Fresh water pump won't shut off??

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Joined
Apr 3, 2013
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18
Location
Suwanee,GA.
I never tried to use my water pump in my "new to me" RV. Always used the city water hookup. Today I turn the pump on for the first time and it runs all the time and the water pressure in low.

It's ShurFlo model #2088-403-144 pump. Says 2.8 GPM on it. My question is:

shouldn't the pump ran for a minute and then shut off?

Do you think my pump is bad?

Is so can I replace it with a higher volume one, like a 3.5 GPM pump?

1999 Coachmen Mirada 340MB
 
Do you have water in your fresh water tank?  The pump gets its water from the fresh water tank.  If the fresh water tank is empty, the pump will continue to run, even if you are hooked up to city water.
 
Just wanted to clarify something first, I have a on/off switch for the water pump. The pump runs all the time when I turn it on. It doesn't ran when the switch is in the off position.

When I turn the switch on the pump runs and I can get water at all the faucets. But I don't get very much water pressure. It hardly even comes out of the shower head.

I opened all the faucets and ran the pump for about 5 mins. to try and see if there was any air in the lines. But still get them same results. Pump runs continually and hardly any water pressure.

No leaks under the coach, or inside anywhere.

The valves are in the position shown in the pictures (Which is suppose to be correct).
 
you should have a valve to select between fill and city...labeling may vary. If valve is in fill (to fill freshwater tank) pump will run all the time it is on.
Bob
 
Check the check valve in your city water connection, especially if you have a separate spot to fill your tank...if the check valve is bad you are pumping water out of the tank through your city water connection...happened to me once...

Good Luck!

Jim
 
If you have water in your holding tank and if you are still connected to city water, the pump will run continuously, when you turn the switch on. Disconnect the city water and I( bet it quits.
 
When I turn the switch on the pump runs and I can get water at all the faucets. But I don't get very much water pressure. It hardly even comes out of the shower head.

That lack of water pressure is likely why the pump is running. It's designed to bring the pressure up to a point, then shut off until the pressure drops again. So you may have a valve partially open somewhere, or a leak somewhere, or a faucet not completely shut off. There might be a connection to the pump designed to allow RV antifreeze to be put in the system, and its valve might be open. Or one of the valves on the water heater bypass might not be in the proper position.
 
mikef said:
If you have water in your holding tank and if you are still connected to city water, the pump will run continuously, when you turn the switch on. Disconnect the city water and I( bet it quits.

Tried that. Pump still runs. I don't think it pumping any water. Going to pump the pump and see if I can get it to pump water out of a 5 gal bucket.
 
MartinFamilyTour said:
Tried that. Pump still runs. I don't think it pumping any water. Going to pump the pump and see if I can get it to pump water out of a 5 gal bucket.

As another poster indicated, if your fill valve is positioned to "Fill" and not "Normal" and you have a demand pump, the pump will run continuously.  Have you checked the position of the fill valve?
 
mikef said:
If you have water in your holding tank and if you are still connected to city water, the pump will run continuously, when you turn the switch on. Disconnect the city water and I( bet it quits.

Mine doesn't. When in RV parks with low pressure I keep water in the tank and often leave the pump turned on when connected to city water so I have more pressure for showers.
When the city water pressure is lower than the pump set turn on pressure the pump runs. When the city pressure is higher than the pump set pressure the pump does not run.
 
Whether or not the pump runs continuously if hooked to city water depends on the water pressure at the city connection, so there is no single answer. If the city inlet pressure is below the pump's own pressure setting (typically about 45 psi), the pump will try to bring the entire city water source up to its own psi setting, which means it runs indefinitely. If the city source psi is well above the pump psi threshold, the pump won't ever come on. Usually it is somewhere in between, though.
 
Martinfamily: Yes you can replace it with a larger GPM pump, but often the pump is NOT the cause of the problem. The pump is unable to build pressure to the level needed to shut off. Possible reasons for that besides a bad pump are:
1. Clogged pump inlet strainer
2. City fill valve is open (water is pumped right back into the fresh tank and pressure never builds)
3. A water drain line, e.g. low point drain, is open
4. A broken line or valve somewhere
5. Fresh tank is empty

If it is a bad pump, that could be either a failed internal check valve or a bad impeller.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Whether or not the pump runs continuously if hooked to city water depends on the water pressure at the city connection, so there is no single answer. If the city inlet pressure is below the pump's own pressure setting (typically about 45 psi), the pump will try to bring the entire city water source up to its own psi setting, which means it runs indefinitely. If the city source psi is well above the pump psi threshold, the pump won't ever come on. Usually it is somewhere in between, though.

That is not how mine works. When the pressure is lower than the pump pressure the pump runs only when a faucet is open and it then pumps from the tank until the city water increases or the faucet is closed. Is that what you were saying and I didn't understand?
 
You're getting air into the fresh water system somewhere.  Check your system to see where it might be.  I was getting the same symptoms and found that I had inadvertently pulled the intake hose a bit too much when working behind the manifold.  Pushing it back, further into the FW tank solved my problem.

I'm just sayin.....
 
mikef said:
If you have water in your holding tank and if you are still connected to city water, the pump will run continuously, when you turn the switch on. Disconnect the city water and I( bet it quits.
MartinFamilyTour said:
Tried that. Pump still runs. I don't think it pumping any water. Going to pump the pump and see if I can get it to pump water out of a 5 gal bucket.
I still haven't seen where the OP has assured he has water in the fresh water tank.  Or, did I miss that somewhere?  His statement above is not very clear on that matter.
 

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