7 replies to this topic

[RepairQueen]

I've been having this same exact problem off and on since 1999 in both dirty and pristine reservoir. The pump went wonky in 105+ degree heat and I just had to bake. There was nothing I could do. I want to know once and for all how to get the pump BACK ON FAST.


Symptom
 Pump worked fine all month in dirty water.
 Pump doesn’t work on any setting. The fan works.
 Water level was high; Lowering to 1" below pipe did not help.
Troubleshooting
 The pump works if plugged into another outlet but not in the cooler.
 My second thought was the switch but it didn’t make sense that the fan still worked if the switch was bad.
 Tried reducing the water level first - didn’t help.
 Gave up but left pump on in case it came back on.
 The pump came back on its own - noticed at midnight.

[Dan Webster]

The area I live in swamp coolers don't work too well. Oddly enough I live in a swamp. My brother in law however lives in Amarillo. When his pump went down he would take a water hose to his swamp cooler.

[RepairQueen]

Can someone please give me a serious repair answer?

[ACtechGUY]

Since evaporative coolers only work in the desert , I have never actually seen one either..... BUT a quick google search for "evaporative cooler wiring diagram" comes up with lots of diagrams, like this one
indicating that the pump is powered via the wall switch in most cases. It seems whenever the fan is on the pump will also be on.

Your problem could be as simple as a failing wall switch.

[RepairQueen]

I still don't know how to reset the pump manually, other than just passively waiting for it to come back spontaneously.
Otherwise the fix was two-fold. First I had to stabilize the water level by shutting off the water supply (adjusting float is complicated for my unit). Then wait hours for the pump to rest itself. Once the pump worked again then I also had to replace the switch.

There must be some way to manually reset the pump automatic shut off. Oh well, back to google.

[ACtechGUY]

 The pump works if plugged into another outlet but not in the cooler.

That tells me that the problem has NOTHING to do with your pump. If it works when pluged into an external source , the problem is not the pump.

 My second thought was the switch but it didn’t make sense that the fan still worked if the switch was bad.

The diagram indicates that a typical wall switch has at least 3 different contact points. 2 for fan speeds , and one for the pump. The any one of the contacts could be failing without affecting fan operation.

[RepairQueen]

That tells me that the problem has NOTHING to do with your pump. If it works when pluged into an external source , the problem is not the pump.

Right. High water shut off is normal pump operation so there is nothing mechanically wrong with the pump but a non-running pump in high heat is indeed a BIG problem. Recovery from auto shut off is an unreasonable inconvenience. Even if it is caused by the switch it still PRESENTS as a pump problem.

[ACtechGUY]

Yes, I can only help with the info you present. You presented a possible problem with your pump that you said did not run "when it get really hot outside(like 105 or so). But when you plug it into a different 110v power source it works. Unless you left something out , This implies that the pump works unless it is plugged into your cooler when it is hot. If this is true then some device that controls the pump is at fault.
You also keep saying "auto shut off" in regards to your pump. Does this mean that the pump get hot and no longer works for a while, or are you assuming some EXTERNAL device is causeing the pump to stop??

Maybe we need some clarification