You go out in you back yard one morning to roam around and enjoy the morning sun along with your coffee. You walk past you hot tub or pool equipment and notice it’s not running. You think to yourself, that’s funny, the equipment should be running.

You check the on off switches and everything seems to be fine. You decide to head down to the fuse box or breaker panel. It is immediately noticed the break has popped or fuse is blown and you rest it. With in 10 seconds, it trips again.

The first thing that comes to mind is your equipment is toast and has to be replaced. Not necessarily. Check to se if the motor is free turning. If it is then one of the major culprits could be the capacitor.

A capacitor holds a charge so the motor is jump started when the power is initiated. This type of capacitor is called a start capacitor. This first picture is an AO Smith motor on a Hayward super pump. The capacitor is accessible by removing the cover from the back of the motor.

Take extreme caution when servicing electrical appliances. Be sure the power source is safe guarded so can not be accidentally turned on while you are working on the appliance. The capacitor can be easily removed by removing the ¼” support bolt and removing the two wires.

The capacitor can be checked with a good meter that capable for a capacitance reading. If found faulty, replace the capacitor with the exact same specifications. One number on the capacitor is the MFD rating which will have a high and low specification and the other is the voltage.

You can purchase one from a local electric motor repair shop or online store. Reassemble the motor and power it back up.