New Whisperflo Trips Breaker

[Poconos]

Yes...running with the lid open for a few minutes won't hurt anything. You can fill it with a bucket if the basket was totally dry just to wet the seal. If the winding is staying powered then yes, the switch is defective. You'll also hear a somewhat loud hum or groan as the winding is a low impedance and will pull a lot of current. Usually switches fail open because the contacts get cruddy but something could have broke in the spring loaded centrifugal mechanism. Very odd for a new pump.There's a pic of the back end of my Hayward Superpump in this thread. May be of help.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=4800

Time for bed...long drive home tomorrow.
Al