Water pump not running...

[roj]

Model: 1994 34' Excella

I've read a bunch of posts regarding water pumps not working, but mainly they refer to the pump running but not pumping.

In our case, the pump does not even run. So, this might just be an electrical issue, but we have a problem there, as I'll describe in a moment.

In two years of owning it, the Airstream has been hooked up to an external water source, so it was never even tried. And we never even put water in the tank. We've now moved it to a site with no available water source, (but does have electricity). Before parking it, we filled the 52 gal. tank to overflowing. After parking and connecting to AC, we turned on the pump switch above the stove and opened the faucet, but no water, and no activity from the pump.

First thought of course, was that the pump was getting no juice. BUT, in following the manual, the instructions for checking the circuits do not match the actual, physical situation. The manual says that the panel (located behind the couch under the front window) should have RESET buttons on each circuit. But this panel looks like nothing I've ever seen. There are NO reset buttons, and the various circuits are somehow hooked together by a maze of copper connectors. Again, not like in the manual.

Some of our RVing friends have suggested replacing a fuse, but I can find no fuse box, and the manual doesn't mention one.

The panel with the circuit breakers that lives in the rear overhead compartment above the bed has three (if I recall correctly) breakers, which all seem to be functioning properly.

So, I'm stumped. We can't figure out how to even determine if there is power to the pump or not.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

[Alumaholic]

Start at the pump. With a multi-meter, check to see if you have 12 volts DC.
Report back.
Provide a picture of your pump.
None of the circuit breakers in your rear overhead have anything to do with 12 volt power except the one your Univolt converter is on.

[SteveH]

The rear panel above the bed is the A/C breaker box (A/C as in Alternating Current). There may be an inline DC fuse at the water pump which is normally under the floor of the closet. I would check there to see if there is 12 VDC, and if there is, then you most likely have either a faulty pressure switch, or faulty pump.

[roj]

Okay, good to know about the A/C breaker box. I guess that means the front panel is all 12 volt.
I won't be able to check on this until this weekend, but I will take a volt meter, take a picture of the pump, and check for a fuse somewhere in the vicinity of the pump.

I didn't notice a fuse when I last looked, but did see a filter just in front of the pump. Would the fuse be on the filter side or the other side?

And where would the pressure switch be located?

[Alumaholic]

The fuse will be in a cylindrical, plastic, in-line, fuse holder (if so equipped).
In-line means electrical wire (probably black) running in one end of fuse holder and out the other. Here's a picture of a generic, fuse holder:

[roj]

Hi all. Reporting back in after checking on it this weekend. I had a friend who knows a little about rvs come out with a voltmeter. It was confusing at first. There was no fuse anywhere near the pump. We weren't getting a signal at the pump and thought the problem was the on/off switch over the stove.

We finally figured out that it was the pressure switch attached to the pump. Though the leads looked okay, one was corroded enough to block the signal. But we couldn't tell until we took the switch off of the pump and just cleaned the leads anyway.

And doggone if it didn't start right up. Thanks to everyone for your help!

[Alumaholic]

Outstanding! Thanks for the feedback. That is always nice. It leaves us all a bit smarter about these things.