Water faucet pump problems

billclimbs · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:10 pm Post subject: Water faucet pump problems

happy 4th of July... Can someone help me out with the water pump power. I am assuming the fuse that powers the pump is the forward of the two. I have power before and after that fuse. but still the pump doesn't work. this is all new pump and faucet. not sure what to check for next... looked at the bently but that doesnt help me...Thanks

noganav · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 3:41 pm Post subject:

There is a safety switch that prevents the pump from running when the water tank is empty. You'll have to make sure your water level indicator is working.

Would be helpful to know what year your westy is. Does it have the internal pump and water level indicator or the pump under the sink/level indicators bolted to the side of the tank?

tlbranth · Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2015 6:52 pm Post subject:

Mine's a '91 and the pump will run empty or not. I just went through this whole problem myself. Pull the pump, hook it to a battery & see if it pumps. If it does, check the faucet switch. You can do that with an ohmmeter. I had the pump and the switch go bad. Rather than buying a whole new faucet, I put a toggle switch to the side of the sink in front. Get a cheap multimeter (often free at HF) and this problem will be easy to trace.
_________________
Terry

1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission.

billclimbs · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 7:41 am Post subject:

I have an 85...this is a new set up from van cafe..gowesty is the same...mine had electric but had been switched over to a hand pump before I got it. The tank is empty..maybe thats it. Is it the forward fuse..the other does not seem to have power ...unless maybe when its running..I figured that was for the fridge?

Vanagon Nut · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 10:54 am Post subject:

dobryan · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:44 am Post subject:

billclimbs · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:50 pm Post subject:

used a volt meter to test. Mine has the sensor leads into the tank. Here is the setup I bought

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1358_1272/sink-faucet-shurflo.html

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_90_1272/westfalia-sink-pump-in-h20-tank.html

billclimbs · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:09 pm Post subject:

ok... Filledl the water tank and the pump still didn't work... Connected it directly to the battery pump works fine...next went to check the sensor connectors and they are not connected... Worse yet... I don't see where they would connect... Hope I didn't bury it behind the panel... Help!!! Thanks 1st pic is looking at tank..2nd connection under sink..3rd the sensor lights from front of stove

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

tlbranth · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:31 pm Post subject:

check for good ground at pump. Check for 12v at both fuses by driver's seat. Check for 12v on each side of faucet switch. The water level gauge isn't involved. 12v goes to fuse by driver's seat then to faucet switch then to pump. Reeeeeeeeeal easy.
_________________
Terry

1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission.

crazyvwvanman · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:38 pm Post subject:

Only very early vans disabled the pump when the tank was empty. The photos show an led board without that feature so your pump should run even without the seniors wired up.

Mark

kamzcab86 · Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:51 pm Post subject:

First, this should be a ground:

The pump's brown wire (ground) is connected to the black wire, which is connected into the level sensor black wire, which is connected to a ground point on the body/chassis (near the fridge).

Satch · Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 8:42 am Post subject:

Hey All,
Major Newbie over here having a similar problem. I am a beginner with my troubleshooting skills but am eager to learn. I have a new to me 83 air cooled.

The water pump is the in-tank submersible kind. When I turn the faucet on nothing happens. I have not tried it with water in the tank. I understand the basics of a volt meter but am unsure on how to test as stated above "check for good ground at pump. Check for 12v at both fuses by driver's seat. Check for 12v on each side of faucet switch." I am almost embarrassed to ask Embarassed

but can someone tell me how to perform this diagnostic check?

Also, to pull the pump out and test with a battery, do I need to pull the wires out all the way back to the faucet?

Thanks in advance,,,,

tlbranth · Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 4:43 pm Post subject:

To check for ground, set your meter to read ohms. Touch the two probes together and it should say zero or close to it. Now touch one probe to the pump wire which is supposed to be grounded and the other to the bus chassis and it should read zero-ish. If not, you don't have a good ground.
To check for 12v, set your meter to the lowest range of DC volts greater than 12. Touch the red probe to where the 12v should be and the other to the chassis of the bus and it should read 12 volts.
The bus chassis is ground and it's hooked to the negative side of your battery. Power from the plus side goes through wires to the various doodads you want to run. Generally, one side of the doodad is grounded and the wire has a switch on it to turn the thing on.
Hope that helps some.
You can get an adequate multimeter from Harbor Freight for free, usually, with a coupon if you buy anything else.
_________________
Terry

1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission.

Satch · Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:07 am Post subject:

tlbranth · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 11:08 am Post subject:

Ground is anywhere on the chassis or body of the bus. Pick a bolt or screwhead that makes good contact with the metal of the vehicle or go directly to the negative battery terminal . Avoid paint. Sorry about the brevity. I'm on the road using an iPod.
_________________
Terry

1991 Westfailure. 2004 Forester 2.5 engine. 4speed Standard transmission.

WhiteBetty · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 2:36 pm Post subject: Water Faucet

I have a 1985 Vanagon GL. Before doing anything my faucet worked using the "T" side of that tap or switch with the internal pump. I decided I wanted to clean my tank/run some water through the city(hose) connection. After doing so and tank refilled, I turned the tap on, the pump starts, I physically can see water pumping through the line(clear), but water does not come out faucet.

Thought maybe plugged? But water pours through the city(hose) connection side.
Is there a way to prime or purge the line, may be airlocked? Or Should I leave the tap on for a while (fear of burning out pump).

Any advice or tricks?

1985 Vanagon GL

Yellow Rabbit · Samba Member Joined: August 31, 2005 Posts: 1157

Mine did that once. The faucet plastic was broken where the water line attaches. Running the pump a long time might soak everything in you van. Laughing

jmranger · Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Water Faucet

paulcolorado21 · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2025 8:35 pm Post subject: Re: Water faucet pump problems

Hey guys I am perplexed with this in tank water pump in my 1982 vanagon.

I have the sureflow faucet and then the standard issue blueish in tank pump with the white power line.

So I have checked the voltage where the circuit meats the line to the water pump. Measuring at those connectors I get 12.8 V as shown and this is of course when the sureflow faucet is just left on to connect the circuit. I have taken the pump out and connected it to a battery and it fires right up no issue... When the pump is plugged into these wires that read 12.8 volts nothing happens. I have tried switching the connections and still nothing.

Every now and then the pump will work which is weird as well and this all started with it becoming intermittent. I just down understand where this disconnect is as I see 12.8 V and then the pump fires right up when connected to the battery.

Here is a pic showing the voltmeter at 12.8

Then there is also this green cord and then also the black one spliced off, what are these for? I think its something with the tank levels. I saw something in the forum about if the tank level thinks its empty the pump wont work.... correct me if I'm wrong but if the pump should be receiving these 12.8V shouldnt it just work. Im confused on this, not gonna lie

jimf909 · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2025 8:56 pm Post subject: Re: Water faucet pump problems

12.8 volts is not always what it seems. You are measuring 12.8 but it may be through such a small contact that it won't carry the current needed to operate the pump. Put a small light bulb in series with the meter and see if it lights up and reads voltage, my guess is that it won't.

I had the same symptoms as yours with the Shurflo faucet and covered the symptoms and repair in this thread. I'm going on 7 years of this fix working.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=704908

This post shows how I repaired the switch in the faucet:


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