Jump to content

Woke up this morning and my water pump is not working.


JackShaftoe

Featured Posts

6 minutes ago, JackShaftoe said:

Couldn't tell you exactly but less than 5. About 2 to 3 years at guess

 

 

Not excessively old. 

 

If you are on the mains, and you can put your hands on a portable battery charger, I'd test the pump with the strong power source of the charger, for a second or two. The other option is to thoroughly check all connections of your wiring to the pump. But the first test will test the pump. 

 

 

 

Edited by Higgs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, JackShaftoe said:

Couldn't tell you exactly but less than 5. About 2 to 3 years at guess

 

Blade fuses

 

Make sure the fuse blades are correctly located in the holder and not stuffed down one side. It's easy to do and won't be good at higher currents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Have you run out of water and the pump has been running dry and burnt out ?

 

Why should a diaphragm pump burn out? If anything running without a load will allow it to run at a higher speed and as on that type of motor current draw is inversely proportional to speed the motor would run cooler.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Why should a diaphragm pump burn out? If anything running without a load will allow it to run at a higher speed and as on that type of motor current draw is inversely proportional to speed the motor would run cooler.

 

I have seen no mention of the pump details - Do we know what type of pump it is ?

I have seen (as I am sure you have) seen some very strange things employed on boats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I have seen no mention of the pump details - Do we know what type of pump it is ?

I have seen (as I am sure you have) seen some very strange things employed on boats.

The chances of it being a stepper or induction motor are so remote they can be ignored. All brushed DC motors draw current that is inverse to the speed. If it has frozen then it may have burned out but I would expect the fuel to blow first,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I were you I would change it for the spare we all keep onboard for such occasions. Dont know where you are but its not cold enough round here to have frozen unless its outside the cabin? If the spare doesnt work then you know its somett else. You dont even have to plumb it in just put wires to it for a second and you will know if you have sufficient lectric to power the pump even without a multi meter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quite likely to be the pressure switch - I don't use Shurflos but I guess that's the two black wires going in to the end. Worth bridging them to see if it runs? It looks like one of them has some insulting tape over it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

Quite likely to be the pressure switch - I don't use Shurflos but I guess that's the two black wires going in to the end. Worth bridging them to see if it runs? It looks like one of them has some insulting tape over it.

 

I agree but so far we have not had it confirmed there is 12v/bulb lit at the pump. I think a charger has been used to check continuity between switch and pump but that will not normally say anything about the negative (or I misunderstood what the OP did).

 

To the OP. stick a needle or pin through both black wires and touch them  together. If you get sparks and the pump tries to run its the pressure switch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I agree but so far we have not had it confirmed there is 12v/bulb lit at the pump. I think a charger has been used to check continuity between switch and pump but that will not normally say anything about the negative (or I misunderstood what the OP did).

 

To the OP. stick a needle or pin through both black wires and touch them  together. If you get sparks and the pump tries to run its the pressure switch.

Yeah I only have led bulbs available. I can get hold of a multi meter if that will help

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Given the lack of a multimeter but having a lightbulb I would test as follows. Disconnect a wire at the pump and attach the bulb, which should glow brightly; if not you have no 12v to the pump so look for a faulty wire switch or fuse. If it glows brightly, touch the pump's wire back on and see what happens. If it stays at EXACTLY the same brightness the pump is taking no current so the pump or its switch is faulty. If it dims slightly, the pump is taking some current but is not turning so is almost certainly faulty (or just possibly may have seized although this would probably make it dim more than just slightly). If it goes out, there is almost certainly a fault in the wiring switch or fuse.

1 minute ago, JackShaftoe said:

Yeah I only have led bulbs available. I can get hold of a multi meter if that will help

 

 

Definitely an LED bulb is not particularly useful here. A meter would be best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JackShaftoe said:

Yeah I only have led bulbs available. I can get hold of a multi meter if that will help

 

I think it would help you more to confirm that the pump is serviceable. You need some power, maybe a borrowed battery, and a few decent pieces of wire, or even jump leads. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, JackShaftoe said:

Yeah I only have led bulbs available. I can get hold of a multi meter if that will help

 

 

Even a multimeter will not find high resistance faults if you have little idea about test procedures. The reason I said not to use an LED bulb is in case you get the polarity wrong and the bulb is not polarity protected. Reconnect any wires you have taken off and then do the pin/needle test I described above. make sure the pump switch is on. If you don't have any pins or needles carefully shave the insulation of a side of the cable to expose the conductors and the push the to shaved sections together so the conductors make contact. If you can get a multimeter set to 20V DC connected to the motor pos and neg at the same time it will tell you more.  12V plus before and maybe 11V or more while joining the cables suggest the wiring is OK. 12V before and something much lower with the cables joined means volt drop between battery and pump.  Zero volts means a broken conductor, switch or fuse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

Does anybody else think that pump looks like its leaking???

 

The floor doesn't look that damp. ?? Although, it is a varnished floor, and there is some wet damage. 

 

 

Edited by Higgs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Even a multimeter will not find high resistance faults if you have little idea about test procedures. The reason I said not to use an LED bulb is in case you get the polarity wrong and the bulb is not polarity protected. Reconnect any wires you have taken off and then do the pin/needle test I described above. make sure the pump switch is on. If you don't have any pins or needles carefully shave the insulation of a side of the cable to expose the conductors and the push the to shaved sections together so the conductors make contact. If you can get a multimeter set to 20V DC connected to the motor pos and neg at the same time it will tell you more.  12V plus before and maybe 11V or more while joining the cables suggest the wiring is OK. 12V before and something much lower with the cables joined means volt drop between battery and pump.  Zero volts means a broken conductor, switch or fuse.

Ok so I lack a lot of technical ability but could maybe muddle through some of this. At the end of the day though what am I looking at. Best and worse case scenarios.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.