Intermittent Water Pump

[chucknewman]

Our water pump runs fine and shuts off as soon as the faucet is closed. Then a few seconds later I hear about a 1/4 second run of the pump. Sometimes this happens 2 to 5 times then stops completely. Other times it continues for several minutes then stops. And sometimes their is no short running of the water pump.

I realize short run cycles of the pump with everything off indicates a water leak. Been there before. But my experience has been when something is leaking under pressure, it leaks all the time, not some of the time.

That said, has anyone had intermittent leaks that cause this problem? Could a defective toilet water valve cause this without actually seeing any water come down the bowl walls?

Could it be a defective pressure switch on the pump? If so, is there any way to test this without replacing the entire pump?

Thanks,

Chuck

[ClayL]

It sounds like you may have a defective check valve in the pump. There is a rebuild kit available.

[chucknewman]

Thanks Clay. While reading my "Trailer Life RV Repair & Maintenance Manual" yesterday at the laundry, it stated "A defective diaphragm can cause .... [pump] cycling when all faucets are turned off." In addition it said cycling could be caused by a defective toilet valve, failed pressure switch, or an internal leak in the pump.

So the easiest thing to do now is replace the pump. And I'll add some flex hoses to "quiet down" the pump noise. It is now connected directly to the PEX lines. It lasted 13 years so I guess I got my monies worth. New toilet valve next.

Chuck

[Guest BillAdams]

You don't have an ice maker by chance do you? This will cause a periodic pump run as the ice maker dumps cubes and fills again. If not, and once the pump stops cycling it stops for good until you create a new demand upon it then it is quite likely pump related as mentioned above.