water pump problem

Dayle1 · 11-04-2011, 10:38 AM

We have been living in the Cruiser for 8 weeks since our house burned and hooked to city water w/o a problem. Well last night, expecting a freeze, I filled the fresh water tank and disconnected the city water line. Then as we were watching TV, the pump would cycle on every 5 to 10 min. for about 1 sec. Normally the first concern is a water leak, but not after 8 weeks of continuous use.I figured maybe a defective seal in the pump or maybe a check valve was allowing the pressure to drop. The pump cycled all night long but it was pretty quiet.

So, back at the RV today, I switched back to city water and immediately heard what sounded like a water leak at the pump. But no leak and no loose connection. Instead, the noise is water flowing thru the pump or check valve back into the fresh water tank and spilling out the tank fill inlet. For the time being, rather than a constant noise and wasted water, I have switched back to the 12v pump. But now it is even noisier than before.

Anyone else seen this type of problem and what was the fix? Since we are living in the Cruiser while rebuilding our house, taking the RV back to a dealer is not an option. And I don't really have the time to tackle the problem either.

dalemac377 · 11-04-2011, 10:49 AM

Larry, maybe just stay connected to city water and trickle a faucet overnite. Just leave the dump valve open on that particular grey tank. We do this occasionally down in the Gulf Shores, Al. area in January and haven't had any problems down to the mid twenties overnite. You will have to probably plug the line to the pump from the city water connection.

gossamar · 11-04-2011, 11:42 AM

Have you gone to the manufactures website to see if there might be some troubleshooting tips? That is weird....

**Lloyd** · 11-04-2011, 12:13 PM

If you have a filter on your pump, it might be worth while to check it out to see if there is "stuff" in there creating a problem.

hhh · 11-04-2011, 01:21 PM

Larry, After I got my coach my water pump would cycle every 10 minutes or so. Also, it was pretty noisy and my 12v lights would even dim a bit when it was running. Not sure if it leaked when hooked to fresh water because I only got to hok up to fresh water once. When I took it in for the frame mods I had that on my list. They replaced the pump and that fixed it. The tech didn't know what was wrong with it, just that it didn't sound right to him and changing it was easier then trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I guess they can make a warranty claim from the manufacturer.

Edited by: hhh

Hamops · 11-04-2011, 08:08 PM

Larry, It sounds like your check valve on the pump is passing. I had a similar problem that required me to pull the pump and open it up. I removed all the pump internals and found a bit of scum (for use of a better word) in the pump cavity and the pressure switch internals. I cleaned the pump cavity and internal parts and reassembled the pump and reinstalled it. Because this problem occurred at a campsite that only had electricity, I had to put the pump into service immediately. After the pump repair/maintenance, I no longer had any cycling of it.

While we hadn't used the city water supply as long as you have, I suspect that the stagnant water in the pump caused the problem by desolved particles plating out on thepump internals.Another thing that I found is that this problem or complete pump failure can happen from the use of winterizingfluid. Thefluid has a dyeand what seems to be a slight thickening agentthat can gum up the pump to the point that it doesn't work. I've had this happen twice in six years. The first time it happened, I bought a new pump and replaced it. I could have saved myself a bag of money if I had just removed and opened up the pump, but then sometimes I have to learn things, "the hard way".

Texas1949 · 11-04-2011, 11:18 PM

Larry, hope you get it fixed. I had a similar issue last weekend, I had a 1/2 tank of fresh water (by what the controls say) and I hooked to city water. When I got home I wanted to do some cleaning and turned on the water and the pump ran but no water, I am thinking it lost suction.
I have not looked at it yet, That is on my list for today. I do not know where the pump is, it is not under the sink, I think it is frame mounted, so will have to cut the underbelly to find it.

Mike

artgpo · 11-05-2011, 12:11 AM

The water pump is usually in a compartment where access might be easy. Have not heard of anyone with a Cruiser needing to cut the underbelly for access. Ours is in the master bedroom under the dresser. The access panel was held in place by four screws that I removed and replaced with heavy duty Velcro and a pull handle.

gball · 11-05-2011, 12:38 AM

Mike:

The water pump on our '05 29RK was located under the refrigerator and next to the furnace. I would think that it would be in the same location on the '06 model. Remove the vent under the fridge and see if it is located there.

Chrisnan23 · 11-06-2011, 09:29 AM

Larry, Quick fix would be to put a check valve in the line in front of the pump. Or a shutoff valve.

r2millers · 11-07-2011, 01:26 AM

Larry,

It sounds like your city water inlet check valve has gone bad. Mine did the same thing when I disconnected it from city water and went on a trip. Turned on the water pump and had water pumping out the inlet/valve onto the ground.

I had to buy a new city water filler assembly which has the check valve built in, replaced it and no more issues. Camping World stocks 2 different models depending on your type.

Dayle1 · 11-07-2011, 10:56 AM

The city water inlet is in the front compartment, the fresh water filler is at the very back of the Cruiser and the water pump is in the middle. The pump compartment has just a single inlet and single outlet line, so I don't know where the pump outlet and city line are tied together. When I have more time, I will try to trace the line and see if there is a location I can add a check valve.

Dayle1 · 11-07-2011, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r2millers

Larry,

It sounds like your city water inlet check valve has gone bad. Mine did the same thing when I disconnected it from city water and went on a trip. Turned on the water pump and had water pumping out the inlet/valve onto the ground.

I had to buy a new city water filler assembly which has the check valve built in, replaced it and no more issues. Camping World stocks 2 different models depending on your type.

My problem is the opposite, not the 12v pump pushing water out the city water inlet, but city water flowing thru the pump and filling up the fresh water tank.

dalemac377 · 11-07-2011, 01:54 PM

Larry, if you have the winterizing valve on the pump inlet side you might be able to put that valve into the winterizing position and that should block the suction line going from the pump into the fresh water tank. That should stop your tank from filling. You might have to put a pipe cap on the valve where the anti freeze hose would normally be connected to keep water from coming out. Just a thought.

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