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No water our of taps, no water pump noise...?


Phefran

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Hello! I am new to boating. 

Tonight my taps ran dry. I refilled the water tank yesterday for the first time. When I turn the taps on there is no sound of the water pump kicking in as per normal. Today, before tonight, the water pump sounded a few times for a few seconds each time. But probably only three times in a day of working from home, not constantly or often. 

 

I have checked all the inspection hatches and everything seems bone dry. I have felt the tap pipes under kitchen sink and bathroom sink and no leaks there. No air comes out of the taps when I turn them on (that was another suggestion I found on a forum). Checked water pump under the sink unit and nothing wet in there. 

 

Might it be a blown fuse in the water pump? Is that a thing? Any ideas what might be happening? Should I freak out and work from home tomorrow to witness the boat exploding/sinking? (I am good at that). 

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Do other electrical things like the lights still work? If not the battery is flat, or the isolator is OFF or the master fuse has expired.

 

Is the water pump switched ON?

 

Are there two wires still connected to the water pump?

 

Is there voltage (about 12, maybe as much as 14 with engine running) at the water pump terminals?  If so the fuze is not blown.

 

Assuming all the above have been tried and are OK, have you tried giving the pump body a sharp thump (bigger than a tap  but not quite as big as a good clout)  in case the pressure switch is stuck?

 

N

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Hi thanks so much for responding. 

Yes all other 12v is working. The shower sump is working. Water to pump out toilet is not. 

Newly installed Mppt shows very happy batteries. 

Water pump switch is on at engine switchboard. Multimedia readings of 12.67 at water pump terminals so not the fuse as you say. 

Have given it a thump and no joy. 

Does this mean I need a new pump? 

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Is it possible to turn the pump manually? The motor shaft often sticks out of the back of the pump, and can be turned with a small spanner. If there is a stuck motor brush, or the pump has partially seized, turning the shaft will often clear the fault.

 

Other thing to check is : is the pump motor body warm to the touch? If so, switch it off until you've checked that will turn, and it has cooled down.

 

Where exactly were the meter readngs taken from? There should be 12V between the negative and BOTH sides of the pressure switch, with zero volts across the switch itself. If 12V across the pressure switch, then the switch is open and the pump won't run.

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On a boat well built (many are not) there should be two fuses or circuit breakers in the 12V circuits. It won't be the large capacity master fuse because the rest of the 12V works but it might be a fuse, or breaker that is just protecting the water pump circuit. If you have a panel of fuses/circuit breakers make sure they are all OK and set to the on position. Then, if  Ian-s's tests gives no volts try joining the wires on the back of fuse/breaker for a second or so to see if the pump runs. If so its the fuse/breaker at fault.

Edited by Tony Brooks
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9 hours ago, Phefran said:

Tonight my taps ran dry. I refilled the water tank yesterday for the first time.

 

Is this the order in which these two events occurred?

 

If yes, the pump probably ran dry for a long period and either failed or tripped an overheat thermostat.

 

Can we have a photo of the pump please? And a photo showing exactly where you had the meter probes when you measures 12.6x Volts?

 

Many thanks.

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I always think of a water pump as being a consumable and I always kept a new spare pump on board for those occasions when the pump failed miles away from somewhere to buy a replacement. I would buy a new pump if you can and fit it, the old one might be repairable and could become your spare.

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2 hours ago, Bee said:

Try opening a tap and then sucking it, you might well find there is some sort of airlock, I have to do this if the tank runs out, nothing happens without a really good suck!

But you should hear the pump run.

Fuse or knackered pump.

To the OP. Welcome to the world of an ever open wallet ?

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Thanks everyone!

Fyi here is a photo of where I was taking voltage from. 

I've sucked taps and thumped things and all. The last owner hasn't replaced it in the six years he had it and wasn't living on it for the last 4. So I believe the pump is knackered and have ordered a new one, same model. Keith Duffy the engine tutorial engineer who is coming to teach me things next week assures me I will be able to install it. 

 

Wish me luck. 

15656087425417776398497864699638.jpg

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As a final thing, before buying and fitting a new pump, it would be worth replacing the chocolate block connector where you were measuring the voltage. They can corrode inside to give a high resistance connection that will give a voltage reading when the pump is off, but drop away when it tries to run. It looks like there are signs of rust in the picture. Just reconnect the wires as they are now in a new block.

Agree with the others, water pumps are a consumable, if you live on board. On my boat I seem to get about four years out of one.

 

Jen

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56 minutes ago, Phefran said:

Keith Duffy the engine tutorial engineer who is coming to teach me things next week assures me I will be able to install it. 

 

I'm sure you will. 

 

That is a Jabsco Parmax pump and swapping it is a breeze. 

 

The downside with the Parmax is you will often have to do it ;)

 

 

 

Even though the Parmax supposedly doesn't need an expansion vessel, I'd strongly recommend fitting one. That tee piece with the brass plug probably used to have one mounted in it. 

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Just now, Chewbacka said:

Boat domestic Water pumps are not continuously rated, typically 20mins per hour.  If you run the water tank till empty make sure you turn the pump off, otherwise it could pump air for a long time, and possibly kill the pump.  Something to think about for the future.

 

In my opinion this is what has already happened, hence my question (not yet answered) in Post 7.

 

 

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13 hours ago, Phefran said:

Multimedia readings of 12.67 at water pump terminals

 

9 minutes ago, jeff thompson said:

If you have power everywhere but not at the pump, then its a bad pump. 

 

But Shirley there IS power at the pump....

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Hi Mike. I didn't let the water tank empty before I refilled it on Saturday. So I can't have burnt it out? 

 

Yes indeed, there is voltage at the water pump, 12.67 last night and 13.9 tonight today with sunlight and my new solars. 

 

@Chewbacca thanks for heads-up to turn off the pump if I do run the water tank dry in the future. 

 

@Mike the BoilermanBoilerman what does an expansion vessel do? 

 

Thanks for all your help everyone

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Buy and fit a new pump, a broken pump is the most likely explanation. If it turns out its not the pump then you will have a spare and it makes sense to carry a spare.

Its a bit of a co-incidence that the pump failed just as you filled the water tank, are you sure you did not let it run empty????

 

.............Dave

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Hi Dave. If I had let the water tank run dry, would water have still been coming out the taps before I refilled it. 

Me and previous owner filled the water tank when we took her in for the survey. Then I moved on, have lived on her for two weeks with very careful water usage (I have lived on boats before). I refilled the water because I was using pump out at a marina I was passing and thought I might as well. Does this still sound like I had let the water tank run dry? 

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10 minutes ago, Phefran said:

Hi Dave. If I had let the water tank run dry, would water have still been coming out the taps before I refilled it. 

Me and previous owner filled the water tank when we took her in for the survey. Then I moved on, have lived on her for two weeks with very careful water usage (I have lived on boats before). I refilled the water because I was using pump out at a marina I was passing and thought I might as well. Does this still sound like I had let the water tank run dry? 

We all think you ran the pump dry, because you said in your first post “Tonight my taps radry. I refilled the water........

 

added. Reading it again I see that you refilled the water tank, presumably everything was fine, water from the taps, but the next day the pump stopped working. 

 

Can I also assume that the pump is silent, so not a blocked input, and there is power at the pump connector.  In which case either the pressure switch(under the blue cap on the end of the pump) is stuck in the off state, or the pump motor is bust.

 

Edited by Chewbacka
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