I have had a 1 horse Grundfos submersible pump in my well for about 10 years with few problems. About 2 weeks ago, I found that I had no water pressure. In the pumphouse, I found that both fuses were fine, but about every 30 seconds, a relay in the pump control box would make a noise and the pump would sound like it was trying to start, but then what sounded like a circuit breaker tripping would come from the pump control box. After about another 30 seconds, the same sequence would happen.I contacted a friend of mine who works on wells and who sold me the pump. He said it sounds like it was either the relay or the capacitor. He had both and told me to try replacing them. Back at home, I first installe the replacement relay. It sequenced the same as before. I then put in the replacement capacitor and the pump worked fine, as it had before the trouble. Last night the same thing happened. I had another replacement capacitor and got my water going quickly. But since the problem has happened twice, I wonder if there is some underlying problem that is causing the capacitors to go bad. I have dealt with all the wiring on my place successfully, but really am not an electrician. I am hoping someone who is a professional, or who has experience with capacitor start motors can give me a good idea where to look for problems. Obviously the pump is not new and has served us well for years. It sounds fine through the piping and pumps water very well. Is the capacitor problem a symptom of the pump motor wearing out? I took ohm meter readings on the 3 wires to the pump. None of them showed any grounding, which surprized me. I thought there would be some small reading to ground on at least one of them. There were readings between the 3 wires, with some resistance. Any ideas on why my capacitors are going bad? They arent popping explosively, just don't work any more. Thanks for your help!
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