new owner needs help from those who know

[banksyboy]

Hi we have just bought a 1990 westfalia and plan to go away in about 3 days !
however , the sink does not work , i have checked connections around the whale pump and the connector box , all looks good .
i do however have 2 wires hanging down fron the tap , very thin , think one is brown and the other blue . i also have 2 red and white wires with clips on the end. i have bought a maplin microswitch GW72P , i guess the red and white wires will fit over the adaptors on it , but what do i do with the 2 remaining wires attached to the tap ?
also being a complete buffoon on this stuff , someone mentioned fuses ???
sorry i know this is so basic but could do with some advice.
also the lpg tank has the German acme fitting , are we likely to come across , Uk bayonet adaptors in the west country ?//

[johnnyvespa]

brown is always eath on vw so the blue must be live . put a tester on it to see if it lights up .?

[albertramsbottom]

Take a washing up bowl with ya

I know that sounds like not a lot of help but in this weather its much nicer to do your cooking a washing up outside.

Albert

[andisnewsyncro]

I agree with Albert, if you're wanting to go away so soon there's far important things to check than whether the tap works

brown is always eath on vw so the blue must be live . put a tester on it to see if it lights up .?

True - unless some previous owner has added their own personal stamp to the interior & wiring, which isn't unheard of. Never assume anything "is as it should be" when you've just bought a van

[Ian Hulley]

[quote="albertramsbottom] its much nicer to do your cooking a washing up outside.

Albert[/quote]

Only cos yer van's always broke down. Take some electrical gear with you and fix it while you're away ... sometimes it's the only time I get to work on the van because it's the only time we're both parked up

Campers have sinks and cookers and beds for a reason ...... but try telling that to the Splitty owners though

Ian

[roj62]

on the door pillar behind the drivers seat there is a little black box with a silver twist screw in the middle - unscrew this and you will find the fuse box. if your control panel isn't working as well as the tap then its the fuse. its the red one on the left. I always take the fuse out if i'm mucking about with the tap as i've blown loads doing that.

Check the connections from the pump where it comes out of the water tank - mine is just connected with electrical tape and does play up.

Is the microswitch the lever type? you will need to cut the end off a bit so it fits. check the wires at the pump to see what colour they are as these should be the same ones going round behind to the tap. One goes to the bottom spade connection on the microswitch and the other to the N.C. (Normally Closed) terminal.

If you are fitting the microswitch you will need to take the whole tap assembly out - you can check that the little pin in the centre of the pipe travels down far enough to click off the switch. if it doesn't reach there is a small threaded bolt that you can adjust the angle with.

If all that goes ok then you should have lashings of cold water!

[banksyboy]

thanks very much for the advice , some of it really instructive which gives me a chance to try things out thank you, and some of it just good sound advice.
the great thing i've noticed on this forum is that everyone's more than willing to help.
i'll be back with some other silly questions after the holiday no doubt.....

[Ralf85]

I would insulate the wires and leave the tap and water tank alone. I agree with washing up outside in a proper sized wash up bowl, in a washing up area. I carry 10 litres of water in a plastic can for drinking. Unless you are wild camping you will never need more than this between camp sites. Happy camping Patrick

[albertramsbottom]

[quote="albertramsbottom] its much nicer to do your cooking a washing up outside.

Albert

Only cos yer van's always broke down. [/quote][/quote]

me bus fine just a little slow

albert