Water Pump

Help please! I am currently in Southern Spain. Suddenly and without warning my water pump seems to have died. No water at any taps. Fuse is OK and control panel indicator is working. Has anyone any idea where I might go next on this..... other than to a repairer!!!

If you can find the pump, run another pair of wires to it to elliminate any wiring / switch faults,

Gordie1 wrote:Help please! I am currently in Southern Spain. Suddenly and without warning my water pump seems to have died. No water at any taps. Fuse is OK and control panel indicator is working. Has anyone any idea where I might go next on this..... other than to a repairer!!!

Can you give more detailed information?

"No water at any taps" would suggest to me that the pump is running, but no water is getting through. Is that the case?

When did the problem begin? Was it perhaps after running out of water and refilling the tank? That would strongly suggest an air lock.

Can you also describe in detail exactly what you have done so far to try and fix the problem?

The more information you can give, the better chance forum members have of suggesting remedies from thousands of miles distance, which is rarely easy. Also feed back on here as promptly and regularly as possible after suggestions have been made.

Dave


P.S. Good luck. It's a pain when a fairly vital facility packs up.

Thanks for the reply guys... mucho appreciated. The pump is definitely not operating - not a sound from it.Other than check the fuse etc I have done nothing else. In fact as far as I can see from the manual the pump is located in the water storage tank. If the unit itself could be accessed then running a 12v supply to it would certainly confirm the death or otherwise of the motor..... if I could get to it!!!

I would like to have a go at seeing if it is an airlock. Any advice on how to do this would again much appreciated.

Hi,
If your pump is definitely in the tank its possible that a small piece of grit has jammed the impellor. It may be possible to switch off the pump and then blow as hard as possible down one of the open cold water taps (with all other taps closed) trouble is I don't know if there is a non return valve in the system,
Chris

Thanks Chris.... just tried that via shower tube.... no joy I'm afraid!
Thanks though
Gordon

Hi Gordie  so sorry to read of your pump problems, not good I fear please enter "reduced pressure" into the search box and you will see the almost identical problems I experienced not that long ago , I hope things go OK but one consolation is until you can get it fixed we found it nowhere near as bad going back to "camping days" as we thought!! KIND REGARDS      Paul

Hi Paul
Thanks for your response. Your link makes for an interesting read. As always there is something to be said for the 'keep it simple' adage! 

I can't help feeling that I ought to have had some inkling of a pending failure by been aware of a noisy unit. This simply did not happen. It was an immediate failure.

I will try the airlock thing if I get some guidance on how to do this but as I say the sudden failure I would think points to a replacement pump. 

As you say, we can manage without the on-board water supply. A defunct fridge or oven would be a totally different matter! Having said that I'm a bit sore about this happening in a van just over one year old!

Kind regards
Gordon

Hi,
Excuse this daft question but is your water tank full?
Chris

Hi Chris
Thanks for that!
Was low at the time of failure but now 50%!!
You seem be suggesting I fully fill the tank. I'll give this a shot tomorrow as see if the pump jumps into life!

Thanks
Gordon

Hi again Gordon! yes I was peeved with it happening in a 4YR old van ,so I can guess your feelings !! Regarding the airlock, Chris gave you spot on advice, there is no non return valve so you should be able to blow through your shower pipe [with the other taps closed] and this will go down [with a bit of puff!] into the water tank should there be an obstruction. I hope there is ,its worth another try! Our pump as you probably read , quickly went down hill ,and like yours had no "death throws" just one minute weakly working then nothing!! Hope you sort it ,just try and enjoy your break !![its cold ,wet and very windy here in Cornwall just now!]                  Kind regards         Paul    

Hi again Gordie

I don't know about your van, but on ours the water tank has to be dropped to install a new pump, and it's not at all a straightforward job, and would therefore be time consuming and expensive.

If yours is a similar setup I would consider buying a diaphragm pump, and installing it (temporarily) somewhere convenient. Break into the water circuit and connect in the pump, then operate it with a separate switch directly from the leisure battery with a suitable fuse in line, or from a 12 volt socket.

It will be a bit of a lash up, but it should work, and may save you an awful lot of cash if you can wait until getting home to do a proper job.

Just a suggestion. If it doesn't work you have lost nothing since you would be advised to use the diaphragm pump in preference to the submersible when you do the proper fix, and what you have done will be easily reversible so you won't have introduced a further problem.

Dave

You may have an inspection cap on the bottom of the tank. It unscrews but you might need some sealant on the threads to put it back, say ptfe tape.

Hi Everyone
Thanks for all your responses. They are much appreciated. I guess it all points to the removal of the underslung tank and the pump unit replaced - which is what I feared at the start.

What I didn't say at the outset is that this will be the 3rd time the tank has been removed in the past year. The first twice were to fix pipework which had come adrift in the tank. In both these occasions of course the pump worked but no water arrived. I think it's no coincidence that a further problem has occurred in the in-tank water supply. 

It's a real shame that three holidays have been affected by this water supply problems. Otherwise my wife and I are very pleased with the layout and facilities on the van.

Kind regards
Gordon

Gordie1 wrote:Hi Everyone
I guess it all points to the removal of the underslung tank and the pump unit replaced - which is what I feared at the start.

I'm not so sure about that Gordon.

Before making any serious decisions have a read of what Moggy has done.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

My pump has not packed in yet but I am planning to follow his lead and fit a diaphragm pump. They are better pumps anyway, but the main reason is to avoid what you are suffering now. You are deep in the clag at the moment, but if it had been a bulkhead mounted diaphragm pump you would have been able to get at it and replace it easily in an hour or two, even with the limited tools you take on holiday.

