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How To Troubleshoot a Pool Pump Motor - Motor Noisy

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If your pool pump motor start to get noisy, it often means that your motor's bearing are failing and need to be replaced. If a failing bearing is not replaced promptly, the motor can overheat and cause the windings to fail. This guide discusses possible causes of a noisy motor including bad bearings.



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Step 1

BE SAFE - Before you even touch the motor, MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF. Always turn the power off at the electric service fuse or breaker box. To prevent electrical shock, use a meter to check for electrical shorts and be sure the motor is securely grounded and bonded in conformity with local codes. Do not work on electrical devices if water or moist conditions are present and cannot be avoided.

Step 2

CHECK LOOSE EXTERNAL PARTS - Check motor coupling, brackets and other attached parts. Tighten loose nuts, bolts or set screws. Sometimes it the motor is not bolted down properly, vibration over time will cause it to move around more and generate noise.

Step 3

CHECK LOOSE INTERNAL PARTS - Turn the motor shaft. If it is rough or tight, check inside for a loose or broken impeller or diffuser. They wear and start to wobble or sometime a hard object like a small stone or not will get inside and crack part of the impeller. Note: This picture is cut-away to be able to show the inside components of a pump.

Step 4

CHECK BEARINGS - If a tight shaft is not due to loose internal parts, check the motor's bearings. They may be starting to fail and will need to be replaced. Also be aware that bearing noise is often a sign that the pump seal has been leaking. Always change the pump seal when you change the bearings. Also always change both bearing if one is bad. The other is sure to follow.

Step 5

CHECK PUMP CAVITATION - If you see a lot of air in your pump's strainer basket, your pump is cavatating and this will generate noise. Cavitation is generally caused by an air leak in the suction side of the pump or by shutting down most of your intake valves so that you do not provide sufficient water to the pump.

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InyoPools Product Specialist  Posted: 6/13/2017 

NoisyPool - If your motor is squealing badly, it is very likely that your motor bearings are going. You could try to replace the bearing, but when the motor gets to that point, most people just replace the motor.
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 Posted: 3/26/2019 

Hi Dennis, I think my bearings are going because the motor is making noise. You got my curiosity up your wrote that when your motor gets to the point that the bearings are going out, it's better to just replace the motor. Why is that? Why wouldn't replacing the bearings correct the issue? Thanks in advance for your response .
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InyoPools Product Specialist  Posted: 3/26/2019 

Hello Ron - The bearings can be replaced and you can add a few more months to the motor. We don't usually see people get years out of the motor after they replace the bearings. The windings are the next thing to fail and at that point, the motor will need to be replaced.
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 Posted: 6/12/2017 

After ensuring that the inlet and outlet are not obstructed, I would check the bearings on the motor and pump shafts. The bearings may require periodic lubrication. My next step would be to remove the pool pump motor, and check it for unusual noise. If everything is okay up to this point, I would think the pump has a problem. Depending on the pump, it might be repairable, or it might be designed in such a way that replacement is the only option.
- http://noisypool.com/
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