Another broken water pump question...

[BlueStringPudding]

Thanks Smiley. Unfortunately there's no terminal block on the red cable and I cant see to know where the connection is. I'm doing by feel only. And it's not working. I can't access a non-insulated part of the positive. I'm going to have to cut the cable. But the wiring is tight, there's very little slack. I may be some time....

 

Edited to add:

You know what? I've changed my mind. The cabling is so inaccessible that even if I go to the troubled of stripping back the part that's exposed in order to cut the cable and put in a terminal block - only to be able to measure the voltage. If I find the voltage is dropping there's still b*gger all I can do about it as the wiring isn't accessible for any of the length of the boat. I've had the pump exposed for three days now and thoroughly established there's no leak around the pump which was my main concern.

 

I'll live with the strange drone and wait for the voltage drop to one day kill the pump. It's lasted anywhere between 6 and 15 years in its current state, It'd be less expensive to replace it once every few years than pay for the damage caused by having to rip out fitted furniture and linings and buying new cable.

 

Edited April 3, 2013 by BlueStringPudding

[bizzard]

Thanks Smiley. Unfortunately there's no terminal block on the red cable and I cant see to know where the connection is. I'm doing by feel only. And it's not working. I can't access a non-insulated part of the positive. I'm going to have to cut the cable. But the wiring is tight, there's very little slack. I may be some time....

 

Edited to add:

You know what? I've changed my mind. The cabling is so inaccessible that even if I go to the troubled of stripping back the part that's exposed in order to cut the cable and put in a terminal block - only to be able to measure the voltage. If I find the voltage is dropping there's still b*gger all I can do about it as the wiring isn't accessible for any of the length of the boat. I've had the pump exposed for three days now and thoroughly established there's no leak around the pump which was my main concern.

 

I'll live with the strange drone and wait for the voltage drop to one day kill the pump. It's lasted anywhere between 6 and 15 years in its current state, It'd be less expensive to replace it once every few years than pay for the damage caused by having to rip out fitted furniture and linings and buying new cable.

 

Multimeters probes often have sharp points on them which will poke through the wires insulation and reach the bare wires inside.

Or you can push dress makers knob pins, sewing needles or drawing pins in to the wires and touch the probes against those to get a reading.

Edited April 3, 2013 by bizzard

[STUBAG]

Multimeters probes often have sharp points on them which will poke through the wires insulation and reach the bare wires inside.

Or you can push dress makers knob pins, sewing needles or drawing pins in to the wires and touch the probes against those to get a reading.

......or you could use that cheeky little pop rivet which is just peeping out from under the tail of the pump motor!

[Paul C]

Thanks Smiley. Unfortunately there's no terminal block on the red cable and I cant see to know where the connection is. I'm doing by feel only. And it's not working. I can't access a non-insulated part of the positive. I'm going to have to cut the cable. But the wiring is tight, there's very little slack. I may be some time....

 

Edited to add:

You know what? I've changed my mind. The cabling is so inaccessible that even if I go to the troubled of stripping back the part that's exposed in order to cut the cable and put in a terminal block - only to be able to measure the voltage. If I find the voltage is dropping there's still b*gger all I can do about it as the wiring isn't accessible for any of the length of the boat. I've had the pump exposed for three days now and thoroughly established there's no leak around the pump which was my main concern.

 

I'll live with the strange drone and wait for the voltage drop to one day kill the pump. It's lasted anywhere between 6 and 15 years in its current state, It'd be less expensive to replace it once every few years than pay for the damage caused by having to rip out fitted furniture and linings and buying new cable.

 

 

I know how you feel, I had to disassemble the kitchen to reach a shower drain pump which had broken on our boat. There were a lot of panels and a lot of wiggling, but I did it, and got it back together with no screws left over either. Its possible....

[smileypete]

Edited to add:

You know what? I've changed my mind. The cabling is so inaccessible that even if I go to the troubled of stripping back the part that's exposed in order to cut the cable and put in a terminal block - only to be able to measure the voltage. If I find the voltage is dropping there's still b*gger all I can do about it as the wiring isn't accessible for any of the length of the boat. I've had the pump exposed for three days now and thoroughly established there's no leak around the pump which was my main concern.

No problem, well done for having a go. Holding the meter probes on something is tricky, for future jobs these can help:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250957465302

 

If you can get to the pressure switch adjustment screw OK, it might be worth a try backing it off 1/4 to 1/2 a turn, to see if that helps. Also back at the fuse panel, if you can access the connections around the pump fuse, could be worth checking that they're in good order too.

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Edited April 3, 2013 by smileypete

[matty40s]

and got it back together with no screws left over either. Its possible....

I'm sorry, that's impossible, you just know you have screwed something that wasn't screwed before, no-one EVER gets all the screws back without losing one or having one too many. Factamundo!!

[Paul C]

I'm sorry, that's impossible, you just know you have screwed something that wasn't screwed before, no-one EVER gets all the screws back without losing one or having one too many. Factamundo!!

 

Don't worry, I have a bag of screws and some important looking wooden parts, from when I've taken other bits of the boat apart. The kitchen was a rare exception, but worth mentioning.