Different symptoms mean different problems. Find yours below, what's likely wrong, what's safe to check yourself, and when it's a repair call.
Likely: tripped breaker, failed pressure switch, or a dead motor. Check the breaker and switch first (full walkthrough here). Silence after those checks usually means switch or motor, and both are pro repairs.
One thing worth knowing before you call: most well pumps built for potable water have thermal overload protection, a built-in safeguard that shuts the motor down if it overheats rather than letting it burn out. If your pump ran dry recently or cycled hard, that protection may simply be doing its job. It resets itself once the motor cools, no manual reset switch to find. If a full breaker-and-switch check plus enough cooling time still leaves you with a silent pump, that points toward the motor itself or the wiring, both pro-repair territory.
Likely: lost prime, a leak in the drop pipe, a failed check valve, or low water in the well. This is the symptom where guessing gets expensive, because half the causes are down the well.
Likely: a waterlogged pressure tank, a leak between well and house, or a worn pump. Here's the real check, not a guess: shut off power to the pump and open a faucet until the pressure clears, then use a tire-pressure gauge at the valve stem on top of the tank. The reading should sit close to your pressure switch's cut-in setting (commonly 30 to 50 PSI) minus about 2 PSI. Read low, and the tank's air charge needs topping off before anything else gets diagnosed.
Likely: a pressure switch stuck closed, a bad tank, or a leak the pump can't outrun. A pump that runs constantly is burning itself out. If you can't reach a fix today, know where your pump's power switch or breaker is so you can shut it down.
Almost always the pressure tank. The air charge is gone and the pump gets no buffer. Same check as the no-pressure symptom above, and fixable for a lot less than the new pump you'll need if it runs this way for weeks.
Common around here after storms. Breaker first, pressure switch second (full walkthrough here). If it ran fine before the outage and checks don't revive it, a surge may have taken the switch or motor.
Around Plymouth and Carver, a professional pump replacement runs $1,500 to $4,000 depending on pump type and well depth. Those numbers came from local operators, not a national website. Smaller repairs (switch, tank recharge) cost far less. Full breakdown.
$1,500 – $4,000
professional pump replacement; smaller repairs cost less
There's no single number that answers this for every house. What matters is whether your well's tested recovery rate covers your household's actual demand, not a rule-of-thumb figure. A house running one bathroom at a time needs less than one running two showers and a washing machine at once. If your flow feels low, a real flow test tells you your actual number; guessing off a general rule doesn't.
Almost always the pressure tank. When its air charge is gone, the pump gets no buffer and kicks on and off every few seconds instead of running a normal cycle. Same check as low pressure: shut off power, relieve pressure at a faucet, then check the tank's air charge with a tire gauge at the valve stem. It's fixable for a lot less than the new pump you'll eventually need if it runs this way for weeks.
Likely causes: lost prime, a leak in the drop pipe, a failed check valve, or low water in the well itself. This is the symptom where guessing gets expensive, because half the causes are down the well where you can't see them. Don't keep running the pump dry while you troubleshoot; that risks burning out the motor.
Likely a pressure switch stuck closed, a bad tank, or a leak the pump can't outrun. A pump that runs constantly is burning itself out, so this isn't a wait-and-see symptom. If you can't reach a fix today, know where your pump's power switch or breaker is so you can shut it down until help arrives.
Depends on the cause. A stuck pressure switch or a tank recharge runs well under a full pump replacement. If it does turn out to be the pump itself, a professional replacement runs $1,500 to $4,000 around Plymouth and Carver, sourced from local operators, not a national number. Full cost breakdown.
That's usually the pump's built-in thermal overload protection doing exactly what it's designed to do: shutting the motor down before it burns out, then resetting itself once the motor cools. There's no published wait time we'll put a number on; give it time and try again rather than resetting it repeatedly. If it keeps tripping after cooling, that points to a deeper problem, like the pump running dry or straining against a blockage, and that's worth a real diagnosis.
Well Pump Repair for Plymouth and Plymouth County. When the water stops, start here.
(508) 905-6197