Water pump and display panel issues

[Wavefury]

Hi all,

Had our GC600 for 2 years now with no real major issues. Last week though the water system seems to have shut down completely (no water from kitchen, bathroom, or rear shower). There is no sound coming from the pump. Fuse is OK, and yes, there is water in the tank!

....which leads me nicely onto the second problem (or maybe further symptom).
The display panel is showing that the water tank is 645% full, and the waste tank is 201% full, but the battery is sadly 0% full, which considering it's plugged into an EHU, and the lights and fridge all work ok still when unplugged would suggest otherwise!

I've pulled fuses, turned the big red knob off and on countless times leaving increasingly longer times before turning back on, shouted at it, and only haven't gone the full Basil Fawlty on it as, well, its an expensive vehicle!
When I do turn off the red button, the display will initially show me having 0% water in both tanks for a variable period ranging from about 30 mins to 2 days before reverting to the 645%, etc. It also reports 100% battery initially too.

I've checked the visible connectors above the water tank (under the mattress panel), and they all look OK.

I've tried swiping the T on the panel to get into the service settings but that seems to have stopped working for me too. The panel is otherwise responsive.

Has anyone come across this before, or Know of anything else I can try?

Cheers,
Andy

 

[GordonH]

Blue plug trick - that info on the panel comes from the KFG. To reset that unit turn off the big red switch, look under dash on passenger side, you will see the KFG, pull out the blue plug (it has a retention clip you need to hold back). Wait 10s, plug it back in and switch red switch back on.

 

[Wavefury]

Blue plug trick - that info on the panel comes from the KFG. To reset that unit turn off the big red switch, look under dash on passenger side, you will see the KFG, pull out the blue plug (it has a retention clip you need to hold back). Wait 10s, plug it back in and switch red switch back on.

Hi,

Thanks for quick reply!

Sadly only has same effect as just turning off the BRK (Big Red Knob). Both tanks showing 0% now and battery 100%, and taps still not working (which is the bigger, ultimate problem)

Maybe the pump has failed? It's not making any noises.....cue Dead Parrot sketch parody....

 

[GordonH]

If the display is saying 0% fresh water then the system logic is such that the pump won't run under any condition. (no water!)

Equally when it thinks the grey water was 201% the pump won't run (tank is full++) other than to flush the toilet.

So sort of catch 22 in your two scenarios, the pump logic is stopping it working, doesn't mean you don't also have a faulty pump of course but seems less likely to have two issues.

VW methinks if the blue plug didn't do the trick.

 

[Wavefury]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, but means I cant use the van really until it gets sorted.

Toilet doesn't flush either, forgot to mention.

 

[GordonH]

Bummer !

Can’t think of what else to try. The blue plug trick is usually the fix all if it’s just a firmware glitch. There are soft and hard resets you can do via the OBD connector but I’ve no experience with that approach.

Hopefully others will chime in with a Eureka moment !!

 

[Mr T]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, but means I cant use the van really until it gets sorted.

Toilet doesn't flush either, forgot to mention.

Are you 100% sure there is water in the tank? Now the control panel is not reading stupidly high numbers have you tried filling the tank?
Are all the various drain valves shut?
Just worth a treble-check imo

 

[Wavefury]

It's full.

 

[Mr T]

It's full.

Ok. Not entirely sure how the level sensor works but what if you drain the water completely, big red switch off, then pull the blue plug for a minute. Then plug back in and refill water tank.
Kind of a recalibration if you get my thinking.
Until the kfg recognises that there is water in the tank it won’t send power to the pump.

 

[GordonH]

Just to add ... accepting it's not going to change the issue but as an FYI to add another piece to the puzzle you may not be aware of, the KFG will also stop the pump running if the battery is low, exactly where the shut off is is unclear as the VW documentation disagrees with itself in a number of places but somewhere under 20% battery the KFG shuts off the main consumers.

It is odd that your fridge is still running when the panel says 0% battery, some lights may continue to run as I don't think 'everything' is shut down.

 

[Wavefury]

Yeah there is definitely something weird going on. Did the KFG thing again but left it a good 30 mins this time. Now everything (water / waste / battery) still appears 'fixed' at 0% after a day and a 40 mile run around the block.

None of the light switches work on the kitchen console or by the beds, BUT each of the lights can still be turned on / off manually on the light itself. The gas heating works fine, and can be controlled from either the Display Console or the Truma unit itself. The fridge works fine. All taps are dead (interior and exterior, toilet flush), and I can suck water through the taps so no air locks.

No error on the dash when starting up to inform that the 2nd battery is flat (which it isn't in real life), so that sensor must be independent from the Display Console one. I also can't turn on the Fast Charge button when driving to boost the 2nd battery charge.

Just.....weird!

May just disconnect both batteries today and leave the whole system to shut down completely.

Just to confirm, this IS the KFG plug in blue, yes?

 

[GordonH]

Very weird. As I understand it the KFG is the brains of the thing and does all the measurement and logic, the control panel on the shower wall is in essence just a display & touch panel. With regards to the ‘KFG blue plug’ and the pic, If thats the one under the dash in front of the UK passenger side then yes. Make sure you always turn the red switch in the utility cupboard OFF before you unplug the blue plug and don’t switch it on again until you’ve plugged it back in otherwise bad things can happen! If you go onto the GC UK facebook group and have a look in the files section on the homepage you can download the self study programmes SSP594 & SSP599. Those documents give a pretty extensive write up on how it all works.