Shureflo water pump not working!

[routlaw]

Yesterday I just discovered a non functional water pump. Took the fuse out, it looked good but didn't have my multi meter with me to make sure. Inspected all of the wiring and connects at the water pump didn't see an issue there either. When I turn the switch on for the pump, no green light either which might indicate no electricity is getting to the pump. There doesn't seem to be a way to get access to the switch wiring either given that the backing plate does not have any screws for attachment. It appears this plate is perhaps glued to the Oliver body.

 

Long and short of it, has anyone else encountered this in the past and if so how did you solve the problem? My gut instinct says the pump is not DOA itself but something else is amiss.

 

Thanks

 

 

[John E Davies]

Swap a known good fuse to see if that fixes it. Check to make sure the fuse is straight into the clips, and not loose or canted.

 

I found the fridge fuse not making a connection because the two socket arms or prongs, that the fuse plugs into, were spread apart, probably from an amateur installation, not mine. It killed power to the fridge control panel so it would not function at all.

 

If the arms are loose you can carefully squeeze them together with small needle nose pliers. Leave room for the fuse to go in.  Be careful to not short anything out! You could wrap the ends with electrical tape, pray, or even disconnect your batteries. Your choice. I used bare pliers and did not create sparks.

 

Check all the other fuses to see if they wiggle or if they are simply loose. Tighten all as needed.

 

This is not what you would call a high quality fuse box, not like in a well built car.

 

Now add fuses to your shopping list, and keep them handy in a spares kit. Be sure to buy ones for the jacks.

 

John adavies

 

Spokane WA

[routlaw]

John thanks for the reply. I have implemented most of your suggestions, except trying a different fuse mainly because I didn't have my tool box with backup fuses along with me. We had just towed our Oliver up to Butte yesterday for my wife to stay in while babysitting our new grandson for a few days next week. I got caught with this surprise unprepared. The available fuse is tight indeed and for sure it seated properly. What I found odd was no tiny sparks occurred as normal when pulling a fuse and reinserting with live voltage. In the past anytime I've done this, normally you will see that tiny spark which to me indicates somewhere else along the line this circuit is perhaps NOT receiving any current. Why I don't know, which is why I wanted to check the wiring at the pump & switch, thinking something was amiss there.

 

I will not have time until next week to get back up there and work on it, but for sure will try the fuse replacement. I agree with your assessment this is not a high quality fuse box. I do keep bevy of back up fuses, learned my lesson on that years ago, just forgot to put the toolbox back in the camper this time.

 

Thanks

 

 

[John E Davies]

You won't see a spark unless current is actually flowing. Even in a functioning circuit, if the pump switch was turned off, there would be no spark. It's best just to check voltage at the water pump connector, and if there is none, go to the switch and figure out where the open circuit is. If you have voltage and a good ground at the pump, check the resistance through the motor. If that is open, the pump is bad.

 

If everything checks, whack the pump with a mallet....

 

Good luck, and please post a followup about the fix.

 

John Davies

 

Spojane WA

[routlaw]

Good points, make sense. I will do this when I get the trailer back home, probably Wed or Thurs. Will do on the followup  as soon as I can bring it back.

[KarenLukens]

Or if she needs it now, have the son in law run a jumper wire to any hot 12vdc wire and then just leave it on for her. As far as smacking the pump, personally I've tapped the side with a crescent wrench once to start it in my old motorhome.

[routlaw]

They will set it up for city water access until we can get back home to work on properly. She should be able to get by without the pump for 3 days. All good suggestions and comments, much appreciated.

 

rob

[Spike]

I hope this question is not too far off topic to annoy anyone, but the discussion of fuses reminds me to ask this: Exactly what kind of back-up fuses should one have for the Ollie II? I'd like to have a set but know close to nothing about the electrical system and would just like to be able to go into an auto parts store and ask for the correct type. Can someone tell me exactly what I need to ask for?

[DavePhelps]

You may want to check the switch itself. This happened to me as well. The wire connection to the switch is a simple female spade wire connector. Ours slid off one of the two tabs on the back of the switch. I took the loose connector and pinched it closer together with some pliers and then slid it back on the switch tab. Back in business. Hope it's as simple for you. Here's a pic of the connector that was used on our rig:

 

 

Dave

[routlaw]

Thanks Dave, great info, but remember this is a two way switch. One in the bathroom and one under the pantry next to our solar controller.

