Burned up pump on borrowed trailer - please help!

Bruegge · Oct 29, 2009

Hi All,
I borrowed a dump trailer from the ranch where my wife works. The wiring for the remote was not attached (had to hold wires together to get it to work) and they asked me to rewire it as I am usually somewhat handy.

Here's where I think it went wrong... I attached the ground wire for the solenoid (yellow on pic) that allows the bed to lower to the bolt that leads from the pump solenoid to the pump (red on pic). The pump worked once... now it just makes a clicking noise.

I know the battery is good and the solenoids seem to work, did I fry the motor? Is there any way to troubleshoot? I live and hour and a half from Denver - the closest shop, so any thoughts on how to figure this out are extremely helpful.

Thanks guys - great site!

Ray

dawzie · Oct 29, 2009

Dont see no pic

zman007007 · Oct 29, 2009

post the pic and maybe we can help you. We have one of these at work. zman

Bruegge · Oct 29, 2009

Here's the pic

Thanks again
Ray

zman007007 · Oct 29, 2009

1st the ground wire [yellow] for the lowering solenoid should be attached to the frame or at least to a suitable ground. The post you hooked it to, is the post that when you press the raise button it sends fire to the starter motor to operate the pump that raises it. In other words you hooked a ground wire to a hot post, as in when you press the raise button its becomes 12 volt charged.

Ryan03 · Oct 29, 2009

Get a 12 volt test light, verify that the light works properly before starting. Ground the alligator clip to the body of the electric motor, now take the positive end [probe], and touch the stud on the solenoide that you have circled in red while activating the solenoid. If the light illuminates while doing this, the motor is probably bad.

Make sure the ground wire you spliced was not a makeshift ground added to a mounting bolt of the motor as a field fix.

zman007007 · Oct 29, 2009

In other words the yellow wire that has the round ring on it, find a good ground for it. You can even use one of the solenoid mounting bolts for it. Just remove one of the mounting bolts, and place it under it. zman

Bruegge · Oct 30, 2009

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check into it first thing tomorrow morning.

Bruegge · Oct 30, 2009

Ok, the light works when I hit the switch for the solenoid... motor fried? Is there a way to troubleshoot past the solenoid? Any way to take it apart without dumping all of the hydraulic fluid?

Thanks again,
Ray

tommu56 · Oct 30, 2009

Ray

1st make sure the battery is charged the pump will take a lot of current.

You might just have a bad wire to or in the push button.

Use a small jumper from the large red wire to the small terminal on the solenoid
Do you get a click at least from pump solenoid?
does lift go up?
does pump run?

post your results.

I had a bad one on a friends tilt trailer and put one of these on

Auto Roll 2 Channel RF Remote Control

jeffster · Oct 30, 2009

I second the battery issue. I just replaced the battery in my dump trailer. I hadn't used it in a couple of weeks, and when I went out to lift it, it just clicked. Battery is only 2 years old or so. Plugged it in (it has an onboard charger) and still not go. Put in on my standalone charger and put it in jump start mode and it still just clicked. I was worried the pump was fried. Put in a new battery and works like a champ.

zman007007 · Oct 30, 2009

As far as removing the motor without losing fluid, yes you can do it. In the pic you showed, the post you showed in the red square, on the end that metal bracket attaches to, you should find 2 bolts that go all way thru the motor. Remove the positive cable from the battery 1st. then remove the wires from the solenoid. Be sure to mark your wires so you will know where they go back. Remove all wires and cables before removing the 2 bolts. It is a good idea also to make a mark on the motor and pump cover before removing bolts, because it has to be lined back up. zman

zman007007 · Oct 30, 2009

I hope you have this thing blocked up very good so it doesnt have a chance of falling on you. zman think safety first.

zman007007 · Oct 30, 2009

I can tell you an easy way to see if the motor is fried or not before you pull it if needed, because if you shorted the solenoid out, a great battery still wont make it work. Let me know. zman

Bruegge · Oct 31, 2009

Thanks for the info guys. I have to work tomorrow, so I can't get to it until tomorrow night. I'll keep my fingers crossed and let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.
Ray

Bruegge · Oct 31, 2009

zman007007 said:
I can tell you an easy way to see if the motor is fried or not before you pull it if needed, because if you shorted the solenoid out, a great battery still wont make it work. Let me know. zman

Zman, I'm going to look at it soon. I think the solenoid is good since the test light works on the outgoing side. How do I test the motor without removing it?

RobertN · Oct 31, 2009

Do you have a volt/ohm meter and know how to use the ohm function?

If you completely disconnect the motor, you can measure resistance across the two leads going to it. Should measure some small resistance; the windings in the motor are really just a long long long wire. It should have a few ohms of resistance. If it is 0, then there is a short; if it measures nothing at all, the circuit is open; possibly a break in the wire internally.

Bruegge said:
Zman, I'm going to look at it soon. I think the solenoid is good since the test light works on the outgoing side. How do I test the motor without removing it?

Ryan03 · Oct 31, 2009

Bruegge said:
Zman, I'm going to look at it soon. I think the solenoid is good since the test light works on the outgoing side. How do I test the motor without removing it?

A good pair of jumper cables, and a good 12 volt automotive battery. Hook the jumper cables up to the battery, then hook the negative to the body of the motor, sometimes a pair of non insulated needle nose vise grips clamped to the snout of the motor make a much easier place to hook up the ground clamp. Now take the positive cable and touch the clamp on the cable to the positive stud on the motor, being careful not to touch the body of the motor, just the stud. You may see some sparks, but if the motor is any good, it should activate.

A 12 volt jumper box also will work for this. A good elec multi meter is a better way, but I have used this method many times in a pinch or at a swap meet, and it has never failed me.

Bruegge · Oct 31, 2009

Thanks guys,
Here's what went down... I ran the ohm meter like zman recommended and the first reading had some resistance (hopeful). The next several readings read infinity (boo!). So I took the motor apart. It had a ton of fine copper colored dust packed in it. After a can of electrical cleaner it looked pretty good. Slapped it back together and it worked! Wired the ground to the screws that hold the solenoid (thanks again zman) and we're off.

Thanks for all the help - I don't think I would have had the courage to take it apart without you.

Ray