Fresh water pump

[Gelertthedog]

Water pump replacement.
Hi there, no water from tap - fuses are ok, I have 12volts to the water pump and have managed to remove the cover on the tank (no mean feat) I can see the water pipe, easy enough to cut and reinsert the with the new pump - but what happens to the 12v supply cable?

 

[WelshGas]

Water pump replacement.
Hi there, no water from tap - fuses are ok, I have 12volts to the water pump and have managed to remove the cover on the tank (no mean feat) I can see the water pipe, easy enough to cut and reinsert the with the new pump - but what happens to the 12v supply cable?

View attachment 77039

View attachment 77040

Firstly, how do you know the pump has failed and not the tap microswitch?

 

[KGCali]

Have a read of this ...
Thread 'How to Fix Kitchen Tap and Water Pump Problem and solution.' https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...ap-and-water-pump-problem-and-solution.10211/

 

[Gelertthedog]

Fab - diolch Welsh Gas - look like need to cut the 12v cable and reconnect to fit new pump

Firstly, how do you know the pump has failed and not the tap microswitch?

Hi, when I turn the tap on i get 12v to the connector water pump end

Have a read of this ...
Thread 'How to Fix Kitchen Tap and Water Pump Problem and solution.' https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...ap-and-water-pump-problem-and-solution.10211/

sorry KG Cali - got confused as who i was replying too -

 

[WelshGas]

Fab - diolch Welsh Gas - look like need to cut the 12v cable and reconnect to fit new pump


Hi, when I turn the tap on i get 12v to the connector water pump end


sorry KG Cali - got confused as who i was replying too -

I was getting concerned with your question as to what to do with the electrical wires.

 

[Gelertthedog]

Ah, i have it sorted now thanks WG, no worries, the post from @KGCali most helpful. New pump and 12v connectors on order £22 - happy days. Hopefully this will sort it.

 

[Resfeber]

Ah, i have it sorted now thanks WG, no worries, the post from @KGCali most helpful. New pump and 12v connectors on order £22 - happy days. Hopefully this will sort it.

Just to add to this thread.
Had a similar issue with the fresh water pump not working after filling tank after drain down over winter and testing.

All electrical test (fuse, micro switch at tap and power to pump were all good, so this left either seized pump, burnt out by running without water(most unlikely) or plain just having given up.

So extracted pump, (Did not need the access hatch spanner just a good adjustable spanner to catch in the plastic ribbed top to free ).
Found that the impeller would turn but felt a little stiff but not having a new pump to compare to, seemed about right resistance for having the motor attached.

Refitted and shook it about in the water and banged on side and bottom of tank in hope that if it was a seized impeller, this would free it (as many others have found).

No luck, so ordered a new pump from the shoppe and fitted this. Note the rubber grommet for the power cable into the tank is a right bast@-d to get back in with the cable through it. Careful but necessary force with a screwdriver tip without cutting the grommet. Tried with just the unsleeved tail leads through but felt that these may have snapped trying to pull on these to get the waterproof outer cable back through the grommet.

Anyway, gave to impeller a spin and found it to be much easier to turn than the one I took out. Made the electrical reconnection and water flowing fine.

So turned my attention to the old pump and using a drill shank pushed hard on the end of the motor spindle.

There was a distinct give and click as something reseated.

Tested the old pump (in water to avoid running dry and worked perfectly.

So now have a spare pump but thought others may want to know about this as just rattled my the pump may not be enough to free a seize impeller after draining the tank and over wintering as a dry pump.

 

[Maxi-Mizer-T6]

Just to add to this thread.
Had a similar issue with the fresh water pump not working after filling tank after drain down over winter and testing.

All electrical test (fuse, micro switch at tap and power to pump were all good, so this left either seized pump, burnt out by running without water(most unlikely) or plain just having given up.

So extracted pump, (Did not need the access hatch spanner just a good adjustable spanner to catch in the plastic ribbed top to free ).
Found that the impeller would turn but felt a little stiff but not having a new pump to compare to, seemed about right resistance for having the motor attached.

Refitted and shook it about in the water and banged on side and bottom of tank in hope that if it was a seized impeller, this would free it (as many others have found).

No luck, so ordered a new pump from the shoppe and fitted this. Note the rubber grommet for the power cable into the tank is a right bast@-d to get back in with the cable through it. Careful but necessary force with a screwdriver tip without cutting the grommet. Tried with just the unsleeved tail leads through but felt that these may have snapped trying to pull on these to get the waterproof outer cable back through the grommet.

