Urgent · call first · TN LLP #5045

Sump Pump Not Turning On

The pit is filling and the pump is doing nothing about it.

Plumbing emergency? Call (423) 413-6876 Call (423) 413-6876

Quick answer

Treat it as urgent if the pit is filling. The most common cause is a float switch hung up on the side of the pit or on its own cord, and the second is no power at the outlet, which is an electrical fault rather than a pump fault. Neither one means the pump is finished.

Do this right now

1If water is rising, move what you can off the floor and out of the crawlspace access
2Check the pump is plugged in and the breaker has not tripped. That is genuinely the fault a fair share of the time
3If the breaker trips again immediately, leave it off and call an electrician — that is not a plumbing fault
4Do not reach into a pit with water in it while the pump is plugged in
5A wet/dry vacuum buys you time on the water while you wait

A sump pump that will not start is usually a working pump that never got told to run. That is worth knowing before anyone sells you a new one on the worst afternoon of the month.

How you know this is it

Water rising in the pit and the pump silent
The pump hums but does not move water
It ran during the last storm and will not start now
The breaker for it has tripped, or trips again when reset
Water appearing in the crawlspace or basement for the first time in years

What usually causes it

A float switch caught on the pit wall, the discharge pipe, or its own power cord
No power at the outlet — a tripped breaker, a failed receptacle, or an unplugged pump
A jammed impeller, usually gravel or debris that got into the pit
A seized motor at the end of a normal working life
A discharge line so completely blocked the pump cannot move anything

What we do about it

Test the float first, because it is the most common cause by a wide margin
Check whether the pump is getting power at all before touching the pump itself
Clear a jammed impeller where that is what has stopped it
Replace the pump when it has genuinely failed, sized to the pit rather than to the old label
Tell you plainly when the fault is electrical and you need a different trade

Common questions

Sump Pump Not Turning On: your questions answered

Is a pump that will not start always a dead pump?

No, and it usually is not. A hung float is the most common cause we find, and a pump with no power at the outlet is an electrical problem. We test rather than assume.

The breaker keeps tripping. Can you fix that?

No. A breaker that trips repeatedly is an electrician's work, not a plumber's. We will confirm that is what you are dealing with so you are not paying two trades to find out.

Should I call or fill in the form?

Call. If the pit is filling with the pump doing nothing, damage is accumulating while a form sits in an inbox.

Will I know the price before you start?

Yes. You get one number to approve before any work begins, and it holds once the job starts. This market has a documented habit of quotes climbing mid-job; we built the opposite habit deliberately.

Are you licensed?

Yes. Tennessee Limited Licensed Plumber #5045, issued by the state Board for Licensing Contractors and verifiable at verify.tn.gov. Across eighteen local competitors, not one publishes their number.

Book Drain Pros TN for sump pump repair.

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TN Limited Licensed Plumber · #5045 · verify at verify.tn.gov

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