Crob

You mentioned a capacitor. If there is a capacitor in there, that means your 208/240 single phase fan motor is capacitor start, or CS as should be outlined on the schematic. Normally in this case, using 4 wires, green is earth, black will carry your voltage (208) when measured against white, and red will be the line used for your capacitor start. If the cap goes poofty, the fan will not start, it needs the extra jam to get it going.

I just dealt with this same problem on a 208/1/60 grinder pump system, for a shop sump.

 

Thanks Pind. Yes, it has a capacitor and I found out the easy way that it had a charge. It looks more and more like the motor blew when it blew the relay.

 

Bummer, how tough is it to find a motor

 

There are a few places close by.........Monday. My daughter gave me a little electric heater for the garage for Christmas that keeps the bedroom cozy and the kitchen stove helps in the living room. Reminds me of when I was a kid! Ha!

 

Ha.....was 31 above today...

 

As Pind stated, if the cap has gone, the motor won't start. A capacitor is only about 10 bucks versus 85-250 bucks for a motor. If you got jolted by the cap, it still does not mean that it is good. It may not be taking a full charge that it takes to get the motor up and running. If the cap looks a bit swollen or the end is bulging even a little bit, get the microfarad rating off of it and go to an A/C supply house and replace it. You could also ohm out each leg of the motor to the case to see if it is grounded (which it should not be) You have to check each leg (after you turn off power and disconnect capacitor). If you are lucky you will just need the cap. Also, if you do buy a new motor, make sure you get a new cap with it. You do not have to buy an OEM motor. All you need is the frame style, rpm, rotation direction, horsepower and voltage to match up.

Gary

 

Thanks Gary. More good information!

The old cap looks brand new, but I'll go get a new cap in the morning and will probably pick up another motor just in case. Good info on ohming out the motor. I'll check the old motor before I take it out. Fortunately, I know a guy that has an account at big supplier and can get a little break on parts.

 

I HAVE HEAT!

Thanks for all the good information. I replaced the fan motor this morning and it worked just fine. Then, I bit the bullet and called a guy out to look at it before I started blowing it up again. At least I was right about the wiring being screwed up and not matching the schematic. This guy has been working on these type system for 30 years and said "wow" when it looked at it. He had to remove just about all the wires from the sequencers and coils and start over again.

Thanks again for all the advice. Great bunch of guys on here.

 

Glad in your in heat Charlie - er did that come out right?

 

Good one. The wife sure is happy tonight and will be happier when she's getting ready for work in the morning.

Did you get hit pretty hard by the latest snow storm? Got pretty deep in a few places up there.

 

Let's just say next years run-off should be good as there is plenty of snow and it's not going to thaw anytime soon with the -25 temps that we have been getting..

Here is the real time data on our snow pack:

http://snowpack.water-data.com/uppercolorado/index.php

 

147.55%.

 

It will most likely be a capacitor run motor. No need for big starting torque for a blower like one would need for a compressor for example.

 

The capacitor ended up testing good, but after I get the motor out you could see where it looked like a small place in the coil had burned. New motor fixed it.

 

Sometimes with age and heat, the insulation will breakdown on the interior of the coils (short) and make the motor do weird stuff. For example, I've seen many motors present with free-spinning bearings, good cap, etc, only to have the motor lock tight with applying power.

Glad you got it fixed.