Water pump in Duetto

Hi there. Can anyone help? We have just been away for a long weekend, so put water in tank set off and arrived at Shell Island. I knew the pump was pumping water out when I tried at home, but when we were there the water pumped out but had a nasty taste to it (like oil or something like that and the water was cloudy). We did not use so thought we would pump the water out but then found that the pump would not work. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be?

The problems may be related, but I doubt it.

The water tank in the Duettos are open to the elements, in that they have overflow vents/holes in the top. This means that small amounts of dust and road crud will constantly find its way into it as you drive around. If the tank has not been used for a while then this is likely to have accumulated on the walls. Just pouring water into the tank would probably not dislodge much of it, but water sloshing around during a long trip will.

Incidentally, those of us that are concerned about fuel consumption avoid travelling with a full water tank whenever possible - you are lugging around 70 kilos of unnecessary weight, unless you're going somewhere with no local fill-up point.

Pump problem - do you hear any noise at all? If not it's probably a fault in the electrical supply.

We are in Manchester at the moment and will be leaving tomorrow, if you have a few tools is be more than happy to come and have a look for you.

HildaB wrote:Hi there. Can anyone help? We have just been away for a long weekend, so put water in tank set off and arrived at Shell Island. I knew the pump was pumping water out when I tried at home, but when we were there the water pumped out but had a nasty taste to it (like oil or something like that and the water was cloudy). We did not use so thought we would pump the water out but then found that the pump would not work. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be?

Hi there,

I doubt that the nasty tasting water and the pump failing are linked but if your pump isn't pumping there are only a few reasons which are:

1) There is no power to the pump. Check that the 12v is switched on, that the fuse hasn't blown and that there is some power in the battery.

2) There is power to the pump and it isn't running. The pump motor is burned out and the pump needs replacing.

3) The pump is running but not pumping.

a) There is no water in the tank. Check that the tank is full.

b) There is water in the tank but the pump is "air-locked". Open ONE cold tap. Start the pump and suck on the tap until water starts to flow.

c) There is water but the diaphragm of the pump is US and the pump needs replacing.

4) Your feet are getting wet or there is a large puddle of water under the van. There is a major leak somewhere in the system and it just looks as if it is a problem with the pump.

To search for the cause of a problem is fun; but to find and resolve the cause of a problem is pure delight! Enjoy!

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Thanks guys for your replies.

CelticBiker thank you very much for your offer of help. I unfortunately only opened your reply today. This is what I like about this site there are people out there who are willing to help.

Dutto. The pump is making a noise but does not seem to be pressurising. Before it would make a noise for a second or two then stop. Can I ask also what is the green light under the pump switch on the main control column which says Charger On. I have seen this lit before but now it does not. Is this something to do with when you are manually charging the battery?

If the pump is running but not pressurizing it can only be one or two things, either the is a leak or there's no war getting to the pump.
In my case recently, the filter hosting on the pump inlet had cracked and the pump was pulling in air but not water.
A replacement part for £7.50 cured it.

HildaB wrote:............

Dutto. The pump is making a noise but does not seem to be pressurising. Before it would make a noise for a second or two then stop. Can I ask also what is the green light under the pump switch on the main control column which says Charger On. I have seen this lit before but now it does not. Is this something to do with when you are manually charging the battery?

Hi there,

The pump is running but needs priming with water. See Section 3 of my reply.

The pumps stops on a pressure-switch when the water pressure reaches a pre-set level. i.e. No water being pumped = no pressure = pump keeps running!

With regard to the green light, it only lights when you are on EHU. It is to show you that you are on EHU and the Leisure Battery is charging OK.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Just to let you know that we have got the pump problem sorted. A few miles from us is Wigan Caravans and the chappie there is well up on these things, as he has been tinkering with caravans etc. since he was 14. We went there this morning and he came to the conclusion that it was the pump. He replaced with a new one and it works OK.

That's one problem sorted. Now we have to sort the nasty taste in the water. This morning we have drained off the water that was in the tank and have now put some Puri Clean in. We will then flush out all the taps, shower etc. then refill and flush again. Hopefully this will clear the water, if not more thinking to be done.

After sterilizing and flushing our tank several times the water still had a taste to it.
When on site the other day I filled from their tap but with the hose in the van and not the garden hose.
The taste has now gone.

Thanks for that. We did actually last time fill the tank with a new garden hose. This time we have been using the hose that was in the van. Let's hope this does the trick like you.

Just been away to York.   After doing the flushing out of the tank etc. the water is now OK.   Just other teething problems to sort out.

Thanks again for all your replies.   I think this site is great.