What causes this

[cameron]

I have a 1 hp submersible pump located in a lake using it for irragation yesterday was cleaning silt from pump just had turned it off about 10 minutes prior to cleaning it and when I touched the pump it knocked the fire out of me. Do you think something is wrong because the breaker was turned off, is there something I should check and what causes this? the pump seemms to be wired correctly it is 220 and it is wired to a 100 amp service box located in garage. Before when I moved the pump and it was turned off for a while it didn't do this, I ran 500 ft. of 10/2 wire any help would be appreciated.

[Cass]

It sounds like you have a bad breaker. With the breaker off it should have 0 voltage on both legs. I would not check the the breaker I would just change it. The breaker could be intermitent and might show 0 voltage when you test it. Test the new breaker even though it is new. What brand is the breaker box?

[Bob NH]

Treat everything as "Live" until you get the problem resolved.

Assuming it is a 2-wire pump because you ran 10/2 wire.

Is it wired for 115 Volts or 230 Volts?

I assume that you have a ground connection.

If you have a 2-pole breaker and it is turned off, you should have no power at all to the pump. If you have any voltage with the power off, there is a circuit problem.

It might be possible that there is a capacitor in the motor that is discharging, but that is not usually a problem with AC motor circuits.

Maybe you got a lightning strike.

Using a meter, check for resistance between the power wires and the ground wire. It should have high resistance (open circuit).

If you hang the pump from a float or otherwise support it off the bottom, you won't have silt problem.

[cameron]

The breaker box is a Square D 100 Amp. when I check resisitance on the on the two legs and ground I get open reading. Is this correct any thing else I can check to verify, do you think it is building capacitance up because when I ran it and it sat for awhile I didn't feel the tingle only after I ran it and immediatly touched the pump did I get bit

[speedbump]

There are no capacitors in two wire motors.

I have seen however 230 volt circuits wired with two different breakers. Two 115 volt breakers located in different places in the panel. I learned a long time ago not to assume wiring was done by a licensed electrician.

Can you describe the breaker?

bob...