The pump won't shut off — what's going on
A pump that runs without stopping isn't just wasting electricity — it's telling you something in the system has failed or is failing. This page walks through why that happens, starting with the cheapest possibilities. By the end you'll have a clear picture of what a technician is looking for and what to expect.
- National Ground Water Association
- Colorado Water Well Contractors Association
- Bonded & insured
- Free estimates and project quotes
What you're dealing with
The pump cycles on and never cycles off
A healthy pump kicks on, builds pressure, shuts off, and stays off until the pressure drops again. When it runs continuously, that cycle has broken somewhere between the well and your pressure tank.
Likely causes, cheapest first
Six things that make a pump run without stopping
These are ordered by what they typically cost to address — not by how common they are. A technician rules out the cheap stuff before touching the expensive stuff.
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Pressure switch out of calibration or failed
The pressure switch tells the pump when to stop. If the contacts are corroded or the switch has drifted out of its range, it may never send the shutoff signal. This is the least costly item on the list and takes minutes to confirm with a gauge reading. A switch replacement is a fraction of what any other repair here costs.
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Waterlogged pressure tank
The pressure tank (the one that looks like a propane tank) holds an air bladder that creates the buffer the pump pushes against. When that bladder fails, the tank fills solid with water and the pump has nowhere to send pressure — so it keeps running. Tapping the tank tells a tech a lot: a healthy tank sounds hollow in the upper half, a waterlogged one sounds solid all the way up.
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Leak in the water line between well and house
A break or slow leak in the buried supply line bleeds pressure as fast as the pump builds it. The pump never reaches shutoff, but you may not see water anywhere obvious because the loss is underground. Walking the line after a rain and looking for soft spots or wet ground can hint at the location.
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Foot valve or check valve failure
Check valves keep water from sliding back down the well after the pump shuts off. A foot valve does the same job at the bottom of the drop pipe. When either fails, water drains back and the pump has to refill the line from scratch every cycle — or can't build pressure at all. This is a submersible pump pull, so it costs more than the items above.
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Worn pump — impellers or motor
Pump impellers spin to move water. After years of use, especially in sandy water, they wear down and the pump loses output. The motor may still run fine while the pump end produces almost nothing. Confirming this takes a flow and pressure test at the wellhead — if output is well below the pump's rating, internal wear is the likely cause.
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Low well yield — the aquifer can't keep up
If the well itself isn't producing enough water, the pump runs against air or partial water and never builds pressure. This is the most involved diagnosis on the list. A yield test tells you what the well is actually delivering. If yield is the problem, the fix may involve a pump reset to a lower depth, a storage solution, or referring you to a licensed well driller — and we'll say so plainly.
Water Works Plus works supply-side only — well to the building envelope — so interior plumbing, fixtures, water heaters, and drains are outside our scope.
How a technician narrows it down
The diagnostic sequence, step by step
A tech doesn't guess. They move from the easiest-to-check items toward the harder ones so you don't pay for a pump pull when a switch would have fixed it.
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Read the pressure gauge
The first thing a tech does is watch the gauge live while the pump runs. If pressure never climbs, the problem is somewhere upstream of the tank or the tank itself. If pressure climbs but the switch never trips, the switch is the likely culprit. This step costs nothing and eliminates half the list.
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Check and test the pressure switch
The switch gets inspected for corroded contacts, debris, and whether its cutoff setting matches the tank's air charge. A bad switch is the least costly fix on this page — confirmed or ruled out in minutes.
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Inspect and tap-test the pressure tank
A tech taps the tank from bottom to top while it has some pressure in it. A hollow sound in the upper portion means air is present — good. Solid sound all the way up means the bladder has failed and the tank is waterlogged. A bladder replacement or tank swap is a mid-range repair, less costly than a pump pull.
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Check for line leaks
With the pump off and system pressurized, a tech watches whether pressure holds or bleeds down on the gauge. A slow bleed with no open fixtures means water is escaping somewhere in the line. Locating it may involve walking the route or light excavation, depending on how the line was installed.
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Test pump output at the wellhead
If everything above checks out, the pump itself gets tested — flow rate and pressure measured directly at the well. Output well below the pump's nameplate spec points to worn impellers or a failing motor. This is where the cost steps up, because a submersible pump repair means pulling the drop pipe.
