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Water pump runs when connected to city wwater???


sfritz

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Why would the water pump run when connected to city water but when it is disconnected and you want it to pump from the fresh water tank it won't? What do suppose is the problem?

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4375

Chevy Z71 toad

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Your question is a little confusing.  Does the water pump run continuously when connected to city water, then refuse to pump at all when city water is off? If so, it sounds like you have a bad pressure switch on the pump.   It's supposed to turn on the pump when the outlet pressure drops (like when you open a faucet) then turn off the pump when the lines are pressurized.

It sounds like yours is doing the opposite, only turning on the pump while there's pressure in the line.

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A couple questions?

Did you recently purchase this RV?

I operate with pump switch off when on the city water. Do you manually turn the pump ON and OFF when switch back and forth between city and fresh water tank? Do you have two pump switches like located at your indoor service panel and a second switch at the outdoor service bay?

Keep posted on  your finding.

Clay

Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow

Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C

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Any chance you were filling the water tank with a bypass valve and left it on? Our coach does not have 'auto valve shutoff', an simple valve that diverts the water coming in from shore to the tank for filling, vs feeding pressure into your waterlines for coach usage. If we leave our water pump on, and turn the water valve from coach to tank fill - the water pump will run. 

A bit more info, and suspect you'll get some good info on things to look into:)!

Best of luck,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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I guess i should have given more information. We have had this Dutch Star for 6 months and up until now it has worked perfectly. Lately when we open a faucet for water we hear the pump run, close the faucet it turns off. All the pump switches are turned off. But when the pump runs the pump switch lights up. Last time we disconnected from city water to move on  down the road; we had no water! The pump didn't work at all.

Lo and behold when we got where we were going to park with no water or electric hookups the pump was working correctly again.

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4375

Chevy Z71 toad

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Spritz,  do you have a 3-way switch for the pump?  That means can you turn it on in both the bathroom and kitchen?  Sometomes you can get a case where one or the other is in the On position, but doesn't light up until pump is running.  In our coach, if you turn on the toilet area, and try to turn off in the kitchen, a problem similar to yours has occurred.  We learned to turn off where we turn on, keeps thing running smoothly.  Also we don't leave the pump on unless specifically using it.  We went through 3 Shurflos in less than 4 yrs before switching to an aquajet pump.

Does your last sentenance mean that the last disconnect the pump is now working as it should pumping from the tank?  

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Quote

Does your last sentenance mean that the last disconnect the pump is now working as it should pumping from the tank?  

Yes it did. But we will need to park near family without hookups again. I sure hope the pump works.

There is a switch for the pump in the bathroom, kitchen, and in the basement water connection area. I will have to watch the pump switches to see how they function.

Thanks for the helpful replies! I've never had a problem that someone didn't help with.

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4375

Chevy Z71 toad

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I'm not sure how the 3 switch setup is connected but have sent off an email to my favorite RV tech for advice and will get back when I hear from him. In the meantime, do you have a meter that you could use to check the switch position of each of the three switches? Barb mentions needing to turn the pump off at the same switch you used to turn it on and it could be that yours is that way and you have one switch left on. If they are marked for on/off then try putting them all to the off position and check the pump. If not marked, I'd place them all in the same position, or verify them as open using a meter. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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24 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

With a multiple switch setup, it may be the pump controller is starting to fail...

I just heard from my RV tech and what he says would agree with this, unless it happens to be one of the rare cases where parallel switches were used. He indicates that such cases do exist. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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3 minutes ago, Kirk Wood said:

I just heard from my RV tech and what he says would agree with this, unless it happens to be one of the rare cases where parallel switches were used. He indicates that such cases do exist. 

He's right of course, parallel switch setups do exist, although I'd expect better than that in a Newmar.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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My pump light is lite when the pump has power. My only indication of the pump running is sound or change in water pressure.

Clay

Clay & Marcie Too old to play in the snow

Diesel pusher and previously 2 FW and small Class C

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The pump continuing to run when while connected to a hose when you use water at a faucet in the rv is not a uncommon occurrence. The Pump has a pressure switch that shuts the pump off when it's pressure  in the rv piping is at that setting. Water systems you can connect to at various places have different pressures, some of those may not be as high as the setting at your pump, so your pump may still run when you're connected to those lower pressure connections.  If it happens every time you're connected, you can usually access that pressure switch on the pump to lower it's pressure so when you're connected to a external water system, the pressure the pump sees at it's internal pressure switch keeps the pump from running. 

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Why not just turn the power off to the pump when hooked up to city water?   Unless the water pressure is very, very low, we never, ever turn the pump on when we don't need it?   Does everyone just leave their pumps on?

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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4 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

Does everyone just leave their pumps on?

Nobody I know does that...  And I do not recommend fooling with the pressure switch adjustment on the water pump unless you have a pressure gauge to know for sure what you are dealing with.  Turn it the wrong direction and you could damage your water system. In my experience, water pressure too high is as common as too low. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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5 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Why not just turn the power off to the pump when hooked up to city water?   Unless the water pressure is very, very low, we never, ever turn the pump on when we don't need it?   Does everyone just leave their pumps on?

Yep, the only time our pump is on when connected to city water is in low park water pressure situations as well, and even then usually only for showers.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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