Water pump trouble while on Generator

[OffTheGround]

I have a 2011 Jayco X213 and we use it lightly in the summer months only. I have had the trailer since new. We camp with full electrical hook up as well as boondock.

This weekend I ran into a problem and wanted to see if anyone has any input. We were in the woods, no electrical hook up, running on battery at night and occasionally started the Generator during the day. We woke up in the morning and I fired the generator up, everything electrical ran fine, but the water pump would not kick in when flushing the toilet or turning taps on. I messed around with the faucet and toilet and still nothing. Uncovered the water pump service area and the pump motor was too hot to touch. Nothing looked out of place and it was not making any sounds. I played with the toilet flusher a few more times and turned the taps on and off and then the pump kicked in. (still on generator power) The pump cooled off and all was good both on battery power and generator power. Later in the day and a few other occasions over the weekend the problem occurred again.

The only common thread to this issue is when I start up the generator and try to run water. Not sure what is going on? Water pump on it's way out? Inverter maybe acting up? Any input would be great.

Thanks

OffTheGround

[RVhiker]

Is the water pump more likely to work when the generator is running? This could make sense, as when the generator is running the DC voltage is being increased by your converter to charge up the batteries and then the pump has enough voltage to run. However, the pump should work just fine at just battery voltage. Maybe there is something stuck in the pump diaphragm area that is making the motor work hard. If that something kept the pump from turning, it would make the motor get very hot. Or maybe the motor is going out. Or maybe the pump power connections are dirty and need to be cleaned up. Could you battery voltage be very low (say below 11 volts) when not on generator? That could make the pump not work correctly, also.

I think the first thing to check is the battery voltage when the generator is not running.

[OffTheGround]

Thanks for the info. I haven't check the voltage as of yet, but the battery is getting to be four years old. Not sure what the life expectancy is, but it is the original battery. I will start there and then maybe take a closer look at the pump diaphragm.

[arkhillbilly]

usually upkeep and not age will kill the battery. Letting it drop below 50% lots of time will kill it faster than old age! How is your stream of water when pump is running correct?

[OffTheGround]

Stream is as good as the day we purchased the trailer.