 

The bigger question though is how on earth did you get access to the back of this switch. In my first post I had mentioned the back plate or mounting plate for this switch seems to be glued onto the interior Oliver body unlike the other mounting plates that have 4 screws at each corner. Getting access to the one in the bathroom becomes and entirely different nightmare requiring taking out the wash cloth rack below the sink.

 

Its great you were able to solve your similar problem so easy.

[routlaw]

Spike if you look in your fuse box just below the small dinette seat facing the bath you will see a slew of different fuses that vary from 10 amp to 30 amp all color coded. You could take one out with a pair of needle nose pliers to your local auto or hardware store to match. They probably have a name but I don't know it. The fuses are U shaped once they are pulled from the fuse box with two metal tabs that connect into the female arms that John Davies referred to earlier in the thread. You'll need to purchase a multi pack with all values hopefully with at least 2-3 per amp value. Piece of cake, don't let it intimidate you.

[ScubaRx]

Spike,

 

This article will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about fuses.  The ones in our Oliver's are like the ones shown as ATO (regular) but you will probably find them as ATC fuses.  The difference being that the ATC has a fuse element that is closed (hence the “C” in the code) inside the plastic housing, sealing it from the environment to prevent corrosion from developing. The ATO fuse is open on the bottom, exposing the fuse element between the blades. You will need some 10 amp, 15 amp and 20 amp ones.  The jacks in the rear are now being wired with fuses that are inline near each jack (like the outside front jack) rather than being fused at the box.  They require 30 amp AG (all glass) slow blow fuses.  I would keep a few of these on hand also.

 

 

[bradbev]

I don't know if this applies to your rig, but my new Elite II has circuit breakers mounted in the end cabinet above the rear window.  One of them is marked pump.

 

Brad - Santa Fe NM

[routlaw]

I don't think I've got that in my rear cabinet, can't remember ever seeing any circuit breakers there but will look again. To the best of my knowledge all circuit breakers are in the same fuse box mentioned previously.

[ScubaRx]

I don’t know if this applies to your rig, but my new Elite II has circuit breakers mounted in the end cabinet above the rear window. One of them is marked pump. Brad – Santa Fe NM

 

This is a relatively new addition resurrected from the same type panel that was installed by the entrance on the early model (2007-2009) Elites.

[KarenLukens]

Here's a pic of the new panel in the rear storage

 

[Mike and Carol]

My pump quit working once while on the road. There are two wires that connect to the pump that had worked themselves loose. I crimped the connectors for a tighter fit, and that seems to have fixed it. Mike

[DavePhelps]

It is pretty plain to see if your fuse has blown. If they look to be in good shape, then I would really recommend looking at the switch connections.

 

Those spade connectors can easily slide off if not crimped correctly and/or if you travel rough roads. In my Elite, one of the two switches is in the kitchen sink cabinet. I pulled out a drawer to get access to the back side. For you, with the switch under the pantry, I don't know. There has to be an access hatch somewhere. The cover plate for these switches will not come off as far as I can tell, however, the switch itself can be popped out of the cover plate (use a plastic putty knife so no scratches). Less room to work, but you can at least check all the connections. The bathroom switch may not pop off the same way, haven't tried it, I'd ask Jason about that. If any one of the connections to those two switches has come loose, the pump will not work! Just my two cents. Please let us know what the issue ends up being. Good luck!

 

Dave

[routlaw]

Just brought back our Oliver this afternoon, but unfortunately its not looking too good.

 

Tried all of the appropriate suggestions for our particular model year all to no avail. But for those interested and for whom it might help in the future the following is a short rundown of what I have done. Checked and double checked the appropriate fuse, even temporarily replaced it though it measured fine, and it fits snug in its receptacle. Pulled the two wires from the pump and measured for voltage there only got fluctuating mili volts, not good. Measured also at the fuse box receptacle and received more or less the same fluctuating mili volts. Its a double pole switch and the bathroom one comes outs quite easily and all 3 of those fast tab connectors were in solid. I was able to barely pull the main pole switch just below the pantry but not well enough to see all 3 wires with fast tab connectors. There is a lot of tension from the back of this switch. And this is where it gets really ugly there is absolutely no way to get access to these switches without either tearing the mounting plate off the interior body or drilling a very large hole on inside of the hidden compartment below the pantry. What the hell was Oliver thinking on this install?

 

To the best of my knowledge there are no inline fuses upwind from the actual pump back to the fuse box. I suppose its remotely possible one of the pole wires at the fuse box has wiggled loose, but man oh man talk about opening a big can of worms to sort through that.

