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did i fry my pump?

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JR View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote JR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: did i fry my pump?
    Posted: 02 Dec 2021 at 6:42pm
How did you determined that you had 1/3 of a tank of fresh water in the tank (when the pump started misbehaving)?  Did you go out and visually check the tank (you can see the water level in the tank because the tank is an opaque plastic) or did you read what the gauges indicate?  If you read the fresh water level from the gauge then that is the problem.  None of the gauges are accurate, fresh water, black water, or gray water level indicators.  The drain line from the fresh water tank should be on the bottom front of the tank thus allowing 98% of the water in the tank to go to the water pump. After reviewing your stated symptoms I feel that there just wasn't water in the tank.  Don't rely on the gauges.  Hope this helps. 
Jay

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Shoes View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shoes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 10:08pm
Wow Jay. That changes things. I'm used to Black water being inaccurate since things cause the guage to stick in the wrong place. But why would fresh water be wrong?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shoes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 10:16pm
How I determined that there was 1/3 of a tank left when the pump started misbehaving is that water continued to come out of the drain for quite a while. Also the guage read1/3
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2021 at 10:18pm
Originally posted by Shoes

Wow Jay. That changes things. I'm used to Black water being inaccurate since things cause the gauge to stick in the wrong place. But why would fresh water be wrong?
Mineral build-up? Trailer not level? On our 179, I notice it starting to pull air when it gets down to 1/3. Part of the problem is also in the electrode placement. The tank is not that deep, so the electrodes are placed relatively close together. 
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 3:56am
Just run the pump till it begins to suck air Turn it off. Then look at the fresh water tank where the hose suction line is attached. Ignore the little lights.

Is the pump suction line at the water line? If so you have identified the problem, which is that your lights don't give you a proper indication, at least not with the trailer in it's current position. The solution is to continue to ignore the lights and just eyeball the tank level in future.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 5:49am
+1 to offgrid.  For the first 9 years of owning our 177 the only idiot light I could depend on was the FW tank level, the gray and black water indicators were funky after the first year.  However, into our 10th year of ownership I ran out of water yet the gauge showed 1/3 full.  Proceeded to open the FW tank drain to see how much water was actually in the tank - none came out - yet the gauge showed 1/3 full.  So in our cause StephenH assessment of mineral build up may have been a factor - our 177 has only ever had well water in the tank and has only been hooked up to the other water supply line once to see if it functioned properly, which it did.

So, in your case, open the FW tank drain and leave off until all water is out.  You will note a gallon or so that is still inside since the drain is not at the bottom of the tank.  By either parking on a side of a hill or jacking up the non drain side you can evacuate all the water out.  Then check to idiot light to see if it indeed reads "E", that will let you know if it is trustworthy or not.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote StephenH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 8:10am
Also, when the trailer is level, look through the tank at the water line and see where it is in relationship to the supply line and to the gauge electrodes. I have not bothered to do that. I just know from experience that the gauges are not reliable. If you want something more reliable, you would need to go with something like the SeeLeveL by Garnet. It uses external sensors and reads through the tank wall so the sensors do not get fouled.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shoes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 12:35pm
So my pump is not clear or opaque it is black. Therefore I can't tell where anything is inside of it. How could I tell if the pump suction line is where it's supposed to be? Telling how much water I have by looking at the tank isn't going to work for me. Other options?
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shoes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 12:39pm
When I open the fresh water tank drain no water came out even though I had filled it all the way. So I turn the pump on and water came out of the tank drain until it read a third. At that point the pump sounded bad but water kept coming out so I kept running it. I think the pump was out of the water and it was draining naturally at that point although why it didn't drain naturally in the beginning is beyond me
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Shoes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Dec 2021 at 12:41pm
And yes when the water stopped running out of the tank drain the tank lights read E
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