The 4 Ways Lightning Can Cause Damage To Submersible Water Pumps

If a lightning storm recently moved through your area and coincidentally your submersible industrial water pump has stopped working, then it's entirely possible something was fried by the lightning. When a bolt comes down and strikes the ground, it can travel along the electrical wire between the submersible pump and the electrical power panel and cause significant damage.

There are four areas along a submersible pumps path that may have sustain lightning damage, including:

#1: Damage to the Power Panel

When a lightning strike occurs, a massive amount of electrical current can travel up your submersible pump's wire and blow the breaker inside of the power panel. In addition, all of that current hitting the panel at one time can also blow out the surrounding breakers as well.

For this reason, the first place you should check for storm damage is inside of the panel. If you see any signs of scorching or burning, then replacing the damaged breaker(s) may solve the problem.

#2: Damage to the Surface Electronics

All industrial submersible pumps have surface electronics connecting them to the power panel. Inside of the box containing the surface controls is an electrical fuse and a capacitor. Both of these parts can be damaged by lightning.

Once you have determined the power panel isn't damaged, then you should check the surface control box for the pump. If you see burned marks near the cylindrical fuse or capacitor, then replacing them may make the pump resume working.

#3: Damage to the Submersible Pump Wiring

If the electric panel and surface controls look fine, then it's also possible the wiring between the pump and the controls were damaged by the down strike.

Often, the wiring will be damaged either right at the control box or where it connects to the pump. While you can easily inspect the wiring near the control box, it is impossible to visually inspect the wire connected to the submersible pump. However, the wiring can be tested using an ohmmeter.

#4: Damage to the Submersible Pump

Lastly, if the panel, surface controls, and wiring appear to be undamaged, then it's entirely possible the submersible pump itself was fried by the lightning storm. To determine if this is the case, it's necessary to pull the pump out of the water and test it.

Lightning damaged submersible pumps should not be rebuilt; instead, they should always be replaced with a new pump. Water pump repairs are reasonable in other circumstances, but for lightning damage, the pump really does need replacement. 

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