Apparently our water pump is on strike. It worked this afternoon. Susan came home a few minutes ago and tried running water in the kitchen sink. Nothing. Light is off. None of the three switches work (kitchen, bath, or utility bay).
We looked for a fuse to check/replace, but there is nothing labeled for the water pump in our block of 12V fuses at the foot of the bed. What are we missing here?
I read several threads related to water pumps and ShurFlo 5.7s, etc. Didn't find anything directly applicable. The previous owner told us this pump has been replaced, but we don't know with what.
Guidance always appreciated! We are supposed to depart for Phoenix from the Carolinas day after tomorrow. Since temps here are still below freezing at night, we are (or were) operating from our inside water tank — can't stay connected outside. With thanks!
Richard,
Our breaker that feeds the water pump is hid behind the fiberglass cover in the basement.(ours is located on the rear wall of the big bay drivers side) Our breaker is a manual reset that you need to push the little reset button when it trips. If it is tripped the question is was it caused by a bad pump, shorted water pump relay, or bad wire.
Pamela & Mike
Have you checked your pump electrical wires to determine if you have power? Just a thought. ;D
If you are in Phoenix the low tonight should be about 56 deg F so you should be able to stay connected. No?
When mine stopped working, it was the latching relay behind that panel in the equipment bay. I was able to manually operate it a couple of times, and it has been fine ever since.
I have pulled that panel a number of times but could never figure out how the breakers work. They look nothing like anything I have ever seen. ???
There is a small button on the side that resets it. it is only visible when tripped
Thanks - I guess that I have never had one tripped.
Sure be nice to have a pic. ^.^d
The button is black and very difficult to see but very easy to feel. You can run your finger down the row of breakers and feel the one that's tripped
The "button" is smaller than a very small racetrack shaped pill. So easy to over look, or find, unless it is popped out, maybe a 1/16".
Here is the panel, the small black hole is the reset button, not tripped. I wasn't going to short out a circuit to show it tripped. The water pump breaker is in the lower right on my coach.
Many, many thanks. With the photos, I should be able to find it tonight when in the coach. Hoping that's it!
Carol & Scott: wish we WERE in Phoenix. We're still in the mountains of North Carolina. Forecast for tonight is 27 degrees. <sad frown> But we'll be warm next week.
Big thanks to everyone for the guidance. Will update tonight.
Craneman, a very helpful post for Richard. In these cases pictures really are worth 1000's of words and these lead him right to the place he needs to go. I appreciate the value added for all of us when we see a good post. Thanks.
Hmmm. For some reason I thought you were in AZ. Sorry. :D
OK, this is the update. Apologies for it not being "tonight when in the coach," but the weather in the mountains of NC was so cold and the night(s) so dark, we didn't empty the bay and look behind the panel until arriving in Greenville, AL (Sherling Lake Park, operated by the city and one we would very much recommend).
The Forum is magic . . . better than magic! Thanks to all. The tiny button on the breaker was the key. We would never have found it without the photos, as well as the descriptions of where it would be and what it would feel like.
- Big, big thanks, Craneman, for the photos. First, we'd never have known what to look for. Second, given our lack of mechanical/electrical abilities, if we had taken the cover off without your good photos, we'd have hesitated to touch anything. The fact you're only 4 build numbers away from ours gave us confidence, too.
- Dave and Dolly, Brett, your descriptions of what to "feel" for were a huge help. Big, big thanks.
We're out of the freezing weather and enjoyed a lovely night — with water! How civilized. Now on to Phoenix. Again, big thanks to EVERYONE who posted a suggestion/idea. Can't say enough good about this Forum, the folks who run it, and the members who make it everything that it is.
Richard & Susan
No worries! Our previous posts probably were not adequately clear about location. But we had a low of only 47 degrees in Greenville, AL, last night, so we FEEL like we were in Phoenix. ;-)
Thanks again, everyone, for the info submitted previously. Perhaps the following should be a new thread — but our problems are continuing, despite REPLACING the pump. So I'm appending this to the existing thread. I searched the Forum for Shurflo 5.7 and 4048 before posting what follows, but didn't find anything recent. Point me in the right direction if I missed something? Here's the current chronology:
- Found the breaker in the basement bay and reset. The pump worked a few days. Our Feb 19 post was written in the glow of that success.
- A new stage of the problem emerged when the water pump light would stay on, but the pump wouldn't work. That immediately preceded our cross-country trip. So, we carried 4 gallon-sized jugs of water for flushing the toilet and bought a lot of bottled water to drink.
- We tried finding a direct replacement (Shurflo 5900, 5.7) but no luck. So, we purchased a 4048 that said on the box it was the direct replacement for the 4900/5900. Had it installed. Voila — water. Hooray!
- The replacement pump, or its installation, is not working satisfactorily. It "burps," whereas the 5900 made a wonderful, continuous whirring sound. Water just flowed. The 4048 also seems to alternately provide hot and cold water, rather than mixing the two, whether to the sinks or to the shower. And it makes the lights above the kitchen sink flicker. The only water appliance that seems to work like the old pump is the toilet, which fills with a continuous whir (although a much louder one).
Certainly we can try one more installation and go back to the accumulator tank. But do you think we should have had better results with this "direct replacement" (volume/flow aside)? We also purchased a Flojet V-Flo constant pressure pump 5.0 gpm — but the installation would have been more difficult, not as close to a direct swap, so we had the Shurflo installed.
Thoughts? Thanks always, for how great this Forum and all of you are.
Richard & Susan
We've learned to live with the 4048 pump. Yes, it's disconcerting to find it pulsing. Variation in temperature occurs only at very low flows. We don't find it a problem with showers or with normal sink flows. If the pulsing bothers you, certainly add back an accumulator. The pump is operating as designed.
This small size inexpensive accumulator smoothed out Shurflo 4008 water pump pulses. We have also used it with the Shurflo 4048 pump which is about the same as the 4008, although physically larger with a higher rated water flow.
Shurflo accumulator part# 182-200.
SHURflo 24 oz. Accumulator Tank - Water Pumps Parts & Accessories - RV Water... (http://www.dyersonline.com/shurflo-24-oz-accumulator-tank.html) Easy to install with a hose removed from pump and then attached to accumulator and a new short hose connected to the other accumulator port and the water pump. Not necessary to mount accumulator.