Anyway, gave to impeller a spin and found it to be much easier to turn than the one I took out. Made the electrical reconnection and water flowing fine.

So turned my attention to the old pump and using a drill shank pushed hard on the end of the motor spindle.

There was a distinct give and click as something reseated.

Tested the old pump (in water to avoid running dry and worked perfectly.

So now have a spare pump but thought others may want to know about this as just rattled my the pump may not be enough to free a seize impeller after draining the tank and over wintering as a dry pump.

View attachment 77176

That is really useful to know! I recently replaced my water pump and, just like yours, felt a bit stiff but I didn't see anything strange with it, so figured it would be dead in the inside. I will give this a try and see if I too have a spare pump now.

Also, on this subject, I've had 3 different issues already with the water system in the California. I've learned a few things as I fixed all of them so I decided to document it all in case it helps others. Here's a first guide on how to identify which problem you are actually experiencing:

https://medium.com/@maxi-mizer/fix-vw-california-ocean-coast-kitchen-water-issues-43a19d0d893a

I hope it helps! I'll update this thread as I complete the detailed step-by-step guides (feel free to drop by that article and give me some claps and comments for motivation!)

 

[Maxi-Mizer-T6]

OK, for any one browsing this thread in search for a guide on how to replace the water pump, here's a guide I've put together after replacing mine:
https://medium.com/@maxi-mizer/how-to-replace-the-vw-california-water-pump-b8ec3aac2868

If you are not sure if you need to replace your water pump or not, you can use my previous article to determine what problem is affecting your van:
https://medium.com/@maxi-mizer/fix-vw-california-ocean-coast-kitchen-water-issues-43a19d0d893a

I hope it helps!

 

[edocali]

So turned my attention to the old pump and using a drill shank pushed hard on the end of the motor spindle.

There was a distinct give and click as something reseated.

Tested the old pump (in water to avoid running dry and worked perfectly.

So now have a spare pump but thought others may want to know about this as just rattled my the pump may not be enough to free a seize impeller after draining the tank and over wintering as a dry pump.

View attachment 77176

Hi thanks foir the post - I would like to test my old pump too.
Where should I connect it to ?

I was wondering if a battery charger could be used as 12V power supply?

 

[edocali]

I mean, without ordering a proper 12V power supply from amz that costs like a new pump ...

 

[Resfeber]

Hi thanks foir the post - I would like to test my old pump too.
Where should I connect it to ?

I was wondering if a battery charger could be used as 12V power supply?

Would work fine with a battery charger.
The pump is fused at 5 amps (from memory) so should not cause the charger to trip.
Alternative is rig up a supply from the cigarette/torch plug-in with one of these.

Heavy Duty 15A Male Plug Car Cigarette Lighter Power Adapter Supply Cable 12V | eBay

RVB 2 X 1.5 square red and black wire, the red wire is the positive electrode and the black wire is the negative electrode. 2PCS LED T10 W5W 501 RGB Colour Changing Car Wedge Side Light Bulb with Remote.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I cleaned my water tank with the powder stuff years ago. The water pump went soon after.
I only use the liquid cleaner now.

 

[edocali]

Would work fine with a battery charger.
The pump is fused at 5 amps (from memory) so should not cause the charger to trip.
Alternative is rig up a supply from the cigarette/torch plug-in with one of these.

Thanks! I’m just worried that connecting straight to the cigarette plug will blow another fuse. I’ll try the charger

 

[Resfeber]

Thanks! I’m just worried that connecting straight to the cigarette plug will blow another fuse. I’ll try the charger

The only issue may be that a “very” smart charger may not recognise the load of the pump and not supply current.

 

[Resfeber]

The only issue may be that a “very” smart charger may not recognise the load of the pump and not supply current.

Also if the pump is shorted out internally, most chargers will recognise any overload and trip/auto protect/blow the inline fuse protection that most chargers have

 

[edocali]

Well I attached the old pump to my battery charger which has a 20A fuse and the pump (submerged) did not even whirr. The fuse remained intact (unlike the 5A one in the Cali which was blown repeatedly).
I am still happy that thanks to the forum I attempted and succeeded in replacing the pump at minimal cost. And I learned a bit more about the internals of the Beast