Nothing at any tap
- Most often
- A tripped breaker, a failed pressure switch or burnt switch contacts
- Rule out first
- The breaker and the switch contacts. Both are free to look at.
Well pump repair in Ocala, FL
In short
Most "dead pump" calls in Marion County turn out to be the breaker, the pressure switch or the pressure tank, not the pump. Check those first. If the water is still off, the pump needs testing by a licensed water well contractor, and the six questions below tell you whether it actually was.
Rule these out before you call
Wells here are drilled into the Floridan aquifer, so the pump hangs a long way down a cased hole and pulling it is a rig job. That is why the cheap checks come first.
Is it the whole house?
If only one tap is dry, it is that fixture, not the well. Check the bypass valve on any whole-house filter or softener too: a cartridge packed with iron can starve the house while the well is fine.
The breaker
Most well pumps run on a dedicated 240-volt double breaker, often labeled "well" or "pump". Reset it once: fully off, then on.
Trips again? Stop resetting it. It is protecting a fault, often a shorted motor or a damaged cable down the well. Leave it off and call.
The pressure switch
The small gray box on the pipe near the tank. If pressure fell close to zero, many switches cut out and wait for somebody to lift the short lever on the side. Hold it up until the gauge passes about 40 psi, then let go. Never open the cover: there is live wiring inside.
The pressure tank
Knock on it from top to bottom. Hollow near the top is healthy. A solid thud all the way up means it has lost its air charge, and the pump will start clicking on and off.
The control box
Three-wire pumps have a small box on the wall holding the start capacitor and relay. A pump that hums, or a box that smells burnt, points here. It is a contractor repair, but far cheaper than a pump.
Where each part sits
Two of the three things that fail are inside the house and reachable in minutes. The third is at the bottom of the picture.
What each symptom usually means
None of this replaces somebody standing at the equipment with a gauge. It is here so you can tell whether the person standing there has actually looked.
Pressure fades after a minute
- Most often
- A waterlogged pressure tank that has lost its air charge
- Rule out first
- Knock on the tank. A dull thud most of the way up means it is full of water.
Pump clicks on and off every few seconds
- Most often
- The same waterlogged tank. This is short cycling, and it is what kills pumps.
- Rule out first
- Turn on a tap and listen. Several starts while you fill a bucket means the tank has gone. The tire gauge test.
Pump runs and never stops
- Most often
- A leak, a stuck switch, or a pump that can no longer reach its cut-out pressure
- Rule out first
- A running toilet or an irrigation zone stuck open. It is free, and it is often that.
Spitting, sputtering, air in the lines
- Most often
- The water level has dropped near the pump, or there is a leak in the drop pipe
- Rule out first
- Whether it started after a dry spell or after heavy irrigation.
Breaker trips every time
- Most often
- A shorted pump motor or a damaged drop cable
- What to do
- Stop resetting it. This is the one symptom that points straight at the pump, and it needs a licensed well contractor.
On a constant pressure system with a drive on the wall instead of a pressure switch? Those fail differently.
What repair costs here, and why depth matters
The pump is often the cheapest part of the day. How deep it hangs, the wiring, and whether the tank goes at the same time are what move the bill.
$1,000 to $5,000+Published Florida range for a full pump replacement
105 ftMedian Marion County well depth, from the state's records
Parrish Well Drilling, Well pump replacement cost in Florida · Florida Well Data, Marion County well records
A deeper well means more drop pipe and cable to pull and a pump that has to push harder, so where you live changes the quote. Median depth runs from 40 feet in one Ocala ZIP code to 200 feet out toward Eastlake Weir and Ocklawaha.
| Area | ZIP codes | Well records | Median depth by ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocala | 13 | 37,175 | 40 to 130 ft |
| Dunnellon | 3 | 13,465 | 100 to 150 ft |
| Summerfield | 2 | 6,664 | 93 to 110 ft |
| Belleview | 2 | 3,348 | 90 to 110 ft |
| Ocklawaha | 2 | 3,085 | 145 to 200 ft |
| Candler | 1 | 2,668 | 140 ft |
| Silver Springs | 2 | 2,107 | 74 to 112 ft |
| Fairfield | 1 | 1,802 | 135 ft |
| Fort McCoy | 1 | 1,545 | 140 ft |
| Weirsdale | 1 | 1,507 | 140 ft |
| Orange Springs | 1 | 1,376 | 155 ft |
| Citra | 1 | 1,368 | 85 ft |
Every Marion County ZIP code, and what each line of a pump invoice is for.
