diff --git a/src/slurmctld/controller.c b/src/slurmctld/controller.c
index 4cff33b87560711bebdeb606f52a05b319df33e0..fa28ad3d37c5258afd1f3668eda0708572916ecf 100644
--- a/src/slurmctld/controller.c
+++ b/src/slurmctld/controller.c
@@ -2049,7 +2049,7 @@ run_backup (void)
 
 	/* repeatedly ping ControlMachine */
 	while (shutdown_time == 0) {
-		sleep (1);
+		sleep (5);	/* Give the primary slurmctld time to get set up */
 		if (difftime (time(NULL), last_ping) < slurmctld_conf.heartbeat_interval)
 			continue;