RV Water Pump Keeps Running All the Time (Cycling)
The water pump is vital to many of your RV activities. When it doesn’t work right, your vacation experience may suffer a little bit. You want the water pump to work when you turn the faucet on but you do not want it to keep cycling. When that happens you need to do some trouble shooting
Water pumps do a lot of hard work for you. They make sure you get the water you need and at the pressure you want almost every time you turn a faucet. One reason they may keep running all the time is because the pump valves may be leaking.
To find out how to fix this situation, just continue to read our article. It has the information you need to handle this issue and get your water pump working normally again.
RV Water Pump Cycling Quick Fix
If your pumps valves are leaking then you have 3 options to choose from to solve the problem.
You can:
- Rebuild your water pump, replacing the bad valves
- Replace your water pump. This is the easiest solution to do
- Put a check valve on the inlet side of the pump to stop the loss of pressure
- Which one you choose is up to you. As long as quality parts are used, then they are all good fixes for your cycling problem
Why is My RV Water Pump Always Running
Having the water pump continuously when the faucets are closed running can get annoying. The noise may be distracting and interfere with your conversations. There are several more reasons why your water pump continues to cycle aside from the leaky pump valves.
- Loose connections- these let a lot of air inside keeping your pump from turning off
- Cracks in pipes, etc.- again the water leaks out and too much air gets inside your RV water supply system
- A failed pressure switch- this lowers the water pressure forcing the water pump to work longer and harder to maintain the right pressure
The fixes for these issues are not that complicated. You would have to go under and inside your RV and check all hoses, pipes and connections to make sure there are no loose connections or leaks
If you do find some, then you would have to tighten loose connections, fix the leaks or replace the broken pipes or connectors. If the pressure switch is the problem, then you would have to replace it.
The RV Water Pump May be Dirty
This situation may not be as common as the others but it can still affect the performance of your RV’s water pump. If the pressure switch keeps turning the water pump on for a few seconds and then turning off quickly again, then it is not sensing the right pressure in the pump.
The cause of this could be that debris, dust and dirt have gotten inside the pump and clogged it up. Cleaning all the screens and filters inside will take care of this problem and should get your water pump back to normal.
You can replace those old filters and screens if the old ones are in rough shape.
RV Pressure Switch Leaking
As mentioned earlier, this is one of the more common causes for your water pump to continue cycling over and over. The reason for this is that there may be an internal leak which influences the pressure switch.
No water is leaking out so you may not see it right away. The internal leak is probably in the upper housing or pump head or both. To fix this leak, you can get a repair kit and rebuild or repair the upper house.
A good RV parts and service center or store should have one on hand. In addition to this issue, the constant cycling could be due to the pressure switch being set incorrectly.
Some RV water pumps come with an adjustment screw. To adjust the pressure at which your switch and pump operate at, just turn the screw carefully, till you get to the right setting. You can check with an RV tech to find where that setting is located.
Using an RV Accumulator Tank
If your RV’s water pump continues to cycle and you have no loose connections, leaks or broken pressure switches, another solution is placing an accumulator tank on your water system.
What the tank does is act as a pressure buffer to help reduce unsteady water pressure due to a constantly cycling water pump. Once you install the tank on the pressurized side of and near the pump, the tank starts to regulate the water pressure.
When it is operating, the tank will push more water through the system,keeping the water pressure up and at the same time keep the pump from cycling as frequently.
The Benefits of Using an RV Accumulator Tank
There is no real downside to installing and using these tanks, There are a lot of benefits though:
- It cuts down on the number of cycles a water pump makes
- It helps reduce the pumps wear and tear, keeping it in good shape and increasing its lifetime
- It keeps the water pressure regulated and cuts out pressure spikes
- It saves power- the water pump doesn’t cycle as often so it uses less electricity
Some Final Comments
It is annoying to have the water pump cycling over and over. If it is really noisy then it may interfere with your sleep. You do not want to let this problem continue as it will shorten the life of your water pump.
Double checking for leaks, loose connections and other sources is not a bad thing to do. Sometimes a tiny hole in your fridge’s ice maker water supply can be the problem. It is hard to detect but it wears out your water pump just the same.
If the above fixes do not work, then you should go to your qualified RV tech and see if they can locate the problem. In the end you may need to replace the water pump.
