The original toilet in our Westfalia was leaking fresh water (small trickle from base) when flushed, and was leaking a lot when it was hooked to city-water. We took it for repair and the guy said that he could replace the toilet for cheaper than he could repair the leaky gasket/valve whatever he said it was. He replaced it (used Thetford brand) and it looks great! However, no water flows when you depress the lever to flush. It will flush if the kitchen or bathroom sinks are on. That's not a workable solution in my opinion. The repairman is now claiming that the toilet 'must be' plumbed through the kitchen sink, and he can think of no other reason for this issue. He said the toilet 'must have always been like that'. We've only owned this since Aug, but still I'm fairly certain this would've been a quirk I'd have noticed! He claims I must be wrong. Anyhow-does anyone understand the plumbing enough to tell me this guy is wrong? Does anyone have a clue what might be going on here?
Toilet replacement puzzle [Cross posted with the Facebook Spriter Westfalia group]
- Thread starter moberi
- Start date
Wasaabi
Sprinter Westfalia #133
The original Thetford toilet in the Westy has a micro switch which I believe is a retrofit (not part of the original Thetford). So you take the switch from the old toilet and put it on the new. Can you still get the old one or is it long gone? If not, maybe someone can point you to a good source for just the switch. It does not have to be part of the foot pedal, and some people might actually prefer “independent” control for the toilet water flow from the flush door. In that case any momentary micro switch would do the trick. You should also see the wire for this behind the toilet under the seat cover (just lifts off). Your mechanic should have noticed that he disconnected a wire on the old toilet that was not present on the new toilet.
I will try to attach pages from the Westy repair manual that show the switch (see section 26.4.04)...
I will try to attach pages from the Westy repair manual that show the switch (see section 26.4.04)...
Attachments
you would think so??
Thank you - those attachments will be helpful when we state our case. I actually had proposed to him that perhaps each appliance has a trigger that turned on the pump, because that's certainly what it 'sounds like' when you're operating each? He said I had to be wrong, no RV toilet operates this way. Anyhow-we will present him with the attachments everyone has graciously provided here. If he lost/tossed the old switch it is his fault and I expect they will need to 'make it right', and I will leave it up to them to find the solution!!
waytallwesty
New member
A semi-related question...When I bought my Sprinter Westfalia approximately one year ago, the previous owner told me that I need to flip the switch to turn on the water pump before using the toilet, sinks or shower, which is contrary to what the Westfalia owner's manual says. Would love for the water pump to be automatically activated upon using the sink or toilet. It sounds like all the other owners on this thread enjoy that convenience. Any idea on how I can modify the wiring to make that happen?
Moberi, you need one of these. Send me an email to my username at gmail.com and I will mail it to you.
You may need to fabricate some sort of bracket from the hardware store. Basically when you just tap the pedal, the switch closes. It then moves with the mechanism during the flush. Sadly we junked the rest when converting to cassette.
My advice would be to avoid the mechanic and fix it yourself.
Ted
You may need to fabricate some sort of bracket from the hardware store. Basically when you just tap the pedal, the switch closes. It then moves with the mechanism during the flush. Sadly we junked the rest when converting to cassette.
My advice would be to avoid the mechanic and fix it yourself.
Ted
That was my first fix on my Westy. Pry off the white U shaped cover, just pry & yank, you aren't going to hurt any thing. then press the pedal and watch the switch action. you will just need to bent the bracket so it activates the pump. You can test the switch with an ohm meter and test the wiring by unplugging the two wires and touching then together, the pump should start. Nothing will happen because the pedal is shutting off the water so hold the pedal down when touching the wires together.
waytallwesty
New member
Thanks, I'll give that a try. I have noticed the wires at the faucets, but haven't inspected for the microswitch at the toilet. I have the house batteries pulled out to replace them at the moment, but once reinstalled, will perform the electrical troubleshooting that you suggest. I really hope to get the water pump working automatically, rather than remembering to turn it on and off each time.
waytallwesty
New member
Now that the house batteries are replaced, I finally got around to troubleshooting why the water pump would not operate on demand in my rig. And Just as MrTomacco predicted, the microswitch flag at the toilet footlever was the culprit. Tightened the philips head screw so that the microswitch would toggle properly. Bingo! Problem resolved for all faucets, toilet, and the outdoor shower. Such a simple fix to remove a huge annoyance. The tips and tricks in this forum are so helpful to newbie Sprinter Westfalia owners such as myself.
Ack-sorry I just saw this, and do appreciate your offer!! We sent some of the very helpful pics of the toilet they ripped out, showing clearly the electrical writing, off to the repairman and only then did he agree that they probably did rip out some electrical bits. They took the van back and repaired it. It works very well now. Again-appreciate this offer & sorry about this late response.