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Sink Tap Not Working

skinnywhippet

skinnywhippet

VIP Member
Messages
167
Location
Poynton
Vehicle
T5 SE 180
Hello, I'd be grateful for any suggestions as we are going away tomorrow. When we turn the sink tap on there's just a click and nothing else. Does anyone have any ideas of what to check? It was OK last time we used it a month or two ago.

Thank you all in advance.
 
Your pump is stuck is my guess remove the lid to the freshwater tank lift pump out and make sure the impeller moves one it's moving replace and it should go
 
Thank you very much - removed the lid, bashed the pump and it now works. Sorry I need to improve my searching, I did look, but probably (definitely) in too much of a hurry.

On the last trip it was left on and running dry for quite a while by mistake, so I wonder if I should get a new pump as a spare just in case - it looks like this kind of thing, do you think this would be like for like replacement?

http://www.jonesboatchandlery.co.uk/standard-submersible-pump
 
Letting the pump run dry is no good , you find those pumps in many places ....
Glad it works back again , and seems you where able to open the lid from the tank without trouble?
 
Great thanks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
No I had to use a scotchblock connector
 
Thanks, I'm just getting the bits I need to carry with me over the Summer in case it fails. Very helpful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi

Just back from 5 week trip round Europe. Tap packed up after 1 week. Not impressed in a van that's only 3m old. Has now been mended by dealers under warranty and the problem was the tap itself. The switch mechanism in the tap was the problem. It's not always the pump!

Despite the tap problem, the van coped admirably. We had a great time.
 
We had to have the tap replaced on our T5. It's a shame, no it's poor that this hasn't been identified as a reoccurring problem that seems to be carried on into the T6.


Upgraded pump and tap please VW!
 
Is the water pump failing or the tap-switch?

There's a simple trick to test if it's the water pump that fails, or if it is a broken microswitch in the tap:

Go under the sink, find the tiny connectors that connect the tap leads to the battery (they are usually wrapped in a piece of folded isolation plastic, tucked away behind the sink).

Detach the two connectors. Take the right hand connector (usually with two brown leads that go out of the cabinet to the battery).

Bow a paperclip to form a plug (see picture), and push the two ends into the two holes of the connector. By shortening these 12 Volt + and - wires, you imitate the microswitch in the tap.

paperclip plug.jpg

If you hear the pump working and water is flushing from the tap, you know two things for sure: pump is o.k. and fuse of the pump is o.k.
Third thing you know now, is that there is something wrong with the microswitch in the tap.

This is a nice trick if you a) can't open the lid of the water tank (like me), and b) you don't carry a multimeter around on holidays (like me).

Two things more: if you are able to get the microswitch going again (after cleaning it or sanding it), this usually works for only a short period. Better to change the tap. (We are on our third tap in the mean time).
And: if the fuse of the pump is blown, get a new pump. A blown fuse indicates trouble with the pump.

Aqueous regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.
 
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Hers a variation on the issue on my 2016 cali... My tap clicks but no pump working... go around the back and switch on the shower (without hose in.. and pump works and so does kitchen tap. Turn off the switch at back and the kitchen tap wont work on its own. VW say its the micro switch and i have to wait 3 weeks for a replacement tap when I want to go camping before then !
 
Hers a variation on the issue on my 2016 cali... My tap clicks but no pump working... go around the back and switch on the shower (without hose in.. and pump works and so does kitchen tap. Turn off the switch at back and the kitchen tap wont work on its own. VW say its the micro switch and i have to wait 3 weeks for a replacement tap when I want to go camping before then !
Ha ha....I had the same in France recently.....no easy option to go to a garage,
I followed the advice from the forum.
Pull off the tap
I didn't take the micro switch apart, I just got a small thin piece of sand paper( that was in my cycle puncture repair kit) and pulled it over both internal sides of the contacts.....then it worked .

