[rcantrell52]

All,
I sanitized the fresh water tank  during the week. I have some questions about the Autofill and an empty fresh water tank. If the fresh water tank is empty does the Autofill automatically start? If the fresh water tank is empty and the water pump gets turned on for 2 minutes does the Autofill start? Will the water pump get damaged if it was on briefly (less than 2 minutes) with an empty fresh water tank? I have noticed the last two times that I have hooked up the fresh water hose to city water that the Autofill will automatically activated and fill the tank. Do I have a problem?
I appreciate any information that you are willing to share. Thank you in advance for your comments.

Reese Cantrell
Newell Coach 1242

[valento]

Reese,

I do not have the same year coach as you so my answer may not apply to you.

I have to use my headhunter pump in order for my headhunter toilets to work. So I always pump from my fresh water tank. When my tank gets low I autofill from my control panel but I turn off my headhunter pump and turn on city water before activating the autofill. When the tank is full the autofill turns off the flow of city water into my tank. I then turn back on my headhunter pump and turn off the city water.

Hope this helps. I will be at FOT tomorrow.

Oscar

[rcantrell52]

Oscar,
Thank you for the information on the autofill.

Reese

[CharlesYuhnke]

did you get your autofill problem resolved.  If not, I may have an idea.

[rcantrell52]

I am trying to determine if I have a Autofill problem. I was hoping to get clarification on the proper operation of the Autofill. Thank you for responding.

Reese Cantrell
Newell Coach 1242

[CharlesYuhnke]

Reese When we get ready to go on a trip and the coach has been just sitting for some time, I like to get rid of whatever water is in the fresh water tank; then fill with NEW water. Here's what I do. I turn OFF the water pump and do NOT ever turn it back on until the tank is filled and you're ready to use it. Doing that prevents getting any more air than necessary in the water lines. I then open the valve that drains the FWT. I connect the fill hose to a nearby hydrant at our house that luckily is part of the soft water system. Once FWT is drained, I open the hydrant valve, turn on the city water switch in the galley, then press PUMP which enables auto fill. On my coach #800, that is the ONLY way to turn on auto fill. It does NOT come on automatically, regardless of how much water is in the tank. After the water has run for a few minutes, you'll see more water come out of the FWT drain which is still open. Now go close that drain, and let you tank fill. You can shut off autofill by pressing PUMP or it should shut off automatically when tank reaches 95%. After you've filled the tank, turn on the water pump and run water everywhere in the coach to get any air out of the lines. When you turn off the water, you should hear the pump run for a bit and then stop. If it stays stopped, you're good to go. If it cycles on and off, you probably still have air in the lines and need to continue to run more water until resolved.

Now for your auto fill problem. I once did the procedure above, but when I tried running water, it just wouldn't build up pressure and the pump would not shut off even with water turned off.. I called the Newell hot line and talked to a tech. He correctly suspected that the auto fill valve was stuck in the open position. He helped me locate the valve in the plumbing bay and then told me how to remove the bottom part of it. Four 7/16s screws and it came right off. NOTE: IT IS ULTRA IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER EXACTLY HOW THIS WAS POSITIONED WHEN YOU TAKE IT OFF, IT HAS TO BE PLACED BACK IN THE SAME POSITION. I PUT A PAPER CLIP THRU THE FRONT RIGHT HOLE SO I'D REMEMBER. Once off, there is a rubber diaphram in it. If you look real close, there is a little hole in the diaphram that is about the size of the tip of a ball point pin. What happens it that mineral deposits in the water can get lodged in that hole (like if the coach was sitting for a long time). And if they do, the valve doesn't operate. In my case, sure enough, that hole was blocked. I used something sharp and cleaned the deposit out of the little hole, cleaned any other nasty stuff off of the diaphram, then remembering how it had come off, re-installed. The diaphram has a hole in each corner where the mounting screws go. I got two on opposite corners started but not tightened so the rubber would still move. I got the others started also, then tightened the whole thing up. That fixed the problem. Hope this helps

[rcantrell52]

Charles,
Thank you for the information. Your input is very helpful.

Reese Cantrell
Newell Coach 1242

[Deper10]

I am also having a problem with my auto fill valve. I have never used the auto fill but mistakenly flipped it on while dumping my holding tank last week and did not have city water hooked up. As soon as I realized what I had done and seeing the red light indicating the auto fill was on, I flipped it off. After that, nothing was working properly with the water pressure and even with all faucets closed, the main pump would not stop running. I also called Newell and was given the same directions and found the hole in the diaphragm was not plugged up. Looking at everything, I think the valve has been worked on before and now wonder if the diaphragm was installed upside down. My question is, does the more rubberized side of the diaphragm face up or down. Mine was facing down with the more metallic side facing up. Anyone know??

Dario

#581  2001 45'8" double slide

[bikestuff]

This thread has a picture that shows the metal part down.   I think there may be a correct orientation for the little hole but do not remember which way it goes.

bill

[encantotom]

i took mine out.

tom