 

Presently I'm a bit too aggravated to start drilling on the interior body just to examine fast tab connectors on the other switch which I am inclined to believe are intact in the first place. In the meantime I'm at a loss for the remedy on this one.

 

Again thanks for all the suggestions.

[KarenLukens]

Look for access behind the batteries first and cut back there if needed. I'm thinking on an Elite II anyway. You should run a 12vdc jumper to the pump to make sure it works, then see if you can get it working or rewired up to the switch above the stove, while bypassing the one in the bathroom. Or if the pump works, you can run a temporary switch straight up from the pump.

 

Do you have an Elite or Elite II?

[KarenLukens]

You can run the jumper from the right rear jack, that would be easy enough anyway.

 

 

Then below shows you the pump circled in blue but these are the 2017 schematics

 

 

And once again without the Blue marks

 

 

You can see from the schematic that if the broken line is one of the 3way switch lines, that it will take some work to trace it and replace it, but it can be done most likely with a second person to help feel the wire tension. Ours is all ran in plastic Flex conduit which makes it pretty easy... Sometimes...but if you locate one wire, then you can just pull 2 wires with it to just replace both. Or... You can forget the bathroom switch for now if you find those 2 lines are where the problem is because the main power goes from the converter straight to the bathroom 3way switch that you see in purple. So if any of those 3 lines are broken, it's going to be a pain. You could pull the bathroom switch and then connect the 3 lines together there and that will show you which of the 3 is broken. If there's no power at all then it's the purple line from the bathroom to the converter.

 

Reed

[routlaw]

Look for access behind the batteries first and cut back there if needed. I’m thinking on an Elite II anyway. You should run a 12vdc jumper to the pump to make sure it works, then see if you can get it working or rewired up to the switch above the stove, while bypassing the one in the bathroom. Or if the pump works, you can run a temporary switch straight up from the pump. Do you have an Elite or Elite II?

The battery compartment would not provide access to the back of the mounting plate for those switches unfortunately. Even if it did the stretch would prevent any way of finessing wires. Good idea on the jumper to the pump though, the same thing occurred to me later in the evening. I will try that shortly. BTW we do not have a switch anywhere near our stove, only in the bath room and just under the pantry area. Ours is an Elite II, but probably an earlier model than yours, ours is 2015.

 

Thanks

 

 

[routlaw]

Success at last! For those interested and for anyone who runs across the same issue here goes.

 

The fast tab connectors had indeed come loose from the pump switch located under the pantry. I removed the 4 screws holding the backing plate for the battery, water, gray water & black water gauge which provided just enough light and access but only if you have very small hands. Effectively when the Oliver crew terminated these wires to the switch they provide absolutely no slack at all, and in fact those wires were pulled quite tight and in the large harness with a bunch of other wires. The weight of the harness with tight wires pulled them from their connections. I re-terminated all three of the double pole switch wires with two foot long extensions of 12 AWG wiring. Tested the system before reinstalling the entire enchilada and it all worked fine. Hopefully no one else has to go through this because it is a major PITA to accomplish. I did not have to drill any holes either in the battery box or hidden compartment either, however it would have provided far better access to do so from the compartment.

 

As Dave pointed out one can wiggle the switch out of its socket with a putty knife and flat head screw driver, but start with the putty knife first. The bathroom switch comes out much easier just wiggling and pulling with your fingers. And oddly enough they provided plenty of slack with the bathroom switch.

 

I'm attaching a few relevant photos for future reference. Hope this helps.

 

The first image is provides the size of the cut out hole once the plate is removed for the battery, water etc gauge. Its small, the second image shows correct wiring for the switch, note the purple wire is always in the middle, and the gray & brown wire to the outside terminals. It matters not which terminal the gray and brown wires are attached to, same for the bath switch which is the 3rd image.

 

 

[DavePhelps]

!!All right then!! Good idea to get access through the tank gauge opening.

 

Note to Oliver: As far as I know, the National Electric Code requires access to all connections. It also requires that a switch or receptacle needs enough extra wire to be pulled out of its box at least 6" for maintenance or repair/replacement.  There should be an access port inside the hidden compartment and don't skimp on your wire!

 

Glad you're up and running again!

 

Dave

[routlaw]

And what a huge difference that would have made Dave. It would have been an easy fix rather than hours fiddling with this. I'll probably be on the lookout for a hatch to install from inside the compartment in the future. If any of those other wires come loose I sure don't want to go through this again.

 

Thanks so much