water well problem......pump wont turn off

[texastkikker]

Having a problem with my water well……

About 2 weeks ago I took a shower and noticed that the water pressure was very high…like 2x normal shower pressure…best water pressure in 10 years, so I knew instantly something was wrong.
Wife popped her head in there and said something was wrong with the well while I was still showering….she said it was making a noise. I get finished up in the shower and the safety valve is blowing off at the well outside in the yard.

I flip the breaker off on the well to turn off the pump. Safety valve stops flowing, pressure gauge inside the garage (right next to the 2x blue water tanks reads appx. 120 psi). I bleed the pressure down to 55 psi. and leave a few hose bibs open and watch the pressure gauge. Goes down to 40 psi……pump turns on……pressure goes back up to 60 psi…..pump shuts off. All seems good. I just figured it is a glitch. Well, the same thing happens again 2-3 days later. I call the well guys and they replace the pressure switch. All good until 3-4 days later same thing happens. This time (Friday 4/26/2024) they re-do some plumbing inside the garage since how my pressure switch was plumped it was creating a “trap” and they found a little piece of trash in there. The switch and gauge were plumbed into a tee and came up about 2 feet from the main water line going into the house and dead-ended at the switch/gauge. They re-plumbed the pressure switch and gauge in-line on the 1.25” line and got rid of the “trap” area how it was originally plumbed. Made sense to me as I have never seen one plumbed that way before. I have always seen the pressure switch and gauge plumbed in line, which is how it is now.

Fast forward to yesterday morning 4/28/2024 and I take a shower and same thing have too much water pressure during my shower so I know instantly the same issue……this time I start recording with video so my well guys don’t think I am crazy LOL.

Safety valve is popped open….water spewing at the well from the safety valve. Pressure gauge reads appx. 120 psi….I take the cover off the pressure switch and the pressure switch is “open” meaning no power…..well pump should be off.
I tap the pressure switch to cycle the pressure switch on and off, and the safety valve stops (there is a check valve between the switch and the well) and gauge still reads 120 psi. I bleed the pressure down to 50psi or so, and all Is back to normal.

They did tell me last Friday that I have a dead short between the pressure switch and the well control box and that I need to get that fixed.

Everything down hole was replaced last year on 7/5/2023….new pump, new motor, new wire from control box downhole to pump, new control box, new fluid end

Any clue what is going on here? I personally think something is wrong with the control box at the well…like the contactors are staying stuck somehow?????
going to contact my water well guys and send video......need it to happen on like a Wednesday morning so i can get them out there right when it happens......

Sorry for the 12-paragraph explanation……

[Trouthunter]

I can't help you but your water well people should be able to fix the issues. That's who I call when something is not right.

[DEXTER]

Short in wires like they mentioned.

"They did tell me last Friday that I have a dead short between the pressure switch and the well control box and that I need to get that fixed."

Why did they not fix this????

[texastkikker]

Short in wires like they mentioned.

"They did tell me last Friday that I have a dead short between the pressure switch and the well control box and that I need to get that fixed."

Why did they not fix this????

They said that they could not fix it because they didn't have a long enough fish tape. I just figured that they didn't actually "want" to ix it for some sort of liability concerns, and wanted me to get an electrician to fix it. Since this was Friday afternoon I haven't gotten around to contacting an electrician to fix it....and I honestly don't think that is the issue.

That being said, my pressure switch was "open" meaning there should not have been any power to the control box, meaning the pump should have been off. That is what is making me think that this issue is in the control box, like a stuck contactor or something, The issue is only happening every 3-4 days, which is making me go crazy trying to figure it out.

[DEXTER]

If there is a short before pressure switch and after control it doesn't matter if switch is open or closed if both wires are shorted together does same as closed switch (well is on). I would run a wire (2) above ground to bypass bad ones just to verify this fixes the problem.

[texastkikker]

If there is a short before pressure switch and after control it doesn't matter if switch is open or closed if both wires are shorted together does same as closed switch (well is on). I would run a wire (2) above ground to bypass bad ones just to verify this fixes the problem.

the dead short is between the pressure switch and the control box......if that is the case, shouldn't there be no power going from the pressure switch to the control box (well off)? when I tap the pressure switch close (pump on) and back open (pump off) (i have to hold it closed(pump on) as soon as i let go the switch opens, meaning to me that the pressure switch is working properly) the pump turns off and water stops flowing from the safety valve.
the short is after the pressure switch, but before the control box. I would think that would cause issues of the pump not wanting to turn on....instead, my pump will not turn off every 3-4 days randomly.

planning on cutting the ends off an extension cord tonight and seeing if that solves the issue for a few days.

thanks for the ideas......honestly.....this has me and everybody else scratching our heads...
got anymore thoughts/ideas?

[DEXTER]

Must be an intermentant short. Let us know how bypassing old line and using extension cord works. Betting that fixes it but I've been wrong before

[Landlocked]

There’s a water well man on here. Waterguy? Anyway he has chimed in on water well issues on here before. Hopefully he sees this.

Is your your pressure switch a Square D brand? 40-60 psi?

[texastkikker]

There’s a water well man on here. Waterguy? Anyway he has chimed in on water well issues on here before. Hopefully he sees this.

Is your your pressure switch a Square D brand? 40-60 psi?

yes...square D 40-60 psi. both the original one (we've owed the house for 10 years) and the new one that is appx. 1 week old.

