I have a 240 V Hotspring tub and this weekend I rebuilt the pump with a rebuild kit. After the rebuild I could not get the jet pump to run for more than 5 seconds before it will trip the circuit breaker. I unplugged both heating elements and the circulation pump and tried again but the same thing happened. I connected an amp meter to the line and saw that the pump was drawing 57 amps before the circuit blew (this is with the heating elements and circulation pump disconnected). The pump motor shaft was moving freely when I reassembled the pump. Any help is appreciated.

sounds like you've got a winding, wiring short, or a stuck centrifugal switch. i'd remove the back wiring cover and be sure everything is ok... if no luck then you'll have to disassemble the motor and inspect the centrifugal switch mechanism.

Thanks for your reply. I had to remove the centrifical switch to disassemble the pump so it is entirely possible that I did not do a good job with the reassemply. I will check it.
Thanks again

OUCH!

Man, you really gotta be sure that thing springs back and forth on the shaft properly - or else it sends full start-up current to the motor continuously.

I was able to fix the problem. Last week when I reassembled the contacts that touch the centrifugal switch I over-tightened the screw which bent the metal bracket supporting them which moved the contacts down enough so that they would not open even when the pump was up to full speed. Bending the bracket back to its original shape fixed the problem. Thanks for your help. Knowing where to look made this easy to fix.