Sump Pump won't shut off after draining water?

If the pump was 'shot' then the holding 'tank' would flood. The fact that it is keeping less than an inch of water says that, right now, your pump is working fine.

Letting it continue to try to pump when there's nothing to pump though, could cause it to overheat, and/or prematurely wear out. So you want to shut it off either by unplugging it, or turning the breaker off, if you can't get the switch to working properly.

The switch is the most likely culprit. Fortunately, it's also the easiest and least expensive part to replace, heheh. It sounds like it is sticking. You might try giving it a tap to see if that will free it up - but that's only a temporary solution, it will stick again at some point, and will be harder to get working properly. In the meantime, letting the pump continue to run will be wearing it out - so it's better to fix the switch sooner, than later.

Sometimes, the contacts in the switch can be cleaned (Turn the power off to the pump before taking anything apart). I keep a small can of 'tv tuner cleaner' in my toolbox for just such occasions. (Radio Shack carries it). If they are very corroded, then they can sometimes be cleaned with emery cloth. Again, this is a temporary solution - the switch will need to be replaced, but this can usually get a pump to work through the weekend, until the hardware stores are open, hehehe.

If you cannot get the switch to work properly - and find you need to shut off the pump - do NOT forget to check on it periodically, so you can turn it on and let it run a few minutes - or you'll have flooding to deal with too.

Check the pump for a label plate - it should have the brand and model number on it. If necessary, take the float switch with you to the store to get a replacement. If your local hardware/farm supply store doesn't have a matching switch, you can use the information to order one online from the manufacturer, in most cases.

Good Luck

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RE:

Sump Pump won't shut off after draining water?

I'm not a plumber first off. The guy who usually comes and fixes this stuff for me ( A Friend) is buried under snow atm. Here's the problem:

The sump pump drained water out of the house. It's a top mounted pipe (along with the wires) and the motor on top and the pump down below. The...

Either the float is bad or the switch is sticking or bad. You can unplug the pump, and then check it again in a bit to see if the water is filling up the sump hole. Just plug it back in to pump the water out. You can do this until someone can fix the problem. Hope this helps! Good luck!

If the pump is running and the float is working then it would all be good .. if its not shutting off then the float is not working . Check the plug where the float wire plugs into pump . Also the float may have a bad spot in side , cheat it by flipping it . Then tape it or strap it at the same level.

Actually the float switch is not working ……

Try smacking it …not to hard …if that doesn’t do it you will need a new switch ….you will want to get a new switch regardless if it starts working or not.

It sounds like the pump is OK and the float is malfunctioning, can you lift the float as high as it will go and it still runs?

I agree with TC gave him thumbs up. you can try pulling the rod up and down quickly and freeing the contacts but eventually your going to have to replace the switch, can't trust it no longer.