[Shop-talk] sigh...now the pool PUMP is out

[scott.hall at comcast.net]

And I cannot work on the Triumph until the wife and kid can swim again... 

For the past few weeks the main pool pump has hummed a little bit when I turned it on, before it actually began pumping water. So, I'd flip the switch, it'd go, "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" for three or four seconds, and then the actual impeller would start turning, water flows, etc. I assume it was the electric motor humming. No, it was definitely the motor humming. 

Last night it hummed for three or four seconds, then stopped. Now it does nothing. 

The breaker is not flipped. That exhausts my troubleshooting ability for this fault. 

However, I have tools enough to wire an addition to a house and tear down and rebuild automotive engines. Can any of the EEs here perhaps start me on the way to diagnosing this before I either: 

1) buy a new pump for $600, or, 
2) backfill the huge p.i.t.a. the pool has become and send the wife and kids to the municipal pool. 

I'd imagine I should start soon, before the lack of water being pumped through the filter turns the pool green again. Any help appreciated. 

Thanks.