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Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 16:02
by Mustang
Hiya all,
I'm a newbie, having only just purchased my van about 4 weeks ago. I have a got a 1988 T25 Hiroof that runs like a dream, the only problem was that the water filler cap had seized and needed replacing - I have now fixed this, filled up the tank and primed the pump - which was buzzing away nicely and I had my first gush of water out of the tap today.......all went well until I apparently (foolishly!!) turned the tap off before I turned the pump off. Tap turned off, pump stopped.....turned tap back on....nothing from the pump!!! That was 2 hours ago and the pump still won't switch on. I'm so miffed with myself because it was working like a dream!!! I really hope I haven't knackered it
I have been looking through previous posts to try to find a solution, however, there is talk of microswitches (which my tap does not appear to have - its a very straightforward connection). So I'm a bit stuck you might say!! (Also, if I need to take the pump off to examine it - could someone advise me how to do this without electrocuting myself as I still have a lot to learn about electrics and mechanics in general!!)
Thanks for any help anyone can offer
x Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 16:18
by 1664
Hi Mustang, welcome to the club.
There are a couple of ways these work; one is a tap with a microswitch which effectively opens the tap and switches the pump at the same time. The other is a permanentely open tap with a seperately switched pump (like I have). Does your pump wiring go via the tap or a seperate switch? Of course someone may have replaced an open tap with one capable of being closed at some point and this
might have caused the pump to fail or the pump to blow the fuse if it was running against a closed tap.
Mustang wrote:(Also, if I need to take the pump off to examine it - could someone advise me how to do this without electrocuting myself as I still have a lot to learn about electrics and mechanics in general!!)
It's only 12v, it won't harm you but best to isolate the circuit to prevent accidental short circuits etc.
Might help a bit if you told us what conversion you have

Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 16:26
by Mustang
Hang on, I'll go and have a look and get back to you with some more details. Its a 1.9 petrol Autosleeper conversion if that helps (sorry please bear with me...I'm very new to all of this!!!!)
tbc...... ;p
Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:02
by kevtherev
Auto sleepers have a fiamma pump which is pressure sensitive,
it will slow down or speed up as the tap is turned.
have found the pump?
take out the fuse and check that too
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:05
by 1664
kevtherev wrote:Auto sleepers have a fiamma pump which is pressure sensitive,
it will slow down or speed up as the tap is turned.
Snob

So is it still microswitch activated or works off the pressure alone? I've looked at loads of Autosleepers but never delved that deep as I didn't actually buy one cos the Komet came up first.
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:08
by Mustang
Righto,
I have taken some photos but am having trouble uploading them due to their size.
The tap is a straightforward one which twists open and closed, the pipe leads from it directly into the pump on one side and the pipe from the pump to the water tank leads out from the other side. There is a red wire that goes from the top of the pump and connects into the bottom of the pump, there is also a red wire which goes from the top of the pump to somewhere behind the fridge, there is a black wire which goes from the bottom of the pump to behind the fridge as well.
The pump is an Evenflow self priming pump. I have tried the pump switch again, but nothing happens. I also checked the fuse whilst I was in the van, but that seems ok and hasn't blown.
Have I flooded the pump?
Ta. Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:09
by kevtherev
pressure bren
as the tap is turned off the pump pulses and pulses slower till the flow stops.
mine stopped, and it was found to be a loose contact
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:20
by Mustang
Pictures may help!!
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:28
by 1664
Mustang, have you a multimeter? I think you need to check you have 12v between the red and black wires that disappear behind the fridge as they sound like the 'feed' to the pump. The red that goes from the top to the bottom of the pump is
probably (I am guessing here) the switchwire that energises once the tap is opened. I'm not sure if that will show up on the multimeter though since it pulses but you can try opening the tap fully and testing between it and the black too. Might just be an iffy connection like Kev had. Try cleaning them up (with the fuse removed).
There's a wiring diagram for the Autosleepers in the Wiki by the way - might come in handy one day
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Au ... ng_diagram" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:34
by Mustang
Sorry - I don't have a multimeter. I will have to see if anyone I know has one. I can certainly try and clean up the wires - but are they likely to be dirty seen as though it was working perfectly before I turned the tap off? They look quite clean?
Cheers for the wiring diagram - I'll check it out!
Ta. Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:35
by Mustang
Whoa!! Just looked at the diagram......it will be a while before something like that doesn't send me running a mile!!! lol!! ;p
Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:38
by 1664
It's the actual connections that might need a clean - if you can get at them (certainly won't do any harm anyway). A 12v test lamp will give a rough voltage indication if you could make one up?
Unfortunately the diagram doesn't really help with this problem

Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:48
by Mustang
Cheers guys,
Not sure I have the bits to put a 12v test lamp together but I'll have a look at the connections. I'm just concerned that by turning the tap off, the water backed up into the pump and caused damp to get into the mechanism....Can I take the pump out and have a look into it or is that a no no?
Mustang
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:55
by 1664
Since the set up works by turning the tap on and off I shouldn't think turning it off should do any harm. I'd try the electrical route before you start stripping pumps down. Like i said, I have a Komet and it's a different set up so have no specific knowledge other than possible wiring problems.
Re: Fresh water pump suddenly not working :(
Posted: 01 May 2010, 17:57
by Mustang
Ok, really appreciate your help - I'll take the electrics route first
Ta. Mustang