Water Pump problems

[tomthyme]

Hi Folks! I need a little help with some water pump issues.

A couple of months ago we got our rig out of storage and found the water pump wasn't working. I have experience with the 'vapor lock' so I tried to manually prime the thing to no avail. The problem I noticed is that it wasn't pumping at all. The motor wasn't running. When I checked the screen filter attached to the pump, I fond a small piece of plastic in the basket. I checked all the fuses, found them all to be good and went on about my way assuming the pump was ready for replacement.

After receiving my replacement water pump, I performed many Cirque de Soliel contortions and got the pump swap done. When I turned on the power, the new pump wouldn't run either! DDDAAAANNNGGGGIIITTT!!!....

I checked fuses again. Everything else on the 12v panel works and all the fuses are good, so I kept checking.

In a moment of brilliance (although late in the game), I took the old pump to my truck and touched the wires to my battery. The old pump fired right up!

So now, I am trying to figure out how to trace the obvious power problem.

There are two switches for the pump, one outside and one inside. So here's what I"m thinking: a) maybe the switches are bad - both of them?, b) maybe the power wire from the back of the 12v panel lost connection?

Other than tracing the electrical line, I'm not sure what else to do.

To trace the line, I will empty the basement, then pull the thin wall material. That will expose the back of the 12v panel (I think) and should show me the entire run from the panel to the pump.

Am I remotely on the right track? Do you guys have any other ideas?

Thanks so much!

[Farmboy666]

bpounds wrote:

Farmboy666 wrote:

Like I said you get what you pay for. If you can afford an RV you should be able to afford a decent reliable tool. At the end of the day what are you saving $30.00 ?

Fair enough, but $30 doesn't get you what I would consider a quality meter. I guess you were not suggesting a Fluke. Mostly I object to the jump on hate HF bandwagon that is seen on all forums at times. To be honest, I don't even know what HF sells in the DOVM lineup, but I would bet that even the cheapest (maybe even free) would be more than capable of diagnosing most problems in an RV.

I carry a $10 Sears digital meter in our RV. I am always very impressed with the thing, and often find myself grabbing it just because it is so danged handy working on cars/trucks.

I was suggesting 30 to 50. I would hate to chase an electrical problem for hours only to find out a $10 meter was giving me false or wrong readings. Some electrical stuff is hard enough to figure out and I just feel more confident knowing I had a quality meter.

[bpounds]

Farmboy666 wrote:

Like I said you get what you pay for. If you can afford an RV you should be able to afford a decent reliable tool. At the end of the day what are you saving $30.00 ?

Fair enough, but $30 doesn't get you what I would consider a quality meter. I guess you were not suggesting a Fluke. Mostly I object to the jump on hate HF bandwagon that is seen on all forums at times. To be honest, I don't even know what HF sells in the DOVM lineup, but I would bet that even the cheapest (maybe even free) would be more than capable of diagnosing most problems in an RV.

I carry a $10 Sears digital meter in our RV. I am always very impressed with the thing, and often find myself grabbing it just because it is so danged handy working on cars/trucks.

[Dave_H_M]

Farmboy666 wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
yep seen fuses get oxidation on them and not work. if you don,t have a meter? get one of the cheapies at harbor frt. save a lot of work.

Why is it so common to suggest a cheap meter form HF, why not just buy a quality one. You get what you pay for and cheap tools will let you down at the worst possible time. It's one of the tools you should have when you own an RV, get a good one.

i got news for you. The HF meter I have in the RV was not cheap, it was free with any purchase. has been working fine since i tossed it in the stash. :W

[wilber1]

bpounds wrote:

Farmboy666 wrote:

Why is it so common to suggest a cheap meter form HF...

Because it is all you need to t-shoot anything on an RV. Many people have gone their whole lives without ever owning a DVM, somehow survived, and to push a more expensive meter on them that they will never fully use to its potential is just, at best silly, at worst pompous.

X2

For occasional RV use, cheap ones work quite well in my experience. I have a cheap Walmart one that I keep in the 5th at it is all I have ever needed. If you are using one every day or for work, then you need something better.

[rrupert]

I have a little Gardner-Bender DVM that I thought was good until I compared it's readings against a Fluke DVM and found out my meter was reading high by .5 to 1.5 volts DC. The RV batteries weren't in as good of shape as I thought. I purchased an Amprobe AM-510 Commercial/Residential grade DVM that competes with the Fluke and it was only $30 from Amazon. It works good enough for me.

[Farmboy666]

bpounds wrote:

Farmboy666 wrote:

Why is it so common to suggest a cheap meter form HF...

Because it is all you need to t-shoot anything on an RV. Many people have gone their whole lives without ever owning a DVM, somehow survived, and to push a more expensive meter on them that they will never fully use to its potential is just, at best silly, at worst pompous.

Like I said you get what you pay for. If you can afford an RV you should be able to afford a decent reliable tool. At the end of the day what are you saving $30.00 ?

[bpounds]

Farmboy666 wrote:

Why is it so common to suggest a cheap meter form HF...

Because it is all you need to t-shoot anything on an RV. Many people have gone their whole lives without ever owning a DVM, somehow survived, and to push a more expensive meter on them that they will never fully use to its potential is just, at best silly, at worst pompous.

[Farmboy666]

midnightsadie wrote:
yep seen fuses get oxidation on them and not work. if you don,t have a meter? get one of the cheapies at harbor frt. save a lot of work.

Why is it so common to suggest a cheap meter form HF, why not just buy a quality one. You get what you pay for and cheap tools will let you down at the worst possible time. It's one of the tools you should have when you own an RV, get a good one.

[DogTrainer]

you need a meter, Harbor Freight comments was spot on.

[tomthyme]

.......oooooohhhhhhh my - sorry folks, I missed a connection. My big head couldn't squeeze into that little spot to see that there was a wire not connected. Problem solved. Thanks anyway!

And, I appreciate the fuse input. I"ll keep that knowledge for next time.

Thanks

[midnightsadie]

yep seen fuses get oxidation on them and not work. if you don,t have a meter? get one of the cheapies at harbor frt. save a lot of work.

[tomthyme]

rrupert wrote:
Did you actually test the fuses or did you visually check them. Fuses can look good but may be burned in a spot that is out of view. That's a common happening.

visual inspection only....I will replace and see if we have success! Thank you!

[rrupert]

Did you actually test the fuses or did you visually check them. Fuses can look good but may be burned in a spot that is out of view. That's a common happening.