[Whyfor]

Hi all.

We encountered a "no water" situation a couple days ago.
I went to the well house and I found that the capacitor in the
Control box had blown apart.
I replaced the capacitor and all was fine for about a day, then
Again, no water.
The capacitor appears in tact, but there is a bit of oil that appears to be
Leaking from it.
Does someone know what would cause damage to the capacitor like this?

I did an ohm reading on the relay and it appears to be closed at
All points. Should this be?

Thanks for any help!

[tkrussell]

The cap has failed again, confirmed by the leaking oil. Causes of cap failure is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack.

Be sure the microfarad and voltage rating is the size required. I would hope you replaced the first one with the same size cap.

Voltage fluctuations can affect capacitors, lightning strikes, loose connections , etc , anything that can cause voltage swells(spikes).

The relay should be closed only if the pressure switch is calling for pressure.

The relay is the switch that closes to send power to there pump motor.

[Whyfor]

Thanks tkrussell,

Yes, the replacement cap was the same size as the original.

The relay, within the control box, is a blue sealed relay. It has the 3
Terminals L1, B, CAP. I was checking the resistance from L1 to CAP, L1
To B, and B to CAP. Each reading indicated a closed circuit. I did this
With all leads disconnected from the terminals. That's why I wondered
If they should all be closed in this situation. I'm not familiar with this
Type of relay, but I just reasoned that the circuits should be open
Until power is applied.

I'll be getting back with the contractor tomorrow, that sold me the
Capacitor, to see what he thinks.

Thanks again.

[ceilingfanrepair]

Grainger has good deals on capacitors.