Pump takes 2 tries to start

[pbradley0]

So this is interesting. I've been waiting to try hitting the pump but for the last three days the pump has started spontaneously. The only difference is that I set the pump to start a few hours later in the day. However, today I returned home from work to find the pump off. I took the opportunity to beat the living hell out of the pump while it was humming. Unfortunately, the pump kept humming and flipped the circuit breaker off 3 times before finally starting. Any ideas now?

[Poconos]

If the 2x4 trick works then it is a very sure indication of crummy contacts. If it doesn't work, really doesn't prove anything. A pretty good giveaway is that it sometimes starts, sometimes not, so it is not a 'hard' failure but a 'soft' failure. The switch contacts are about the only thing that would behave like this. A capacitor can fail either shorted or open and the vast majority of cases is a hard failure. Motor windings usually short or a wire breaks from vibrational fatigue. Another case of a 'hard' failure. Try cleaning the contacts.
Al