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Old 08-17-2005, 04:36 PM   #1
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What a bad day!

I just bought a 1976 Excella & began puttering in in this week. First, the water pump keeps blowing the fuse. Any suggestions? Second, I drilled a hole into the fresh water tank. Can it be plugged? And lastly, I got my finger stuck in a hole that I drilled while trying to find the small screw hole in the water tank!

If anyone has answers for me, it would be great.
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Old 08-17-2005, 04:47 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forums... and the sometimes weird world of vintage trailer ownership.

Can't help you with the waterpump issue...
Use the search tool and search for water tank crack - you'll find a number of threads on the subject of repair.
About the finger problem - don't stick your fingers in dark holes - ever!

Anyone else have ideas about the pump?
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Old 08-17-2005, 04:53 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beckybillrae
I just bought a 1976 Excella & began puttering in in this week. First, the water pump keeps blowing the fuse. Any suggestions? Second, I drilled a hole into the fresh water tank. Can it be plugged? And lastly, I got my finger stuck in a hole that I drilled while trying to find the small screw hole in the water tank!

If anyone has answers for me, it would be great.
Welcome to the forums!
First, is your finger still stuck, or did you get it out?
Second, about the water pump, does the pump run and then blow the fuse, or doe sit make a funny noise, and blow the fuse, or does it do nothing, and the fuse blows?
As far as the hole in the fresh water tank, there are two threads I am aware of that deal with leaking fresh water tanks, and how best to patch them.
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Old 08-17-2005, 04:55 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Janet
Anyone else have ideas about the pump?
It sounds like the water pump has siezed, and the fuse is blowing from the overload of the stuck electric motor on the pump.
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Old 08-17-2005, 04:59 PM   #5
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As long as your finger is stuck in the hole, you won't need to plug it.

Blowing fuses: try running a jumper wire with an inline fuse to the pump. If the fuse still blows, the problem is in the pump, if not it's in the wiring thereto.
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:04 PM   #6
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Hi, Becky,

Welcome to the forums! There are several 70's Excella owners here, and you'll find a WEALTH of information about just about anything having to do with Airstreams.

About the water pump, is it the original belt-drive model, or has it been replaced with a newer one without a belt? Have you tried turning the pump by hand to see if it's partly clogged up? Does it blow the fuse as soon as you hit the switch or after you've run it a while?

About the water tank, were you drilling downward, sideways, or up?
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:08 PM   #7
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...it happens....

Quote:
Originally Posted by beckybillrae
I just bought a 1976 Excella & began puttering in in this week. ...If anyone has answers for me, it would be great.

Welcome to the Forum!


A couple of the requirements of ownership for a new old RV - especially during the "search and discovery" period - is a good sense of humor and copious quanties of cold adult beverages.

Stay cool, take your time, and tackle repairs in small steps -

It'll all come together in the end.
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:18 PM   #8
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The pump runs for a few minutes (and actually pumps water) before blowing the fuse attached directly to the pump. The air conditioner also blew a fuse, but it was the breaker in my house. I would think if the amount of power was the problem, the same thing would happen with the water pump.

As far as my finger....It's out. My husband had to drill holes around it & break apart the plywood. It's still a bit swollen, but quite useable!
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:20 PM   #9
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Oh, sorry I forgot to mention that the pump is the belt driven kind. I had a sur-flow in my old trailer, so I'm really not familiar with these. Heck, I can't even find the valve to drain the fresh water tank without the pump!
Becky
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:29 PM   #10
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Hi, Becky,

You might just need to bleed the air out of the system. Does anyone know if a cavitated pump would blow a fuse? (I'd think not.) How about if the pressure switch was faulty and never turned off the pump?

Lamar
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Old 08-17-2005, 05:42 PM   #11
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Hi, Becky,

My '79 user's guide says to use a 6 1/2 SLO-BLO fuse. I checked, and that's what I have in mine. Is your's the same?

Curiously, the previous page says that the water pump can draw up to 9.9 amps.