Your sink tap works when you use the shower because you have left the tap open, and they both use the same pump motor, and the switch in the shower is working. It also obviously means it isn't the fuse or a stuck impeller, which are the other two common problems.

Give it a go, and enjoy the summer in your van!!
 
Ha ha....I had the same in France recently.....no easy option to go to a garage,
I followed the advice from the forum.
Pull off the tap
I didn't take the micro switch apart, I just got a small thin piece of sand paper( that was in my cycle puncture repair kit) and pulled it over both internal sides of the contacts.....then it worked .

Your sink tap works when you use the shower because you have left the tap open, and they both use the same pump motor, and the switch in the shower is working. It also obviously means it isn't the fuse or a stuck impeller, which are the other two common problems.

Give it a go, and enjoy the summer in your van!!
When I said pull off the tap, I meant pull off the On Off lever on the right side of the tap!
 
Ha ha....I had the same in France recently.....no easy option to go to a garage,
I followed the advice from the forum.
Pull off the tap
I didn't take the micro switch apart, I just got a small thin piece of sand paper( that was in my cycle puncture repair kit) and pulled it over both internal sides of the contacts.....then it worked .

Your sink tap works when you use the shower because you have left the tap open, and they both use the same pump motor, and the switch in the shower is working. It also obviously means it isn't the fuse or a stuck impeller, which are the other two common problems.

Give it a go, and enjoy the summer in your van!!

Just did it in 5 mins and all working !!! Thank you so much. What the hell can't VW do the same instead of the 'you need a new tap, could take a month to deliver ' ! You're a star CYCLOPATH. Next issue is replacement of shattered kitchen glass worktop when the gas strut failed. They said they do all this under warranty. Finally, Maxxtraxx bike carrier found for £60 but need the footplate to fit it. oh isnt camping fun!
 
When I said pull off the tap, I meant pull off the On Off lever on the right side of the tap!
Same problem, different solution. Getting ready for a trip having left the fresh water tank dry during the cold weather. Filled it up with added Milton prior to refilling with fresh drinking water, but just a click from the tap. No flow and no pump noise. Did what any non-technical Cali owner would do in the circumstances - look it up on the Forum. Lots of good advice about sanding the micro-switch and applying extreme violence to the top of the tank to fish out the pump. The micro-switch sounded like the easiest first option, so prised off the tap lever with the tap in the recommended fully upright position and had a good look at the switch. No obvious faulty connections, so back to the forum for a bit more reading about what to do next. Then back to the Cali. You've already guessed ... a flood! Presumably the pump just needed a good soak for half an hour in order to free itself. That obviously wouldn't solve most of the tap-not-working problems described in other postings, but maybe it's worth waiting for a while after filling the tank in these circumstances before starting to take things apart (and don't leave the tap set on open while you do so)!
 
This forum is great and thanks to everyone who posts their advice and tips and tricks.
I too have just filled the tank after it being dry for winter and hey presto - the tap 'clicked' but nothing else.
Checked the manual - so now I've learned where the fuses are, but no useful tips on taps not working.
Checked the forum - loads of tips! First, I'll wait while the pump has a 'soak' and cross my fingers that it sorts itself out, then I'll attempt the other options.
With a bit of luck we'll be able to have a cuppa when we're out tomorrow.
 
Old thread but same problem, already had tap replaced under warranty as had stopped working and now in france and it has stopped again ! Like above, if I run the shower the tap works so I think it could be the micro switch but how to you get the on/off part of the tap off? Is it just brute force and assume we are talking about the silver lever you turn to turn the tap on and off?
 
Old thread but same problem, already had tap replaced under warranty as had stopped working and now in france and it has stopped again ! Like above, if I run the shower the tap works so I think it could be the micro switch but how to you get the on/off part of the tap off? Is it just brute force and assume we are talking about the silver lever you turn to turn the tap on and off?
See here

Pictures Post 99 onwards.
 

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