Sewage Pump Alarm Wiring

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Charlesrgrimm

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Recently I started working on a foreclosed home and discovered the sewage pump in the septic tank was tripping the breaker. It was discovered to be a fried capacitor within the motor case, but water in the case had also damaged the motor. I replaced the pump and went ahead and replaced the badly corroded floats. The problem is, the pump has power all the time. The floats are wired correctly and the wiring in the alarm panel seems to be untouched. At the moment I did not get the manufacturer on the alarm box; however, it is a very common box that is tan in color with the three lights on the front, a manual, off, auto switch, alarm silence/ test switch and the horn at the top left. Inside is a contractor with a clear relay under it and a terminal block at the bottom right for the pilot circuit and floats to connect to. The pump circuit is connected to L1 and L2 both from the tank and from the panel box. This seems strange to me as this would certainly give power all the time. PLEASE HELP!!!
 
have no idea, call an electrician something is not wired correctly, or the pump would not be running 24/7

something you can ck. if the top float is triggered, that is the alarm, float.

when it goes into alarm, it overides the the system and pumps the pit dry.

have you cked that the floats are working? using a meter. ck for power when up, no power when down
 
I don't do well with written explanations, but it sounds like your float and pump are wired backwards. Your pump float is powered all the time, when tripped, sends power to the pump. When that fails, the alarm float is tripped, sounding the alarm.

When it comes to these things, and if you want a good electrician, call a plumber. Someone with pump experience could have this figured out in a hurry. I know I would if I was on site
 
There are only two possible issues.
The float could be bad and stuck on or it's not wired properly.
The hot coming in, usually black goes to one wire on the float and the other wire on the float goes to the black on the pump.
The white, neutral wire coming in goes to the white wire on the pump.
The control panel doesn't control the pump.
It may adjust the amount of time it runs depending on the system but it won't cause the pump to turn on if the high water float goes off.
The alarm will sound if the high water float is activated.
If the pump is running as you described, the power is coming through the control panel like it's supposed too.
The float is just a on off switch.
If the float was wired wrong it may have fused the switch and be stuck in the on postion.
 
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