Lamar
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Old 08-17-2005, 10:32 PM   #12
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i can 1 up you...........i drilled through a 120 volt line last night,blew every fuse in the house.
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Old 08-18-2005, 01:28 AM   #13
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I used a pick in the garden to remove a bush, unknowingly, busting up the underground sprinkler system at the same time.

Then proceeded to flood the flower bed when I was checking my drip system I added to ONLY water the flowers
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Old 08-18-2005, 03:52 AM   #14
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Pressure Switch

Quote:
Originally Posted by beckybillrae
The pump runs for a few minutes (and actually pumps water) before blowing the fuse attached directly to the pump...
It sounds like the pump's pressure switch is bad. The pressure switch is used to detect water flow - Low pressure means water is flowing, High pressure means water is not. If the switch has gone bad, the pump's motor will try to spin when the pump dead-heads, and draw too much current.

The original fuse is a slow-blow to allow the motor to briefly draw too much current when the pump first starts up under normal operation. I have seen new pressure switches available for belt-driven PAR pumps for around $22.

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Old 08-18-2005, 05:54 AM   #15
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As for the water tank hole, it should be easy. Two questions first:

1. Is the tank polypropylene?
2. Is the hole still perfectly round?

If the answers are yes, find a Tractor Supply Company (TSC) store and go to there tank and sprayer aisle. You will find a wealth of polypropylene fixtures there. You probably can find a plug designed for just such an application. If you don't have a TSC nearby, try them online.

John
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Old 08-18-2005, 07:06 PM   #16
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Been there Done that

Except I truly don't put my finger in holes I drill that don't go where I know. I too think pressure switch. I pulled my belt driven pump. Put in new shur-flo and have much better pressure with no pressure switch.
Hole in tank I fixz with epoxy where applicable until I can replace. I found my drain valve for water tank under the arm of couch, pulled arms up, (straight up), and found valve and air breaker line to water tank. Drainage is a relatively slow process as it is a 1/2 " line and drains about 25 gallons (My estimate from size of tank)
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Old 08-18-2005, 07:09 PM   #17
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Siphon?

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Originally Posted by bdlwet
Except I truly don't put my finger in holes I drill that don't go where I know. I too think pressure switch. I pulled my belt driven pump. Put in new shur-flo and have much better pressure with no pressure switch.
Hole in tank I fixz with epoxy where applicable until I can replace. I found my drain valve for water tank under the arm of couch, pulled arms up, (straight up), and found valve and air breaker line to water tank. Drainage is a relatively slow process as it is a 1/2 " line and drains about 25 gallons (My estimate from size of tank)
You can always put a 1/2" garden hose through the filler neck, and siphon the water out from two places at the same time. If you get the water pump fuse problem licked, you can turn on a faucet, and have three drain sources. Come to think of it, you can turn on a faucet, turn on the water pump, and see if the fuse blows. If not, it would tell you for sure the high pressure switch is bad.
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Old 08-18-2005, 07:57 PM   #18
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Well, we got home from work & took a look at the water pump first. My husband thinks that since our battery is low & the fuse is so small (6.25 amp) that we had to boost it up to a 10 amp. We tried that & it didn't blow. Need to get a new battery & see if I can switch the fuse back to the original & not blow it. I'm afraid of blowing everything up with a higher fuse, but he says not to worry?! Anyhow, I'm having trouble finding the hole I put in the water tank. It is only the size of a tip of a screw. I drilled larger holes in all the the screw holes I put it (about 6 of them) & we then blew air into the tank to try to find the hiss. We didn't succeed. We're waiting for our daughter the nurse to get home so we can use her stethescope. Any better ideas?
I'm glad to hear it can be fixed once we find it. We have a tractor supply nearby, so that shouldn't be a problem. Hubby is a farmer & has never punctured any of his own tanks!

Thanks for your help. I'll look for the water valve in the couch!?
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Old 08-19-2005, 12:36 AM   #19
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water ??????? what /why is there a water line to the back of the fridge?
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