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Well yield test
If pump output is adequate but the system still can't keep up, the well's recovery rate gets tested. This is the last step because it's the most time-intensive. If yield is too low for the current demand, we'll tell you straight — and if a new well is the answer, we'll refer you to a driller. We don't drill wells, so we have no reason to push you toward one if it isn't necessary.
When you're ready to have someone take a look, we're available at (719) 859-1148 — no pressure, just a conversation about what you're seeing.
- Free estimates — we quote after we diagnose
- One year on labor and materials
- Colorado License #1447
Why the cheap answer is safe to give
We can afford to tell you it is the cheap part
Not because we are nicer than the next outfit. Because of how this business is built — and all three of these are checkable.
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No rig to keep busy
A drilling rig is the most expensive thing a water contractor can own, and it has to stay working to pay for itself. We do not own one. A new well is not on our list of answers, because we could not drill it if we wanted to.
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We are a dealer, not a manufacturer
Authorized dealer — that is where the five-year equipment warranty comes from. We do not build pumps and we do not carry a quota on them. A pump we talk you out of costs us nothing.
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A wrong diagnosis comes back to us
One year on labor and materials means we are the ones who drive back out if the fix does not hold. Guessing expensive is not only dishonest here — it is expensive for us.
None of that is a claim about our character. You do not have to take our word for any of it — the license, the association memberships and the warranty terms are all verifiable, and they are the same on paper as they are on this page.
Questions we get asked
Before you call
Yes. Pumps are designed to cycle — run, rest, run, rest. Continuous operation builds heat and wears motor windings faster than normal use. The longer a pump runs without stopping, the higher the chance of motor failure before the underlying cause gets fixed.
You can, and if you're worried about burning the motor out, it's a reasonable call. Keep in mind you'll have no water pressure while it's off. If you have a pressure tank with any charge left, you may get a little water drawn down from it before pressure drops to nothing.
With the pump off and some pressure in the system, press the Schrader valve on top of the tank — it looks like a tire valve stem. If water sprays out instead of air, the bladder has failed and the tank is waterlogged. If air comes out, the bladder is likely intact and the tank may not be the issue.
Zero pressure with the pump on usually means the pump isn't moving water — either it's lost prime, the impellers are badly worn, or there's a major line break. It can also mean the gauge itself has failed, which is cheap to rule out. A tech will confirm which it is quickly.
A significant interior leak can drop pressure enough to keep the pump cycling, but a pump that runs without ever shutting off is almost always a supply-side issue — pressure tank, line, or pump. Interior plumbing is outside our scope, but we can tell you during a visit whether what we're seeing points that direction.
Signs of low well yield include the pump running long before water arrives at taps, sputtering or air in the lines, and water that tastes or smells different than usual. A yield test at the wellhead gives you an actual number to work with rather than guessing.
We tell you plainly and refer you to a licensed driller. We have no financial stake in a new well because we don't have a drill rig. That also means when we say you don't need one, you can take that at face value.
Occasionally a pressure switch that's been bumped or a tank that's lost a little air charge will cause long run times without a hard failure. Those are the cheapest and fastest things to check, which is exactly why the diagnostic starts there.
If something above matches what you're seeing and you want a straight answer, call (719) 859-1148 — answered 24 hours Monday through Saturday. Call (719) 859-1148
Before the technician arrives
A few things worth noting down
You don't need to do anything before we come out. But if you have a few minutes, these details help a tech get to the answer faster.
- How long has the pump been running this way? A problem that started suddenly points toward a failed component; one that's been getting worse over months often points toward wear or a slow leak.
- What does the pressure gauge read while the pump is on? Even an approximate number — or whether the needle moves at all — tells a tech a lot before they pull into your driveway.
- Have you had any recent work done on the system? A new fixture, a line repair, or even heavy irrigation use in the weeks before the problem started can point toward the cause.
- Where is your pressure tank and pressure switch located? Usually in a pump house, basement, or utility room near where the line enters the building — knowing ahead of time saves a few minutes on arrival.
You don't need answers to all of these — whatever you've noticed is enough to start.
Tell us what the water is doing.
We’ll tell you what it usually turns out to be, what it will take to confirm it, and what it costs — before we touch anything.
Call (719) 859-1148Answering 24 hours a day, Monday through Saturday
- Colorado License #1447 · bonded and insured
- One year on labor and materials, five on equipment
- Free estimates and project quotes — we quote after we diagnose
- NGWA and Colorado Water Well Contractors Association
Or have us call you back
If you are on bad signal or would rather not talk right now.