No consolation for you at this time of course, but Moggy's procedure sounds fairly straightforward, and afterwards if the pump should pack in again it is very quickly and easily replaced. Since your van is not very old I would bully your dealer, or Mark at A/S Service Centre and ask for a diaphragm pump as a warranty replacement. A copy of Moggy's instructions should cut through any objections about having to drop the tank - again. 

Dave

Hi Gordon, if your van is still under warranty then "let them sort it out!" Gromit has a good temp solution ,but if its down to you eventually ,you don't need to drop the tank follow Moggie Minors excellent advice in the "Factsheet section" as a guide to fitting a Shurflow external pump as I did ,leaving the old one in the tank  Best of luck!  Kind regards       Paul

Thanks Paul ....hopefully it will be sorted out by the dealership under warranty. I still think like others - keep it simple mount a bulkhead pump!! It will be interesting to hear the dealership's response to this suggestion!!!

Kind regards
Gordon

Given the history it could well be an electrical connection that has either come adrift or chafed through. When our van wa snew I crawled underneath to look at the water level studs which were giving problems. I noted that a cable was trapped between the water tank and a chassis edge - nasty!  I slackened off the tank straps and was able to move it very slightly to get more clearance and then added some shrouding for good measure. If I had not done that then movements on the road would I am sure have cut the cable.

For what it's worth my 'in tank' pump stopped working twice. Once on the first day of 4 weeks in France so I was reduced to ferrying water in bottles. The dealer offered me a replacement pump in the tank or an external pump. I chose the old fashioned external pump. That was three months ago and no problem; works perfectly, cuts off when it should and I can put up with the increased noise.

How can I get mine to fail while the van is still new and under guarantee!!

I would follow Bobskate like a shot!!

Dave

Bobskate wrote:For what it's worth my 'in tank' pump stopped working twice. Once on the first day of 4 weeks in France so I was reduced to ferrying water in bottles. The dealer offered me a replacement pump in the tank or an external pump. I chose the old fashioned external pump. That was three months ago and no problem; works perfectly, cuts off when it should and I can put up with the increased noise.

Wise decision. At least now if that packs up you can easily replace it. Internal pumps are a complete faff and involve costly labour charges if done by a garage. It reminds me of the fresh water drain tap AS fitted on later model Duetto's. Replacement requires the entire tank to be dropped as the tap is secured from the inside! Earlier models simply unscrewed from the outside......which makes sense!

Yes Bulletguy. I'm a great believer in if it ain't broke don't fix it. I had an external pump in  my 05 reg Nuevo. Worked perfectly. When my in tank pump packed up in France it made the usual noise but nothing came out. When the dealer looked at it he said one of the internal hoses had become disconnected. He reconnected and everything seemed OK. A few weeks later on a greenfield site, every time I  opened the taps the water spluttered all over the place. A fellow owner said it was a common problem; I should adjust the pressure switch as it was caused by fluctuations in the voltage. (BTW must make it clear I am no way technical.) I learnt how to adjust but it seemed to require adjusting every few hours. Can't be having that for a game of soldiers. Back to the dealer. Give him his due he spent a day trying to sort it without success. The following day he had spoken to AS. I was offered a new in tank pump or....an external pump. Having done a bit of searching on the subject I was very much leaning toward external. I pressed the fitter for his views. Go for the external.....far less hassle. I almost (maybe) heard him say the submersible pumps are a waste of time. It was a no brainer. Since then (end July)....no problems. I must say this was a new van and I had lots other problems with it....control panel alarms going off in the middle of the night for one. Anything else and I would have handed the keys back......at least I say that..easier said than done I suspect. But let's just say I was an unhappy bunny. In the past 3 months all has been well, but you just wonder why you have all these problems......

Gromit wrote:How can I get mine to fail while the van is still new and under guarantee!!

I would follow Bobskate like a shot!!

Dave

Ditto!
Cymro

Hi , yes ive had all of these problems and have solved them by following Moggys advice. But I must add that when I first bought a M/H new in 1997 it was a C class Hymer which I kept for 8YRs, it had [sods law] an easily accessable[ being an inboard water tank] submersible pump which never missed a beat!! so perhaps I wonder if its the quality of the pumps AS use?                            Regards     Paul

Bobskate wrote:Yes Bulletguy. I'm a great believer in if it ain't broke don't fix it. Back to the dealer. Give him his due he spent a day trying to sort it without success. The following day he had spoken to AS. I was offered a new in tank pump or....an external pump. Having done a bit of searching on the subject I was very much leaning toward external. I pressed the fitter for his views. Go for the external.....far less hassle. I almost (maybe) heard him say the submersible pumps are a waste of time. It was a no brainer. Since then (end July)....no problems. I must say this was a new van and I had lots other problems with it....control panel alarms going off in the middle of the night for one. Anything else and I would have handed the keys back......at least I say that..easier said than done I suspect. But let's just say I was an unhappy bunny. In the past 3 months all has been well, but you just wonder why you have all these problems......

Fitters aren't daft. Not only would it be "far less hassle" for them to fit an external.....it's certainly a "no brainer"!! Which makes me wonder why oh why manufacturers stick a water pump inside a tank? It's plain bonkers!! 

My water pump is external and had to be replaced last year. Took me less than 20 minutes to disconnect the 'dead' pump and fit the the new one.....and i suffer with bad osteoarthritis and my fingers are almost useless.