I cleaned all the connections in the control box, now I’m out of ideas. I guess I’ll just take the whole control box into the hardware store and see if they can test the relay? That aside, I’ve got nothing.
Should power be killed before ohm test?
yes
Wow, well said, thank you! :)
Hello how about a capacitor that keeps blowing I see the pressure switch is stuck on and it had a relay below it even when de-energized by the main breaker the switch contacts are touching
Great and very helpful video, thanks.
Thank you jkrug80.
Great video. What model number is that control box you installed?
I did same test but disconnected my well pump wires from control box (also R, Y and BLK) and I get 2.8ohms between yellow and black (so there is continuity) but nothing between red and yellow. what does this mean? I also suspect bad run cap so I ordered one.
Steel on Target could be busted wire? Did you get it fixed?
we ended up calling the company to pull the pump and we have a bad pump. The wires are good. they are however recommending to realign the pump for $2,000 due to rust. Just sucks
I have a 1.5 HP pump 230 V. 2 days ago it stopped working. The reset is tripped. I reset it stays on the first time for 10-15 seconds and trips again. All subsequent resets only stay on for 3-5 seconds. The capacitor does not have that on top but does have a resistor.
Problems that result in breakers being tripped are commonly due to a failed pump motor. Was that the case for you?
Nice play with the duct tape holding the meter.
Is there a way to determine the size of the pump without pulling it? I just bought a property that has a deep well but the previous owner doesn't know what size pump is in the well.
I would call around to the local well companies and see if they drilled that well. That is what we did when we bought our cabin.
Shayne MacKinnon I called around and no one has any record of drilling or servicing this particular well. The house that was there was built in 1978 so whoever drilled the well is probably no longer in business. Thank you for the reply!
If capacitor is good is a new pump required?
Very good vid with great info. Well pump quit working after a 2 day power outage. Pump always comes on after an outage, but it didn't come back on. Any ideas or thoughts ??? Thanks.
I thank you very much been dealing wht this for 2 days. My reason got ir not working
Just replaced my starter box a hour ago then I watched your video 5 minutes ago and now I know what happened..
New box $120
What causes this problem.. is it pump starting to fail mine is 18 years old 3/4 hp
My capacitor is bulging and yellow so replaced but still not working. The capacitor even tho its yellow and bulging still has good voltage..so idk
good simply instruction!
Thanks. You save me!!!!
HVAC shops have these capacitors in stock. Plumbing shops will just give you a confused look.
Exelent, but dont forget to use safety gloves.
Easy to find the box on the internet now. I just had to replace and found the same one on the net.
thanks for the video
How to tell if your well pump was hit by lightning test.?
I hana a problem why would the relay a lot of times? 😥
My L1 is not showing any voltage but L2 is, why?
I’m trying to learn this but you didn’t tell what setting you put your meter on
I bought one of those DMM's from Harbor Freight. The accuracy is awful. Mine is off by over 20%. Not good if you need a precise reading.
thanks for the help
THANK YOU 😊
Our pump died Friday. We pulled it up and intakes were full of mud which caused the pump to burn up. Our pump is down 231 feet and the well is 265 ft
There was a hole in my capacitor, bought a new control box and I have water again, thanks.
Thank you
Lovely
The way he test for 220 volt is wrong you have to test zl1 to l2 if you test ground to zl1 and l2 you could get a false reading if you have power on only 1 wire it go through moter winding and show on other wire
Most half decent digital meters will read out the microfarads directly. Just compare the rating on the cap.
Analog meters deflect full scale then fall off on the resistance setting indication a good cap.
Learn to use your meters. They are your friends.
From the old as hell electrician guy.......
Mine went bad called the pump guy, 3 men came out changed the lid $285 dollars. The flecing of america. P.s. 13 minutes.
Never trust those testers
Control boxes are not the same.
Ń g♎️♐️ lol pro