Troubleshoot: Water Well Pump Does Not Start

Now we will talk about what to do in the event that the motor does not start:

1. Check for blown fuses and tripped breakers, depending on your home power system, check for blown fuses or tripped breakers to ensure power is getting to the system.

2. Check your power source, be sure to check that power is getting to through to the system, it is recommended that you check voltage at the pressure switch and also the control box, basically you want to check that power is getting all the way through the system and any components that power is running through. I usually will start by checking voltage at the pump control panel and work my way from there. Your voltage needs to be +/- 10% of motor rating. If you find that your voltage is too high/low at the breaker panel you may need contact the power company.

3. Pressure Switch, check your settings on the pressure switch and examine for defects and wear. You may need to readjust the settings, or replace the switch. If you are in a situation where you have hard water, or sediment in the water system the pressure tube can also become clogged so check this as well. Checking the voltage on both sides of the switch is advised, if the contacts are weak the voltage drop may not allow the pump to run. If you encounter this problem and the contacts appear black it may be possible to clean with a wire brush. Make sure the power is off if you attempt this. Otherwise replace the switch.

4. The control box may have malfunctioned, your previous voltage checks may have already led you to this conclusion, but if you would like detailed instructions on troubleshooting your control box we are adding those videos later in this series. But generally speaking, a visual inspection of the components is recommended as often times parts that fail will appear burnt. It is possible to replace individual components inside the panel but the components are expensive so if the box is over 10 years old replacement is recommended.

5. Another area where problems are common is defective wiring, the most likely spots for this to be a problem is the splice from the motor to submersible cable, the splice at the top of the well that transitions to UF or THHN, then as the wire is spliced once again as it enters the home. If these connections were not sealed properly originally or if improper methods were used corrosion and loose connections can cause severe voltage drop which would cause the motor not to operate. Improperly sealed connections can also cause the motor to trip the breaker if the line shorts.

6. Finally, if everything else seems good, it may be time to replace the pump. Fortunately there are a number of checks that you can perform to determine if the pump or wiring down the well is bad and needs to be pulled from the well. We will go over these troubleshooting methods in part 4 of this troubleshooting series. It is possible for poor connections down the well to cause the motor to appear bad so if you do end up pulling the well check the motor again to be sure it is the pump and motor, not the wiring connection. Replacement of the pump and motor or wire may be necessary, I advise you strongly consider replacing the pump end along with the motor if the pump is older than 5 years and the motor has failed.

We are a distributor of pumps, packaged pumping systems, on-site wastewater treatment equipment, on-site wastewater treatment systems, and custom electrical control panels for water and wastewater applications, water well supplies, drilling supplies, and water treatment equipment.

[rckworthy]

Incredibly helpful video, thank you. I woke up this morning to a "pump not turning on at all" scenario and this video is the perfect starting point for troubleshooting. Thanks R.C. Worst & Co!

[tanincat]

Hey man thank you. I have a million things to do today and the water randomly not working was a huge wedge in my day.

[danpeterson]

I just fixed my well for $8 thanks to your videos. The capacitor in the QB box was shot, so I replaced that. The points in the pressure switch were shot too, but the points have 2 pairs of connector points. So I switched the power lines over to the other unused ones. Pump started right up! Thanks for these, this was just what I needed! Tomorrow, I'm checking the pressure tank to make sure that's all good.

[fatcapital]

These are the best videos on this topic on YouTube... thank you.

[Jedward]

Very informative, and the guy is very well spoken.

[tysonbravo]

You're trying to provide useful information and it is much appreciated. Just need to put yourself in the head space of the viewer and break things down a bit more... thanks for the vids!

[Tracker]

Awesome vid. Easy to follow, even though I just started learning about wells yesterday when my water went out. I'm hoping that it's not the well pump. I have a guy coming tomorrow morning, in case swapping the pressure switch doesn't fix it. My setup is a bit different, the pressure tank is in my house, while the pump is at the bottom of a concrete pit in the yard.

[mikeotto]

Great video. Helped me fix my pressure switch and prevented a costly maintenance bill. Thanks!

[MilesCamp]

Wouldn't everything shut off if the tank pressure was low i.e. 31 psi? I have power getting to the motor (hear it humming).

[yubielescalona]

Question, i have a 30/50 presure switch, and a half (1/2, 0.5 hp )water pump with a 26 galons well tank, do you think is going to work ok the pump with that presure switch, if the pump have the power enought to keep the well Rull?
Thanks

[TeeCKS]

Hey there I could use some help.
I replaced the switch panel for my water pump, to a start switch. Which means I have to click the switch on the panel to turn on the pump.
When I switch it on, it clicks but doesn’t run.
This water pump is two months old and hasn’t had any issues until now.
I’ve changed the foot valve in the well, primed the well line and pump. Still no luck.
What else could be going wrong?

[OracleIAmAll]

Question we have had water all this time and woke Friday morning and started running the water and doing laundry and the water cut out and now nothing but a hum. When we plug the pump in it sounds like it wants to kick on and then shuts off? So we are basically getting the hum sound and then the motor wanting to kick on and turns off. Everything for the wires looks great and has voltage. Even tried spinning the fan. For the capacitor, there are two areas with no wires in the middle and one empty in the lower right close to you while the 2 in the back have wires and the one in the bottom left close to you has a wire. Can the wires be moved to the empty spaces to get the pump working again? Or will we need to replace this or get a new pump all together?

[mariacollins]

I can hear the pump humming when I plug it in but have no psi in my tank do I need to add air

[cfbarnett]

The video was shot quite a ways away from the action. I could not see what points you were putting the meter leads on to on the pressure switch. Maybe I am not representative of the average viewer...

[stevemolumby]

I am in Georgia and pump stopped running without warning. I found that small ants had got in the points and fried. They shorted out the connection of the points.
Simple problem. I used sand paper to lightly clean the points and that was fixed

[Gene_Pondacres]

Thanks for the vid. I ran through your procedure, unfortunately looks to be wires all have power to the pump, so no water for us this Sunday night.

[ashishbhajan]

Good day. Pressure switch activated but pump not coming on. Have to tap pressure switch for it to actually come on sometimes. Any solutions or suggestions

[rickwamser]

pressure switch kicks in at 20 psi on my 30/50 PS ? bladder tank problem or can i adjust the pressure ?

[rajenojar]

hello can a pump work without pressure tank, without contact pressure switch ..only want to use a on off switch

[nhsledfreak]

I awoke to no water this AM 01-08-2017, The line from the Franklin Controller to the pressure switch has 0 volts. The other leg has 118 volts. I did the capacitor and relay test per your other video, it tested fine. All breakers are powered and on. Any ideas? Could a bad controller even if it test good cause a no power out issue from Controller to pressure switch? TY for any help it is very cold here in NH. Water is NOT frozen it is a power issue.