Planning For An Addition: Construction Introduction

What To Do When Your Well Pump Stops Working

Does your home use a well to get water into your home, and now it has stopped working? If so, you're likely wondering what you can do to get the water working again. It will help to know the following things that you should do to troubleshoot the problem.

Inspect The Electricity

The first thing that you want to do is check the circuit breaker to make sure that the circuit did not simply trip for your well water pump. The problem may be as simple as flipping the circuit back on to get power running to the well water pump again. 

If the circuit breaker is turned on, it will help to check the voltage of the electricity going to the well water pump. A 240V system should read that 240V are coming out of the plug where the well water pump is plugged into. If not, then you will need to trace that electrical line back to find where the voltage is not getting through to the outlet. 

Inspect The Pressure Switch

Your well water pump will have a pressure switch, and you'll want to give it a visual inspection to make sure that it is running well. If something is wrong and the pressure switch shorted, it may look visually damaged. For example, the switch itself may look dark like there was an electrical spark that caused things to go bad. Part of the switch may also appear as if it has melted if it got too hot. Thankfully, pressure switches are cheap and easy to replace if there is something wrong with it.

Inspect The Splices

There will be several electrical splice connections that are made for the well water pump to work properly. It's worth checking those splice connections to make sure that it's all in proper order, starting with the external splice connections that are easy to see. While there are also splices made to the pump that is submersed in the well water, it is definitely something you want to inspect last if possible. 

These are just a few things that you can do to troubleshoot your well pump. Reach out to a professional for help if you need to diagnose a problem or perform a water well pump repair. For example, there may be an issue with the control box, which is much more difficult for you to inspect on your own and find a potential problem.