ok.. here is the scenario..

an above ground, fairly new, but seemingly low-end, jacuzzi with a cap run/cap start motor powering the jets. 240v. Problem is the motor buzzes like and angry hornet while
turning over and never properly kicks over, but only tries to spin, moving very very slowly,maybe 8-9 rpm. My first thought was a frozen impeller in the pump. so after
removing the motor and finding the impeller was flawless and that the motor
rotated freely without any impediment, I hooked it up to 240v and it seemed to
run fine with no load. Reinstall motor, add water to the plumbing and again,
buzzing and no appreciable rotation. My next thought is, ok, burned out start
capacitor. Ordered new start cap with specs identical to the original, install
the new cap, run the jacuzzi.. and when it came time for the motor to kick in,
it kicked in and ran fine for ~2 minutes, then the capacitor got hot, smoked
and leaked dielectric goo out of the case.

Now I am stumped. The motor seems fine, although I have no idea how it has
been used in past lives by previous owners (possibly overheated? and for how long?). This thing was acquired second
hand by its current owner (not me thank god) so I have no idea when this problem
first occurred. It had been sitting idle and unused for some time at the home
of its previous owner, so maybe that plays some role. I was called in by the
current owner because after having brought the thing to its new home,, I ran
pipe, wire, etc. to get it properly connected, at the moment of truth the
jets/pump didn't work. It has an electronic control box, wired to lo-volt
waterproofed controls "up top" that you can operate while immersed in the
jacuzzi. When the controls are set, the motor is getting a full 240v out of the
control unit. Faulty control box was one of my suspicions, but it seems not.
I am now reduced to one of two suspicions.. faulty cap or damaged motor. Can
anyone make any sense of the symptoms as I have described them? I am truly
stumped at this point. The behavior of the thing seems to indicate some damage
in the motor, but none is apparent. Any suggestions for tests that can be done in the field, to
quantify any problems would be appreciated..


Last edited by trollog; 09/12/07 11:30 PM.