The storm came through last night and this morning you turn on the tap and get nothing. No water, no pressure, no sound from the pump. If there was lightning in that storm, there's a good chance the electrical surge knocked something out on your well system. It happens across rural Texas, especially during spring and summer storms. Before you spend on a new pump, run through this diagnosis. You might fix it for a fraction of the cost.
On lightning hit your well pump? diagnose it before you replace, J4 Water Works starts with the same rule: diagnose first, then quote the work. See our emergency well and septic service for the urgent well, pump, and septic diagnosis behind this guide.
The rule here is the same as anywhere else on a well job. Most well and septic companies sell a whole new system when something stops working. We test the parts first and fix what's actually broken. Lightning damage is no different. Sometimes the surge burned out the pump motor and the pump has to come out of the well. But more often the damage is to the control box, the pressure switch, or the wiring, and those are much less expensive repairs than pulling a submersible pump from a hundred-foot well.
Step One: Check the Breaker First
Don't call a driller before you've checked the circuit breaker panel. A power surge from lightning frequently trips breakers, and it's the first thing anyone's going to check on site anyway. Find the breaker labeled for your well pump and look at its position. If it's tripped, reset it once. If it trips again immediately, leave it off. A breaker that won't hold after a reset is telling you there's a short or a ground fault somewhere in the pump circuit, and running it again can make the damage worse.
If the breaker holds after the reset and still nothing comes on, you've got a problem elsewhere. Move to the next step.
Step Two: Look at the Control Box
Most submersible well pumps on rural properties use a separate control box mounted near the pressure tank. It contains the capacitor that starts and runs the motor. Lightning surges hit these hard. With the breaker off, open the control box cover and look for burn marks, melted wires, a swollen or cracked capacitor, or the smell of burned plastic. Any of those signs point to a control box that took the surge.
A control box replacement costs a fraction of a new pump and doesn't require pulling the pump out of the well. If the box shows damage and the motor is otherwise intact, replacing it often restores the system completely. This is a job for a licensed driller or electrician familiar with well systems. Getting the capacitor rating right and wiring it correctly matters.
Step Three: Check the Pressure Switch
The pressure switch is the small device on the pipe near the pressure tank that tells the pump when to start and stop. It has electrical contacts inside, and a surge can weld those contacts together or burn them open, either of which stops the system. Pressure switches are inexpensive and a fast swap once you confirm that's the problem.
Look for burn marks on the switch housing or the wires going into it. A technician can test the contacts with a multimeter without disassembling anything first. If the switch is the failure point, it's one of the cheaper fixes on a well system.
Step Four: Test Voltage at the Pump
If the control box and pressure switch both look fine but the pump still won't run, the issue may be in the wire running down the well to the pump. Underground wiring can be damaged by a nearby strike even without a direct hit. This requires voltage testing at the pump wire terminals. If voltage is reaching the terminals but the motor won't turn, the motor is burned out and the pump will need to come out for replacement. If voltage isn't reaching the terminals at all, the wiring or a splice is the problem, and that's often a less expensive repair than a motor swap.
Step Five: Call a Licensed Driller Before the Pump Comes Out
Pulling a submersible pump from a well is not a driveway project. It takes the right equipment, knowledge of how the pipe is connected at depth, and care not to drop the pump or damage the casing on the way out. If your diagnosis points toward the pump motor, call a licensed well service company before anything gets pulled. A technician can test the motor with the right equipment before committing to a pull, and sometimes that test reveals the motor is fine and the problem is still in the surface electrical system.
Don't let anyone quote you a new pump over the phone without coming out and testing the system first. A pump that stopped after a storm could be a burned motor or a burned capacitor. Those are not the same cost. We show up, we explain what the tests show, and we tell you what it actually needs, not a price based on a phone call description.
Does Homeowner's Insurance Cover Lightning Damage to a Well Pump?
Often yes, depending on your policy. Many standard homeowner's insurance policies cover sudden and accidental damage from lightning strikes, including well pumps, control boxes, and electrical components. It's worth calling your insurance company before you authorize any repair, because lightning damage is often covered under the dwelling or other structures portion of a standard policy.
We covered homeowner insurance for well and septic systems Does Homeowner Insurance Cover Your Well and Septic System in Texas? in more detail. Get the diagnosis confirmed first so you have documentation of exactly what failed and what needs replacing. That documentation is what an adjuster needs to process a claim.
Protecting the System From Future Storm Damage
A surge protector designed for well pump systems can be wired into the setup to absorb a voltage spike before it reaches the pump and control box. They're not expensive relative to what a pump replacement costs, and they're worth adding in rural areas where lightning exposure is higher and the nearest help is farther away. A licensed installer can spec the right surge suppression for your pump and electrical setup.
If you want backup water access during extended outages after a major storm, we covered backup generators for well pumps Generator Backup for Your Well Pump: What Texas Landowners Need to Know as a separate topic. And if the pump tripped the breaker but you're not sure whether it's storm damage or something else, the piece on well pumps tripping the breaker Well Pump Keeps Tripping the Breaker: What It Means and What to Do walks through the other common causes.
The Short Version
Check the breaker. Look at the control box. Check the pressure switch. Call a licensed driller before anything comes out of the well. And check your insurance. Start with the diagnosis and work from what you actually find.
If the storm knocked out your well and you need help fast, call us. We treat your land like it's our own, and that means getting your water back on as fast and as cheaply as the actual problem requires.