Water pump not running

[PhilR]

Hi all, done lots of searching and reading on here and ready to do some fault finding today, but just wondered if anyone else has had the very same issue as us?……
We had PF Jones fit the Wesfalia removable towbar on Friday, on our drive. The chap was very good and careful and fitted it all in around 2 hours.
Now whether it’s coincidence or not, we’ve just filled up the water tank with Puriclean to get it ready and flushed out for the summer, but when we tried the tap nothing came out. An error message came up on the control panel saying “water pump issue, take to vw” or similar. Now, the microswitch makes an audible noise followed by a very quiet but audible “whine” for about 3 seconds, followed by the error message. Same symptoms if using the rear shower outlet.

I’ve looked in the (not great) manual and on here and still can’t figure out which fuse controls the water pump.
I’ll have a go at getting to the water pump, however the van is only 6 months old. I could arrange to take it to VW but we are going away in it next weekend.

I’ve tried blowing through the shower pipe to maybe release any airlocks, that made a lot of bubbling noises and water came out with gravity and we’ve drained and filled the tank again but still get the lack of pump noise and the error message.

Any advice for fault finding and fuse identification please?

 

[WelshGas]

Hi all, done lots of searching and reading on here and ready to do some fault finding today, but just wondered if anyone else has had the very same issue as us?……
We had PF Jones fit the Wesfalia removable towbar on Friday, on our drive. The chap was very good and careful and fitted it all in around 2 hours.
Now whether it’s coincidence or not, we’ve just filled up the water tank with Puriclean to get it ready and flushed out for the summer, but when we tried the tap nothing came out. An error message came up on the control panel saying “water pump issue, take to vw” or similar. Now, the microswitch makes an audible noise followed by a very quiet but audible “whine” for about 3 seconds, followed by the error message. Same symptoms if using the rear shower outlet.

I’ve looked in the (not great) manual and on here and still can’t figure out which fuse controls the water pump.
I’ll have a go at getting to the water pump, however the van is only 6 months old. I could arrange to take it to VW but we are going away in it next weekend.

I’ve tried blowing through the shower pipe to maybe release any airlocks, that made a lot of bubbling noises and water came out with gravity and we’ve drained and filled the tank again but still get the lack of pump noise and the error message.

Any advice for fault finding and fuse identification please?

Although there are differences on the T6.1 there are a lot of similarities.
The water pump fuse is under the front passenger seat, a 5 amp fuse on previous models.
If the fuse is OK then check the tap switch. Remove Cutlery draw R Kitchen cupboard. Follow wires down from tap to a connection block, normally wrapped in foam and jammed up on the R side of the sink bowel.
Disconnect this block , open tap, and short circuit the connectors on the non-tap side. If the pump starts and water flows then faulty tap microswitch.
If no water flows, pump at fault.

One extra point , the Control Panel may have registered a fault and needs a reset to clear it. This can be done by removing and replacing certain fuses.

Help i need a reset control panel help

Need no which 4 fuses an colours to pull out to reset control panel was going away xmas at this rate I won't

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[PhilR]

Thanks WG

I’m just about to go and do some fault finding……will keep you updated…

 

[PhilR]

All stuff checked as per WelshGas’s excellent instructions, however still not working so must be the pump. Oh well, not had to visit VW up until now so can’t complain too much I suppose. Will try and get it booked in at Birmingham as they’re the closest. Hopefully they’ll be able to fit it in one day this week otherwise we’ll be taking water canisters with us next weekend

 

[yossarian]

If you have a "pump protection active" or similar message on the control panel you need to acknowledge it before the pump will run.

If you've been using the rear shower remove the shower and check that the bayonet valve has sprung closed first. The shower can introduce an airlock if it is open with the pump off.

 

[PhilR]

If you have a "pump protection active" or similar message on the control panel you need to acknowledge it before the pump will run.

If you've been using the rear shower remove the shower and check that the bayonet valve has sprung closed first. The shower can introduce an airlock if it is open with the pump off.

Thanks. No messages at all.
I’ve checked the shower numerous times and taking it off/blowing through it but still no pump running. Will contact dealer in the morning.