Six questions before you agree to a new pump
A submersible replacement is one of the larger bills a homeowner here will see, and the gap between it and a switch is a factor of ten. These separate a diagnosis from a conclusion.
Before you agree to a pump replacementAsk on the phone, or in the yard
- What did the pressure switch read?
There is a number. If nobody took one, nobody has diagnosed anything yet.
- What is the tank pre-charge, measured with the system drained?
It should be about two psi below the cut-in setting. A tank reading zero is the fault, and it is not the pump.
- Is the pump failing to reach cut-out, or is it not being told to stop?
Those are two different repairs, and only one of them is expensive.
- What are the resistance and insulation readings on the drop cable?
This tells a dead motor from a damaged cable without pulling anything, and any well contractor has the meter for it.
- How deep is the pump set, and how deep is the casing?
It decides the price, and it should be on the completion report from when the well was drilled.
- If you pull it and the pump is fine, what does the visit cost?
Ask before, not after. A contractor confident in the diagnosis will answer this easily.
A licensed water well contractor is the right trade for anything below the pressure tank. Florida licenses them through the water management districts, and the license number is the first thing to ask for. Florida DEP, Water well contractor licensing and permitting
What is different about a Marion County pump call
Wells here are deep enough that pulling a pump is a rig job: the state's records put the median well at 105 feet, with the water standing about 38 feet down. Central Florida's summer storms put lightning on the list of suspects, and the hard, iron-rich water scales the small fittings a pressure switch depends on. Each has its own guide. Florida Well Data, Marion County well records · National Weather Service Melbourne, Lightning information
Questions
The ones people search for
Can a well water pump be repaired, or does it have to be replaced?
A submersible pump is generally replaced rather than repaired. Once it is out of the well the labor has already been spent, and the motor and the wet end are sealed units, so rebuilding one rarely makes economic sense.
The parts around it are a different story. Pressure switches, tanks, check valves, pitless adaptors and wiring are all ordinary repairs, and those are the majority of well callouts.
How often should you replace a well pump?
Not on a schedule. A submersible in clean water with a healthy pressure tank can run well over a decade, and replacing a working pump because of its age is money spent on nothing.
What shortens the life is short cycling from a failed tank, sand or grit in the water, and running the well dry. Two of those three are things you can fix for a fraction of the pump price.
How much does it cost to have a well pump fixed?
A pressure switch is the cheapest of the common repairs, a pressure tank is a middling one, and a submersible replacement in a deep well is the expensive end. Published Florida figures put a full pump replacement at roughly $1,000 to $5,000 or more.
The full breakdown of what you are paying for, and the four things that decide where in that range you land.
Why does my well pump keep running after the water is off?
Three possibilities. There is a leak the pump is chasing, which includes a toilet flapper you cannot hear and an irrigation zone stuck open. The pressure switch has failed closed and is not telling it to stop. Or the pump has lost enough performance that it can no longer reach the cut-out pressure, so it never gets the signal.
Whichever it is, do not leave it running for days. A pump running continuously overheats, and on a deep submersible that turns a cheap repair into a rig visit.
Do I need a permit to replace a well pump in Marion County?
Replacing a pump is not the same as constructing a well, and the permit that gets discussed most, the well construction permit, is about drilling. But the office that issues it is also the office that can tell you whether what you are having done counts, and that answer is free.
Who issues what in Marion County, and why the answer depends on which side of the county you are on.
Before you hire anyone
Calling a well contractor? Check three things first.
- 1The license. Every Florida water well contractor is licensed. Ask for the number and look it up at the state's contractor verification clearinghouse.
- 2The diagnosis before the price. A pressure switch reading, the tank's air charge and the cable readings, before anybody quotes a new pump. The six questions to ask.
- 3The permit, if a rig is coming. A new well needs one before drilling starts, and it is the contractor's job to have it. Who issues it.
Public offices, free to call
Florida Department of Health in Marion CountyWell permits, well records, and which water district your parcel is in352-622-7744
Marion County Building SafetyPlumbing permits in unincorporated Marion County352-438-2400
Ocala Well Water is an independent guide. It takes no calls, collects no details, and no company pays to be mentioned. How this site works.