electrical troubleshooting problems for swimmingpool pumps?

Question

i've been doing electrical work for about 6 years now. yesterday i went to troubleshoot a swimmingpool pump.pump is good, wiring not good,hot wire is going straight to ground.i figured the main would be a straight shot to the pump.but it is not ,who ever did this project,ran red wire as neutral, splice wires like everywhere and did not follow code, finally my question is the line that feeds the pump is ran in the same conduit that feeds the swimmingpool light.i figured there would be a junction box outside the pool which splices to light and pump, but there is no box. can it be splice at the light, and the light is on seal/raintight box inside the pool? i need help if anyone has done this kind of projects. this is my first project i could not figure out?

Answer 1

I certainly hope it isn't tied into the pool light. The light is supposed to be on it's own GFI, with nothing else. Just to make sure, that deck box (likely Jacuzzi and in the deep end under the diving board) can be opened up with a phillips screwdriver and checked. You should see just a ground and the two loads comming in the side and connected to the wires from the light in the conduit. Anything more in there is illegal anywhere, period and against NSPI ( our proffesional assoc.) guidelines.
Unless this light is a 12 V aqua lamp (plastic housing and a tractor headlight bulb). If that's the case, the light will be running off a black /grey box, plugged into an outlet, that can be anywhere within 100 feet of the light. If it's an old style, it will be a grey, 6 inch long "plug" with an amber light. If you find it's an aqua lamp, you can dismiss it being part of the pump circuit immediately.
I'm wondering, why did this pump suddenly have a wiring and running issue, unless someone mucked with the wiring itself to cause the issue. Surely it was running at one point.
If ya still can't figure out the runs, I'd start the pump wiring from scratch. How you do the run and what cable, is up to you and your local codes, but it's gotta take 15 amp start and it MUST be GFI. You may or may not have to ground the pump on the motor gr lug, all in your codes, but I would for the hell of it. The voltage can be whatever ya want, lo or hi. Those motors come factory wired at 220, but if you follow the diagram on the motor, you can swap a few leads in the connection compartment to make it 110 or vice versa.

Answer 2

I have not gone through this thing, but let us analyze your problem. The question is if splicing can be done in the light box inside the pool?
I am not sure about provision of swimming pool in the electrical code, but the box is provided for the light, the light itself is used for swimming pool purposes and I think it is not intended for splicing, any leak will be detrimental to life. Why not run a separate and safe conduit and wires and retire the existing line? By this way, you will have a peace of mind by avoiding troubles after.

Answer 3

One engineer to another, electrical / electronic to mechanical, the problem is in the breaker box. If it's affecting different circuits then somewhere there's a loose connection. It could be the main feed going to the two 100 amp breakers (120 v each, 240 across them - which is why the dryer is experiencing problems too). This is no minor problem. It's not something the average "Joe the plumber" should try and handle. The power meter needs to be removed before you start poking around in the breaker box. And if it's not one or both main feeds then it's the return (neutral AND ground). Being your house was built in the 70's it should be wired with two hot legs, a neutral return AND a solid ground. So I don't think it's an issue with code, rather, I suspect a loose screw in the box letting a wire go loose. It could even be in the meter box itself. Anything before the meter is the power company's responsibility. After the meter is YOUR responsibility. I'd suggest hiring a professional who knows code and works with the power company when removing meters from the houses. Power companies get nervous when they discover one of their meters has been removed (temporarily) without their knowledge. People steal power that way. That's why there's a seal on the meter. Hope this helps. 'av'a g'day mate. '')

Answer 4

your best be tis rip all the wiring out from the panel and run new wire and no splices it sounds like the wired it up wrong and it probably did;nt ever work right before.that would be the best and safest thing to do.