 

[PhilR]

So just tried to book an appointment at Birmingham and the next slot they have is 4 July - that’s 7 weeks away

I’ve luckily now managed to get it booked in at Leicester next week instead. A bit further to travel but better than waiting 7 weeks!

 

[reserves]

Best tip I got was to look at the battery usage on the panel, it should be 0.0

Now turn the tap (or shower) on, if they battery usage goes up then the tap / shower switches are working and it's more likely the pump (or a fuse)

 

[PhilR]

Well this has turned into a bit of a nightmare. So after checking everything as suggested on here, I booked it into VW Leicester this week. I dropped it off Tuesday first thing. Radio silence all week so ended up finally getting through to someone and said I needed it back today, which I do, as I’m collecting a caravan with it tomorrow (that’s another story!). So they’ve had it all week and their master technician who specialises in Californias hasn’t been able to fix it and they are now saying they’ll need it for another week as the carpets and seats will have to be removed to get to a connector??? The advisor said that they’d been through 75 pages of instructions to get this far???

I really don’t know what to do now. Do I take it back to Leicester and put up with their abysmal communication? They have apparently done the investigation works so surely they know what they’re doing? One good thing is that they didn’t leave any marks/damage etc. Or do I find another dealer that may not have to resort to pulling apart my 6 month old California?

This is our first dealings with a VWCV dealer and we’re not very impressed. Any advice or suggestions/recommendations including a good dealership would be very welcome!

 

[yossarian]

Observations:

Looking at the wiring diagram I see that the pump is run directly by J608 (pin 11 yellow wire)

It runs through connector TSKVL (coupling point in left seat box pin 6)

From there to connector TIL in the cupboard bottom. Pin 2 of a 10 pin connector.

From there to the pump. Yellow wire.

The pump can be tested by injecting 12V.

J608 appears to have output test functions addressable over the canbus.

The switches are wired in parallel and sensed by J608 (pin 23 red black wire). The shortest path runs through the same connectors TKVSL pin 7 and TIL pins 4 and 5 (under cupboard connector)

Pin 4 is fused by SH16 which is fuse 16 in fuse holder H under front left seat.

Both paths are testable without removing carpets (removing the front left seat is useful). If you do it don't switch on the ignition with the airbag disconnected. If they have discovered a problem with these paths then removing seats and carpets might be necessary.

I note that your original fault description says that there's an audible pump whine for 3 seconds when opening the tap followed by an error message.

If this is still the case this suggests that J608 is measuring current consistent with the running of a dry pump and switching the pump off to prevent it burning out.

Here's what I would do to fault find:

1. Check fuse SH16. Edit under front left seat.

2. Inspect the pump. Is it's intake at the bottom of the tank? Is it melted? Can I measure 12V at the pump briefly before the pump protection kicks in? Btw it should not be possible to melt the pump.

3 If there is no error message on the control panel I'd suspect the switch path. You should measure 12V on one side of the switch. Edit: remove the cutlery drawer for access.

4 If the J608 thinks it is switching on the pump but doesn't see any current it should give you an error on the control panel.

If my dealer needed 75 pages of instructions to do the above I'd be a little concerned. But maybe they have completed the above diagnostics? In which case I'd expect them to say "x wire is broken between y and z."

I'd expect that VW would be able to switch outputs on J608 or measure inputs purely by software. I might give this a go in my van a bit later.

I'll edit this post soon with a link to the wiring diagram.

Edit Wiring diagram

Additional thing to try: reset J608 by pulling fuses 5 6 7 and 8 in the fuse box under the headlight switch. They are all 25A. Have a look at them while you are there to check they are all intact.

Interestingly the 6.1 fuse list indicates SH16 is not assigned. This might be a trap for someone diagnosing this system.


Tap switch


Pump output




High side current with pump running

 

[yossarian]

I had a poke around my MY22 van today. I wasn't able to locate SH16 or SH16 is not valid on my van or I've misread the wiring diagram. J608 input and outputs are observable via the canbus as documented above. Toggling the output does not make the pump run probably because the current path is likely through the input switch.

 

[PhilR]

Wow thanks Yossarian, do you have a workshop service lol!!
I’m hoping the “Master Tech California Expert” did all these checks…..

 

[yossarian]

If you have obdeleven, or perhaps vcds or carista you may be able to do some simple diagnostics of j608's inputs and outputs.