Sump Pump Runs and Never Shuts Off

How you know this is it

• The pump runs continuously with no rain for days
• It cycles on and off every minute or two
• You hear water running back down the pipe just after it stops
• The pit level barely drops while the pump is running
• The motor is hot to the touch

What usually causes it

• A failed check valve letting the discharged water fall straight back into the pit
• A float set too low, so the pump starts again before the pit has really emptied
• A pit that is undersized for the water coming in, so it refills as fast as it empties
• A pump oversized for the pit, emptying it faster than it fills and starting again immediately
• Groundwater genuinely running high — a spring, a broken line, or a downspout discharging beside the foundation

What we do about it

• Watch a full cycle and see where the water is actually coming from
• Replace the check valve, which is the cause more often than anything else
• Reset or replace the float so the pump is not restarting on its own water
• Look outside for the surface water feeding the pit, because sometimes the fix is a downspout
• Size a replacement properly when the current pump is simply wrong for the pit