[Oso Blanco]

Your well guy is full of #X%^&X. I have owned and repaired my well for 35+ years. The on and off to your pump is 100% mechanical. The control box houses your capacitor and start run relay and it is upstream of the pressure switch. ( checked the internet and saw the control can be in front or in back of PS) That makes no difference. Your pressure switch is sticking or faulty. First turn the power off to the well. Take the cover off your pressure switch. Get some 200 grit sand paper and slide it in between the contacts of the pressure switch. Polish the surface of the contacts. Put the cap back on and power it up. Cycle your well a few times. Just turn a couple hose bibs on and let it run. Either way at 60 psi the switch opens if it is not sick. Changing the PS is very simple. I will PM you my number.

[TheGoose]

Does your control box look like the one on the left, or right. The one of left can come in different variants, sometimes known as a Deluxe box. The deluxe box will have an extra contactor in it that actually turns the pump on/off. The one on the right is fed via the pressure switch.

Deluxe Box is wired like this Incoming Power-->Deluxe Box-->Well Pump. The pressure switch only triggers the extra contactors on or off. The one on the right goes like this:
Incoming Power-->Pressure Switch-->Control Box.

It sounds like yours is a deluxe box, usually found in 1.5 HP and higher pumps, and the contactors are sticking. If you had a "dead short" between the pressure switch and control box, IMO, you would have a tripped breaker.

[TheGoose]

Your well guy is full of #X%^&X. I have owned and repaired my well for 35+ years. The on and off to your pump is 100% mechanical. The control box houses your capacitor and start run relay and it is upstream of the pressure switch. ( checked the internet and saw the control can be in front or in back of PS) That makes no difference. Your pressure switch is sticking or faulty. First turn the power off to the well. Take the cover off your pressure switch. Get some 200 grit sand paper and slide it in between the contacts of the pressure switch. Polish the surface of the contacts. Put the cap back on and power it up. Cycle your well a few times. Just turn a couple hose bibs on and let it run. Either way at 60 psi the switch opens if it is not sick. Changing the PS is very simple. I will PM you my number.

He stated his contacts were already open, and the pump was still running. This tells me he may have a different set-up, called a deluxe box, where there will be an extra set of contactors in the control box.

The tell-tale sign will be that on your pressure switch you only have two wires, one in and one out (plus a ground).

The regular contactors will have 4 wires and 2 grounds. Two incoming power, two outgoing, and two grounds.

[Oso Blanco]

I am a one trick pony. I know my well and how it works. I guess you are saying the PS on the deluxe is just a signal for the control. That makes more sense. If the wire to the PS is shorted in the closed position the pump will not stop due to the signal from the PS not opening. My well and everyone around me is in the Edwards. They are less than 200'. Most are at or under 1.5 HP.

[Oso Blanco]

A common problem with a pressure switch is fire ants that bet smashed between the contacts when the switch closes. They will fry there and make the contact surface ugly. The best thing I have found to keep them out is high voltage silicone. Smear it in the pipe and wires of your PS. It is sticky and the ants hate it. Best thing is it is none toxic safe around wells and it will not hurt the wire. I keep a replacement PS, capacitor and relay for my well. Mamma don't like going without water.

[texastkikker]

Your well guy is full of #X%^&X. I have owned and repaired my well for 35+ years. The on and off to your pump is 100% mechanical. The control box houses your capacitor and start run relay and it is upstream of the pressure switch. ( checked the internet and saw the control can be in front or in back of PS) That makes no difference. Your pressure switch is sticking or faulty. First turn the power off to the well. Take the cover off your pressure switch. Get some 200 grit sand paper and slide it in between the contacts of the pressure switch. Polish the surface of the contacts. Put the cap back on and power it up. Cycle your well a few times. Just turn a couple hose bibs on and let it run. Either way at 60 psi the switch opens if it is not sick. Changing the PS is very simple. I will PM you my number.

Pressure switch was replaced last week. It is good as far as I can tell. I have sat there with the pressure switch cover off, and a couple hose bibs open, and watched it cycle on and off from 40-60 psi as it should for 45 minutes. It probably cycled 8-10 times. The last time it happened (Sunday morning) pump was still running and the pressure switch was open. I started recording video before I did anything so that I would have proof. I personally think it is something in the control box.

[texastkikker]

Does your control box look like the one on the left, or right. The one of left can come in different variants, sometimes known as a Deluxe box. The deluxe box will have an extra contactor in it that actually turns the pump on/off. The one on the right is fed via the pressure switch.

Deluxe Box is wired like this Incoming Power-->Deluxe Box-->Well Pump. The pressure switch only triggers the extra contactors on or off. The one on the right goes like this:
Incoming Power-->Pressure Switch-->Control Box.

It sounds like yours is a deluxe box, usually found in 1.5 HP and higher pumps, and the contactors are sticking. If you had a "dead short" between the pressure switch and control box, IMO, you would have a tripped breaker.

Goose......I have the one on the left...Deluxe control box. 3 HP pump. Breaker has never been tripped on the main pannel.

and yes.....only 2 wires in the pressure switch + the ground wire

[Landlocked]

TheGoose…that’s who I was thinking of. Not sure why I was thinking Waterguy. Oh well…old age I guess…or too many cocktails last night!!