# Help! Water Pump/System on motorhome isnt working



## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

This is very urgent, we are leaving to go on holiday and need some help. 

Motorhome model is.... 

Peugoet compass aventgarde 180 2009 (ours from new) 

We have a whale watermaster pump, we use it from bucket to MH. 


We noticed it getting slower and we thought it must be the watermaster. 

We bought a new one after it wasnt sucking any water up at all. 

This hasnt solved the problem, the water isnt being sucked up, the 12v is making a noise like the pump is working but no water is going into the van. 

We also tried the normal pressure pump that goes from hosetap to van with no 12v involved but no water enters the motorhome either (though people say maybe there isnt enough pressure on the garden tap but we think there should be dont you?) 

I have checked the water tank isnt full, and have emptied hte weaste, Ive changed nearly all the fuses to make sure, and the water pump fuse is working because hte water pump light is on green and making a pumping sound when turned on. 

When we look into the bucket when the watermaster 12v pump is running we can see little bits of dust floating around in the water and you notice it suck up into the pump nozzle, which is confusing because its not going into the Motorhome. 

Does anyone know what to check to see if theres a blockage or anything. 

We are going to take it to the dealer but its very far and costs a lot of petrol and not to mention we are going on holiday and dont have the time. 

Thanks


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## Rainbow-Chasers (Sep 2, 2008)

Were there any black bits coming from the taps before the old one went? When these die, the filter breaks up and sends bits of rubbery plastic odff around the water system. Shouldn't be enough to cause much of a problem in the pipework, but at the taps ends. You have got the new one wired the right way? Not pumping out rather than in? Sounds daft, but sometimes these can end up being caused by a simple mistake.


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

No black bits ...only 3 months old . Bought whole new whale pump with pipe so no wiring problems. Could there be a problem wih the motorhome ?


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

I can't quite get my head around what problem you have. Looking at the Whale Watermaster pump, it looks like those that my caravanning mates use on their caravans to pump the water from their aquarolls.

Are you use the Watermaster just to transfer water from an external container into the onboard tank on your motorhome? If so is your problem that it won't pump from the container into the onboard tank, or is it that you can't get any water from the onboard tank to come out of the taps? 

Perhaps you could clarify exactly what the problem is.

P.S. I've just been on to the Explorer website and found this: 

"Explorer Group has teamed up with industry specialists,
Whale to create an all-new pressurised water system. Connect
directly to mains water supply, auxillary water tank or Aquaroll®,
automatically topping up the on-board water tank without the
need for a manual change over - with the added benefit of an
automatic shut-off when full."

That being the case I can see where the Whalemaster pump comes into things. Question still remains though is whether the problem is;

1. You can't get water from the external container into the onboard tank, or...

2. You can't get the water in the onboard tank to come out of the taps


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

cannot get water from tap on wall to go into motorhome, motorhome is empty


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

Now I understand......but unfortunately don't know the answer to your problem.

The fact that you can't fill the van using either the Watermaster pump or when connected to the mains water supply, suggests that there may be a problem with whatever it is that senses when the onboard tank is full and automatically shuts off the supply (it thinks the tank is full, but it isn't). 

I'm not familiar with this setup so I have no idea how the shutoff would work.

Hopefully someone with a similar system will be along soon and may be able to shed some light!


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## Rainbow-Chasers (Sep 2, 2008)

Try disconnecting the hose that goes into the thank from the pump end (the bit that goes into the water roll container) Then place in a small amount of water in a bucket, just to check that water shoots out.

That will prove the pump is pumping correctly, which would leave the problem in the pipe, or the filler hose to the tank. After that, check both pipes for blocking. Am i right in think that the filler on the van has a hose lock nozzle to attach a hose to? Or the filler cap type?

If you are based anywhere round cornwall, i could take a look if you like.


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

I think its a series of blue hoses all plastic, I have located the pressure switch and there is some hoses one of which goes onto the pump, the pump filter is only half submerged is that normal, also little bits of grit are present in there.

The ends of each hose has a twist and lock plastic fastner that i guess you undo the hoses on.

Will undo them and have a look if grit is in there. A little water came on board (very little) after we adjusted the pressure switch (which a notice said not to do) I loosened the switch and very little water cam on board, i will take it out and look for dirt there also


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

Bump,


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Just a suggestion, probably a silly one as I am not familiar with the system you describe. 

But on the hoses feeding the water in to the vehicle are there any of those clip together hozelock fittings, some of them have a kind of shut off valve inside so that when disconnected they stop the flow. The flow some times also stops if an incompatible fitting is used, one which does not depress the shut off valve thereby opening it. If you see what I mean. 

Or have I completely misunderstood the problem, Alan.


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

MrColt said:


> I think its a series of blue hoses all plastic, I have located the pressure switch and there is some hoses one of which goes onto the pump, the pump filter is only half submerged is that normal, also little bits of grit are present in there.
> 
> The ends of each hose has a twist and lock plastic fastner that i guess you undo the hoses on.
> 
> Will undo them and have a look if grit is in there. A little water came on board (very little) after we adjusted the pressure switch (which a notice said not to do) I loosened the switch and very little water cam on board, i will take it out and look for dirt there also


If the problem is that you can't get any water into the tank, then I wouldn't think adjusting the pressure switch on the onboard pump is likely to make any difference at all.

Is it possible to fill the tank via a different point (rather than the proper filler point). Perhaps the tank has a cleaning hatch that can be removed and a hosepipe run into it. If you can get some water into the tank by this method then at least you can prove the onboard side of things, i.e. you should be able to get water out of the taps.

If all works ok then you have narrowed the problem down to the filler/automatic shutoff. I wouldn't think that the Watermaster or the mains connection does anything other than fill the onboard tank. Once it's in the tank then the onboard pump etc will get the water from the tank to the tap.


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

No hoselock fitting is a whale submersible pump


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## Chudders (Jul 5, 2008)

Had a similar problem, could not get water from hose or external filler into tank. Problem for me was an air lock. I found the overflow pipe and blew strongly with my mouth. At first it was hard to blow then suddenly cleared and tank would accept water. Could that be your problem
Just an idea
Dave


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## MrColt (Mar 15, 2009)

Thanks Dave will try that. Motorhome only 3 months old could it be blocked this early?
Tony


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## Chudders (Jul 5, 2008)

Don,t know if only that okd, but I have had to clear mine on a couple of occasions via the overflow/vent pipe as described above.
Dave


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