I was in the middle of a shower today and my water pump system stopped pumping. The water pump is a REMCO that is a couple years old. It's a few more gallons per minute than the prior pump which may or may not have been the OEM pump. The REMCO works good, when it's pumping. I've had an issue before where the system stopped in the middle of a shower. The last time, it was a fuse that had blown. I've experienced some odd behaviour the past few days with the water pump system. I turn on the switch and it doesn't do anything. Then other times I turn on the switch, get no light on the switch, but the pump runs. It's in that state right now.

The REMCO 55 AquaJet-ARV water pump is rated for 10 amps max and the fuse is also 10 amps. That's cutting it close so I can see blowing the fuse. Both times I had issues with the shower has been when I shut off the water flow at the shower head. I don't know if that matters, but it's consistent.

This time when I was in the middle of a shower , there was no red trouble light next to the fuse. I pulled the fuse and checked it with my meter and it had continuity. It looked fine also. Just in case, I replaced the fuse. It started working, but the switch isn't lighted like it should be. This seems like a simple issue with the switch. But usually a switch either works or it doesn't, right?

The only spec I can find on the switch is that it has a label that says 24v. Maybe the switch can't handle the higher amps of a 12v system? The water heater and water pump switches are the same. If the water pump system fails again on this trip I'll try swapping the two switches and see what happens. It's back to working for now, so any testing that I did with the switch wouldn't tell me anything. Other than the light isn't working.

 

You can amp your pump, they usually draw about 8 amps. Amp draw would also give you an idea if pump is drawing more amps than design suggesting it is dying. The switch sounds standard and you can pull it just see why the light isn't working. Simple way to rule out the switch is to bypass it and power the pump without the switch. Just my thoughts.

 

Sounds like could be a loose connection somewhere. If its a lighted switch, they should have a ground, power and the line to supply the pump. I’ve had alot of loose connections in campers causing issues.

 

In attempt to finish my shower, I pulled two of the leads off the switch and bought them into contact. I got nothing. No pump action. The two on the left are the ones I pulled. I'm pretty sure they made contact, but I didn't use a wire to jumper them. I was in a hurry.

While troubleshooting, I did check the wires near the pump. No loose connections. There is an inline fuse near the pump, which checked out OK also.

 

Did you have power on the wires your jumped and power at the fuse once you jumped the wires? And was the pump's ground good?

 

Even if the pump only takes 8 amps or less you should add a relay to the pump circuit, so the switch does not fail (as often)
Those switches and the pumps for that matter are cheap and not robust
Sounds like your switch failed and now has intermittent contact
Add a circuit breaker in place of the fuse when done, so it does not strand you in the shower
Use a quality switch like a bench grinder switch that is 30 bucks not 6

 

Switch failure rate? Diagnose before fixing.

 

I was unable to get the multimeter to verify power. I was dripping wet and soapy. I did the best I could to troubleshoot at the time. About the only thing the multimeter confirmed is that the fuse had continuity. No problems today. I'm back home and had to winterize the system since it's going back to the storage lot and temperatures will still be below freezing. I'll test the switch as a first step, but it it's working now to turn on the pump, I doubt I'll find a problem with the switch.

 

My only thought in your situation is I have seen far more pumps than pump switches fail, although troubleshooting an intermittent problem is always difficult.

My process would be verifying power to switch and then through switch when things are not working. Then verify power at pump and ground at pump. I have had the exact same symptoms you are experiencing with failing pumps so I would not rule out the pump as your culpruit.

 

I'm still leaning towards the switch as the problem. If the pump itself was dead, the lighted switch would still light up. At one point, the switch light was no illuminating when the pump was operating. Then another time, the light was off and the pump was not operating at all.

I haven't had a pump fail due to electric problems. The last one failed with mechanical issues (diaphragm) while the pump motor was still humming along.

 

While I don't like throwing parts at a problem, the switch is inexpensive and easy/quick to replace. In looking around for a replacement, I found one from RecPro that has me confused. The link to the web page is below. The confusing part is their amp ratings.
To go from 16 amps at 12v DC to only 6 amps at 14v DC is odd. My system is usually around 13.6 volts, not down near 12.0 volts.

https://www.recpro.com/rv-toggle-swi...v-red-or-blue/

 

Jim,

I can't explain it. But isn't it this switch you have. It is the most common. Do verify the width of whatever you order as they vary by manufacturer.
Steve

 

That's probably the switch. I haven't measured mine, but the dimensions listed in that ad seem too big. The measurements from the link I provided sound closer to what mine is.

 

I pulled the switch. Kind of a PITA since the factory put a bunch of glue next to it to hold an indicator light in the panel. The old switch is the same as I posted a link to except that the new switch is LED. I ordered two and I'll replace the water pump and water heater switches.

 

What I have found
While the pump is failing, sometimes they draw too many amps, and that melts the switch
So, you put a new pump in it and it works for a few minutes and you need a new switch