A good pump is an ordinary piece of machinery in a household, independent villa, bungalows, condos, and stuff. Independent sources of water mean pressure differences can cause problems with faucets and appliances at home too, especially if they are connected to these water pipelines 24×7. To save them from irregularities, pressure Cut-Off switches are primarily employed. So, you might have to reset them on an electric water pump, now and then, and avoid servicing calls.

Well Pump Pressure Switch Troubleshooting

Submersible pumps, smaller horsepower jet pumps, and other varieties have their own recommended factory presets. These are common with all varieties and models of the same type of pumps, but troubleshooting your good pump and pressure switch requires your instruction manual. It might be inside the cover box or on the pump’s body.

  • Here are some examples. That is geared towards irrigation run on a 20-40 split for ‘Cut-On’ and ‘Cut-Off’ pressure. To adjust the pressure switch, you will have to reset the pressure to these values. Submersible pumps apply an average of 45psi, but range from 40-60 for On to Off marks. In other pumps that are not submersible, 30 to 50 in the range.
  • If you can open the covering of the switch, you can see a spring mechanism. If you have a digital reset mechanism or a toggle switch to adjust the pressure or turn the switch On and Off, these internal mechanisms might be obscured. As an end-user follow your own set of instructions.
  • In the spring mechanism, tightening the screw that tightens the spring increases the pressure. There are details like how many turns will increase the pressure by how many units. For example, it can be like 1 full turn means 2-3 psi. For digital markers, you can see the pressure on your screen as you rotate the lever or press the buttons.
  • Turning the spring clockwise and anticlockwise is an important consideration for manual pressure switches. For a higher Cut-On and Cut-Off pressure, you have to turn it clockwise and to apply a lower pressure on a Cut-On and Off the range, turn it anticlockwise. This is a general rule of thumb, though.

How to Reset Well Pump Pressure Switch Without Lever?

Many pumps come with a pressure switch of Square ‘D’ type where the system works well like above. But, adjusting this switch will find you with some confusion. Some models do not have an On and Off lever on their side. While all switches work pretty much the same way, there can be differences in adjusting the tension on the valves by adjusting the tension on the springs.

  • In these cases, switching the pump to Off and then On might do the trick. In the case of pressure-activated double pole switches, there are two sets of contacts, and the springs are separate for both Cut-On and Cut-Off.
  • In many cases, you don’t have to do anything whatsoever. It will reset itself if there is no lever. But, looking at the troubleshooting document will give you a better idea of the actual case. Check your packaging for the same.

Is There a Reset Switch on a Well Pump?

All electric water pumps have a switch to control the flow of water and regulate the pressure in case something goes bad. The Cut-Off switch is the reset switch, as you can call it. In an electric pump, it is mounted next to the pump so that it can easily be reset by homeowners. This means that you do not have to call for service in case a simple switch goes bad. Also, anyone using a service well pump should know the process. These are usually with lever arrangement, and lifting the lever cuts it Off, and On. In modern days, pumps have toggle switches to press them to On and Off positions.

How do You Tell if the Well Pump Pressure Switch is Bad?

There are several ways you can tell if your pressure switch has deteriorated. This can cause a lot of problems later on, so detecting such problems is a good skill. Every day, during the inspection the caretaker should notice any faults with the pressure switch, valves, levers, and record them for future references.

  • If contacts are open and there is no water pressure, it may have some issues. One way to find this is by attempting to cycle the switch. To do this, just pull the contacts open and Cut-Off the switch. This will dislodge an internal spring and might also turn the switch to the Off position, or close it with the lever falling down.
  • To turn the power back on, toggle the switch to ‘On’ and check the water pressure. If the contacts still remain open and there is no water pressure, it means that the switch is bad or damaged. In that case, you must call the service people.
  • For the toggle switches and pumps that have internal hoods and external cases, it may not be easy to check these things, and calling the service people is the only option. But, the reset switch is always available to all models, and if resetting does not work, it is an indication that the switch is not working anymore.

How do I Reset My Water Pump?

For good pumps, the model might give you a set of instructions to reset the switch. But, even without it, most models and make of pump work the same. Here is a video that gently shows how to perform a manual resetting using a level mechanism. However, some may lose the lever or key, in which case things may be different.

  • If the pressure switch has damaged, the water pressure will drop and to a point where the pressure tank requires more water than normal. The switch powers the good pump and if the switch is bad, it won’t start well pump. And, there will be no water. It is very simple. In such a case, bring your lever out, place it in the hole beside the pump, and start to rotate it. In some cases, it is like a key.
  • If you are planning on DIY repair, do note to keep a record of all the steps you are following because if something breaks down in this attempt, the service people can fix it for you.
  • In this video you can see the internal spring and switches. Before doing all these take precautions and learn the internal mechanisms.
  • To reset a good pump, you have to reset the bad switch like repair it or change the settings to the factory preset and try again to see if the water is flowing.

Tips

  • Disconnect the breaker and the power to the switches so that you are safely resetting the switch. It is a safety precaution and one must follow it even if there is little chance of an electric shock.
  • Keep the manual of the good pump before attempting to manually reset the switch. The factory preset settings are always inside the cover of the pump box from the factory.
  • In some cases, it is on the body itself under a protective plastic coating. For example, you can see the ‘Cut-On’ pressure and ‘Cut-Off’ pressure as 30psi, 50psi respectively right on the cover.
  • Check the type of the pump you have, for example, submersible pumps have a different pressure switch reset value than dry pumps.