Galleymaid head/no flush

[spincycle]

I push the button and nothing, no noise, no water flows in, no motor sound, just poop still in the bowl! were do i start looking? the head was running fine, it just stopped working. the holding tank is almost full, I checked the breaker and it is on, not tripped. its the lowest toilet on the ship, closest to the holding tank.

Spincycle

 

[Angela]

Do you have one of those gizmos/sensor that stops the flushing ability when a holding tank gets to a certain level? I've neve seen one on the GM, but they are an option on the VacuFlush.

Are you getting voltage to the pump in question - checked it with a meter?

There is a little round, cylinder shaped thing on the side of the pump where the wires connect - can't remember what that's called - it's a little bigger than a can of film if you can remember what those look like LOL, but follow the connection wires and that's where they hook up. If you suspect that may be bad, try swapping one off of another pump.

How old is the pump motor? This could be a case of the pump has met its maker at a really bad time.

Are your other GM pumps working? How are your batteries? These pumps are beasts and take a lot of juice to run.

For me, if none of that comes up with anything, I just go get another one.

 

[fixin-to-cruise]

Turn on a DC light and see if it gets dim when you push the flush button. If yes, then you have some work to do on the pump. If the light doesn’t dim, get a short piece of wire (10 ga. or larger) and jump the two large connections on the solenoid located near the pump. If the pump runs you have a switch, circuit breaker, wiring or solenoid problem – get out a voltmeter and track it down. Good luck!

 

[Angela]

I'm not sure you're looking for with the dimming light test. These pumps draw so much that even with brand new batteries and brand new pumps, my lights always dim a little when a head is being flushed. All of four of them do that to the lights. They have always done that since I've had the boat. Nothing else dims the lights, not even the GM fresh water pump, but every one of these macerator pumps always dims the lights a little, regardless of age of either the batteries or the GM pumps.

 

[egaito]

I'm not sure you're looking for with the dimming light test. These pumps draw so much that even with brand new batteries and brand new pumps, my lights always dim a little when a head is being flushed. All of four of them do that to the lights. They have always done that since I've had the boat. Nothing else dims the lights, not even the GM fresh water pump, but every one of these macerator pumps always dims the lights a little, regardless of age of either the batteries or the GM pumps.

If the lights dim, the pump is trying to work, but probably frozen. No dim, no draw, at which point I'd start with the solenoid. It could also be the button. I've seen a few of these fail, though not so much on GM's due to the solenoid.

 

[spincycle]

The other two heads on the ship are working fine, and there is not any sewage coming out the over flow on the side of the boat, so the tank is not that full yet. When the haed button is pushed there is no motor action or sound, no dimming of lights. batteries are three years old on the boat and the heads were rebuilt with new lines fours years ago. Pascal knows the boat very well, it's the head that was in the stateroom directly below the pilothouse bridge. We had a little trouble with the small water line that provides water or vacume to the pipe behind the bowl a while back, it broke and was leaking small dripsof water on the floor, we just connected it backto the fitting directly behind the toilet and all was well.
Keep the ideas coming, i have not tried to locate the pump yet, but will this week and will try the jumper wire idea.

Spincycle

 

[stormchaser]

if the pump comes on when jumped, check for power at the switch. Although those old school push-button style buttons don't fail often...they do fail, usualy due to corosion...expecially at the contacts.

 

[Angela]

I have three sets of those push buttons switches coming out of my 1980 Hatt if anybody's going to need them.

 

[Pascal]

Hi Peter

I think the Galley Maid pumps are in the genny room... pretty sure.

sounds electrical... could be the switch, unlikely, but unscrew it and try jumping the terminals...

next, check for DC voltage on the pump and solenoid, at the larger wire.

or apply voltage directly to the + and - terminal on the motor. if nothing happens then it's the motor.

If my memory is correct, the switch on the head is just a momentary push swtich available anywhere, nothing fancy.