water pump

[jimgvitaman]

am new to this motor home business. i bought a 1994 winnebago brave in november.  reasonable shape, chevy chassis, everything works more or less.  de-winterized it a couple of weeks ago, checked the hot water heater, furnace, etc, all worked.  outside water worked well, water heated, no prob, shower worked, etc.  when i turned on the inside pump, it fired up.  i turned it off immediately because there was no water in the tank.

i put water in the tank this week, but now the pump won't come on.  what has changed?  for one, i had to replace the outside shower faucet.  it was switched, so i had to unplug the switch when i removed the leaky one.  when i unplugged it from the harness, the switch fell apart.  now the harness is hanging there not plugged into anything.  that's one change.

after leaving the rv sitting for a week, the starter battery was down.  that didn't happen at any time during the winter.  another change, but i since the pump doesn't run off that battery, it shoudn't have effected the pump function.

when i turn on the pump at the tank check panel, nothing happens. if i turn on the water faucests as the manual instructs, the pump doesn't come on.  any ideas out there?

 

[Garyk]

I think you answered your own question when you mentioned the switch that fell apart at the outside faucet. Replace the switch or repair it, the switch must be in the circuit for the pump which you have broken.

 

[Mavarick]

Sounds like you have a couple different things going on here. Don?t worry about running the water pump without water for a bit, won?t hurt it.  They run out of water all the time.
I agree the outside ?switch? you mention probably has disconnected your pump circuit. Get that replaced and try the water system again. Put water in the holding tank and the pump should run until it hits it?s preset pressure and shut off.  When a faucet is opened it will kick on again and go thru the cycle. Don?t turn on your water heater without filling the heater first or you can burn out the heating element.
The chassis battery (starter battery) will discharge slowly from parasitic loads and faster depending on what you have drawing from it. Radio, chassis lights, etc so check everything to see what is drawing it down and take an amp draw test at the battery if needed using a VOM. The $12 one from Walmart will measure up to 10a DC if you don?t have one. Can?t say what is different now but guessing you left something on. They usually won?t go a full ?winter? without something charging them but should go longer than a week. Hope this helps, welcome to the forum.

 

[jimgvitaman]

wow again!  i suspected the circuit interruption, but it's so good to have it confirmed.  i installed a master disconnect switch on the chassis battery, charged the battery, disconnected it when i'm not using it.  will see this weekend if this is a fix.  will take some jumper cables just in case.  thanks for the quick advice.  the switch should arrive from littsin tomorrow along with the drain valves.  great stuff.

thanks,

jimg

 

[alleycat]

Jim, I have a 95 Winnebago Brave, same set up. As recommended, replace the defective switch and your problem should be solved.

 

[micd111]

Hi Jim,

This isn't to help with your question but we also have a 1994 Winnebago Brave. Absolutely love it! I hope you enjoy yours as much as we have enjoyed ours. We just pulled it out of storage today and started to reinstall all the things we take out for the winter (anything with liquid or a battery). If you haven't already found it the parts catalog is very helpful.
http://www.winnebagoind.com/service/submenu/1994.htm

Also unless the previous owner did it you should think about replacing the LP detector (one of the newer ones draws less current so will draw the battery down slower) and the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. If they are original then they will have aged out as ours had.

We keep track of some of our modifications on our blog if your interested. Welcome to the world of RVing! If you think we can help with any questions we'd be happy to help.

Cheers!
Michelle