HoldTheOnions Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Hi, So my spa pump bearings were going out and I had an extra single speed Pentair Whisperflo pump that I connected to the spa, but it only has 3 leads. I connected the white, black and green, and it works fine on the single speed setting, but when the controller cycles through its running algorithm to the two speed setting it returns an error and halts, presumably because the red wire is not connected. I don't see a make or model number on the controller. The previous pump was AO Smith 3hp, 230v, 3450/1725 rpm pump. The Pentair is 2hp, 230/115v, 3450 rpm pump. Is there a way to safely connect the red so it cycles through without halting? I would like to make this work because a bearing kit is $50 plus tools I will need, whereas this was few bucks for fittings. Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 So you replaced a 2 speed pump (3hp / 0.375hp) with a 1 speed pump (2ho). You'll now only have HIGH speed, with no LOW speed (actually more like medium speed as the new pump is only 2hp, rather than the 3hp you originally had). Connect the red wire to the same place in the pump that the black wire is connected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldTheOnions Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Thank you, that is what I was thinking, but didn't about poles and voltages and blah blah, was also thinking I could connect a resistor to the red lead so it would think there was pump there, but I will try that first. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldTheOnions Posted October 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Hmmm, that didn't work. After I connect the red (both red and black connected at the same time), the breaker trips immediately after resetting. Tried a couple times. After disconnecting the red wire, the breaker doesn't trip. The heater isn't turned on and it's a 50 amp circuit, so I don't think it should be a problem. Something else going on. Any other thoughts? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Spa Posted October 2, 2014 Report Share Posted October 2, 2014 Normally White is common, and Black and Red are high and low. When you removed the original pump, did you change/remove and reinstall any of the wiring in the controller? Or did you just disconnect the wiring from the pump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldTheOnions Posted October 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2014 I just disconnected from old pump and put black, white, and green wires on new pump and taped up the red wire since I didn't know what to do with it. The spa wires are attached to a plug that goes into the controller, so I can not change the wiring at the controller even if I wanted to. That said, earlier I connected the red wire instead of the black wire and it's now cycling through without error. The double speed cycle still doesn't engage, but it does not halt on error either, it just sits there during that part and then continues on. I didn't try this before because I assumed with the red wire connected that single speed would not engage and double speed would engage, problem with that being it only engages double speed once a day. I am guessing it is designed to work with single speed pumps that way. Regardless, thanks for your help, it got me on the right path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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