Help needed shower pump

[Mikerob]

I am trying to troubleshoot my non working jabsco shower drain pump. I removed the pump and connected it to a 12 V batter and the pump came right on. I thought maybe the electrical connection was loose so i reinstalled it and made sure the connections were good. I turned it on and it did not work. I checked the voltage coming to it when it is on and the supply is was 17.7 volts. I have a 12V system so I'm not sure what that 17.7 volts mean or why it wouldnt operate even at the over voltage.

 

[KompetentKrew]

Try testing the voltage at the battery terminals too - that will ensure that the multimeter is reading correctly.

Otherwise I can't imagine where the 17.7v is coming from, you'll have to trace the wires to the source of the voltage, which is presumably high in some high alpine meadows somewhere, or underneath the floor in an inaccessible hole.

 

[Mikerob]

Thank you. I did test the battery voltage at that time as well. Sitting pretty at 12.16

 

[Boater Sam]

The negative wire open circuit?

 

[Hunterlees]

17.7 millivolts perhaps?

 

[Oily Rag]

You say you got it to work with a 12v battery. Was that the same one that shows 12.16v? A reading of 12.16 is a bit on the low side.
I've no suggestions re the source of 17.7volts, but trace your wires and make sure all joints are clean.
Good luck!

 

[Boater Sam]

As a motor winding is inductive, it could just be possible that your meter saw the spike in voltage caused by the collapse of the magnetic field, but very unlikely.
Check again please.

 

[noelex]

17.7v is an unusual, and likely anomalous reading for a 12v system.

Measuring the voltage the at the pump when under load (i.e. turned on and trying to pump) is an easy to reading to record. This value is a key to troubleshooting the problem.

As Hunterlees has suggested 17.7mv is more understandable. Try measuring this value again.

 

[Oily Rag]

FInal thought: could the supply from the battery be via a low voltage cut-out relay? If you could charge the battery or trace the wiring, you may get the answer.

 

[QBhoy]

Sorry to be a little cheeky, but most shower pumps I have been familiar with are actually operated by a float switch. So when you turn the pump on, it will only operate if the float switch is activated and telling it to. The float switch being located in the drain section in the floor of the actual shower area. Perhaps this is the case for you too ?

 

[Mikerob]

Sorry to be a little cheeky, but most shower pumps I have been familiar with are actually operated by a float switch. So when you turn the pump on, it will only operate if the float switch is activated and telling it to. The float switch being located in the drain section in the floor of the actual shower area. Perhaps this is the case for you too ?

This is Jabsco Drain pump it is wall mounted under the vanity. It operates off a switch not a float. Thank you all for the input. I will be back there in a couple weeks to do somemore troubleshooting.

 

[QBhoy]

This is Jabsco Drain pump it is wall mounted under the vanity. It operates off a switch not a float. Thank you all for the input. I will be back there in a couple weeks to do somemore troubleshooting.

That’s exactly as mine and many others are. But there is a float in the drain in shower.