There is a way or you to be able to tell that your water pump is bad.  Will your bad water pump cause the check engine light to come on?  Will your water pump make a noise if it is failing?  The answer to both questions is yes.  Here is a shortlist of reasons your water pump may be bad:

• Check Engine Light – A water pump itself will not cause the check engine light to come on.  The reason that your check engine light comes on is that the water pump affects your engine.  Without your water pump, your check engine light will come on because your engine will slowly overheat.
• Listen for a Noise – If a water pump is bad it can make a noise.  Sometimes the noise will be a squeak or a grind when you are driving.  Sometimes the water pump will even make a ticking noise if you listen close enough.  No matter where the noise sounds like it is coming from, you should always get everything checked out when you hear abnormal sounds coming from your car.
• Overheating or Close to Overheating –   One of the ways you can tell is if your car is overheating.  The only issue with trying to figure out your problem this way is a lot of different things can cause your car to overheat, a bad radiator being one of them.
• Reduced Heat or Lack of Heat –   If your car’s heat is failing or is not as strong as it once was it’s time to get the water pump checked.  It may not be bad all of the ways, but it may need a small repair to get working properly again.
• Leakage – You might have noticed some fluid coming from your water pump when your vehicle is off, and you may be asking yourself; “Why does my water pump leak when my car is off?”.  Normally this issue can be attributed to the water pump gasket.  Gaskets are an easy fix and normally do not require a whole water pump replacement.