You're ready to go out and enjoy your pool, so you go out and flip the switch
that rolls the cover back. You wait for the sound of the motor to start up
and the cover to start moving, but nothing happens. No noise. Great, is the
motor fried? Well, not necessarily. There are several other reasons that the
motor may not be running, so let's check them first. NOTE: You do not need
to check these items in this specific order. Check the items you feel may be
the most likely first.
First, is the breaker that the motor is hooked up to on? Check to make sure it
didn't get tripped by something. If it is tripped, reset it and try the motor
again. If the motor still doesn't work, or starts to and then stops, check the
breaker again. If it's tripped again, you should probably call a service
technician to check the wiring and find out why the breaker keeps tripping.
Next thing to check is if there are any GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit
Interrupter) outlets that share the same circuit. If there are, they may have
been tripped. To find out, there is usually a reset button on them; press this
button to reset the outlet and allow power to flow through them again.
INFO: A GFCI is basically a small circuit breaker at the outlet, when an
overload is detected, the GFCI will trip like a circuit breaker will and stop
power to the plug.
Once you have checked the breaker and found and checked any GFCI outlets on
the same circuit, another thing to check is the motor itself. Many motors
have a reset switch on them as well. Check your motor and see if there is a
reset switch. If there is, try resetting the motor with it and see if the
motor will work now.
While you are at the motor, you may as well check to make sure that the power
cords are in good condition around the motor and that they are actually making
contact and supplying power to the motor.
If you have checked and double checked everything listed here and your motor
still won't work, it's time to call a professional to come out and service
your system.
