Water pump problem

[Bar-OneRanch]

Wondering if anyone has had a similar problem with their water pump?
We bought our camper used last fall and on the first outing noticed that sometimes the water pump would run quiet and not shut off. We had a leaking toilet valve that the dealer replaced under warranty and I figured that was it. Over the off season I have added an accumulator and the noise reducing hoses, while in there I have checked all connections and found nothing loose on either side of the water system. It almost seems like the pump has an internal bypass that lets go and stops building pressure, I have to flow the toilet for a little while then the pump noise changes(gets louder) and it will shut off. I'm figuring on replacing the pump but wanted to see if anyone else has run into this.
Thanks
Chris

[JRTJH]

It sounds like you have an air leak on the pump input line or the input line isn't completely submerged in the fresh water tank. Somewhere you're drawing air, not water. I'd check the oring on the input fitting, make sure that fitting is completely snapped into the blue lock and that the input hose is properly positioned. I'd suspect the hose positioning as a last resort since the pump will function properly "after a time". It is probably "sucking air" from one of the fittings "somewhere" on the supply side.

[Bar-OneRanch]

I'll have to look into that, I read on here that Shurflo doesn't want a 90 before the pump, that's just what I have and they slid the hose over a pex connector and used a regular hose clamp on it.
Thanks
Chris

[Bar-OneRanch]

I looked and didn't find a leak around the pump inlet. I replaced the pump, strainer assembly and changed the inlet fitting to an inline instead of a 90 and it yard tests ok. I had a 4008 model and replaced it with a 4008 from Amazon, if anyone is thinking of buying one they come with two wing nut to hose barb connectors so you don't need to buy one like I did. Pressure seems to be steadier than with the original pump and I'm hoping it works better and shuts off like it should on the next camping trip.
Chris

[Hamops]

I had a similar problem on our previous 5vr. The pump would on continuously run but there was no water flow or pressure. I removed the pump and dismantled it and found it coated with a brown scum. I cleaned the pump parts and reassembled it. I was able to get the water to flow but the pump wouldn't shut off. I went and disassembled the pump again and found that I hadn't done a good enough cleaning job. I found that the tiny port to the pressure switch was plugged with same scum that I previously cleaned. I cleaned out the port, reassembled the pump. This time the pump worked well and shut off once the pressure in the system built up.

[Bar-OneRanch]

I had a similar problem on our previous 5vr. The pump would on continuously run but there was no water flow or pressure. I removed the pump and dismantled it and found it coated with a brown scum. I cleaned the pump parts and reassembled it. I was able to get the water to flow but the pump wouldn't shut off. I went and disassembled the pump again and found that I hadn't done a good enough cleaning job. I found that the tiny port to the pressure switch was plugged with same scum that I previously cleaned. I cleaned out the port, reassembled the pump. This time the pump worked well and shut off once the pressure in the system built up.

Thanks, I'll have to look into taking it apart and checking that. I did find that a replacement head costs more than the entire pump I bought. I would like to have a spare on hand though, perhaps a good cleaning would work.
Chris

[Bar-OneRanch]

Took trailer out for the first time since changing the pump and it worked perfectly. Glad I didn't have to do any further digging for the problem, haven't taken the old one apart yet to see what was wrong with it yet.
Chris

[cb1000rider]

Yea, they have limited lifespans. You can replace the heads on them, but I've just replaced the whole pumps.

Not sure what pump is in your unit, but when I replace the old Sureflow 2088 pump in my Jayco (which was doing the same thing as yours) with a newer Sureflow 4008 (drop in replacement) - it cut the noise down by about 50%...

The Keystone has a noisy pump too, so eventually I'll get around to replacing it.

[Pmedic4]

I had the unfortunate experience that my water pump decided in the middle of the night, to start leaking water back past the check valve. After a 3am toilet visit, the pump would pump up, hold pressure for about 3 minutes, and then have a odd whining noise for about a minute, and the repeat this cycle. Had to shut off the pump to sleep!

The next day, I figured I either needed a new pump, or perhaps, while unlikely could 'fix' the existing one, so I took the pump apart. Found a small piece of silicon rubber had become trapped in the check valve letting water slowly leak past. I removed it, and it fixed the problem! So, truer words were never spoken, as I was truly a 'happy camper'.