Continuing problems with Thetford toilet

Thank you so much for that info..we can ask the Thetford guy if it is a centrifugal pump...we are quite familiar with centrifuges as we used them frequently in our biology classes and research, so it was very helpful to hear that possible explanation. We do have a 12 and 24V system in our Costa Rica house and have some familiarity with them, but all our voltmeters and such are down there, 5,000 miles out of reach. Can you recommend a measuring device that would be most helpful and not too expensive? We went to Sears yesterday, and there were at least 30 possibilities, but the salesman knew absolutely nothing and said he had not been trained in electrical devices. There seemed to be gang members racing through the parking lot, so we were not motivated to stay there and try to figure it out. Are the toilet Gods conspiring against us?

[arniland]

A very inexpensive option is the basic digital multimeter sold by the Harbor Freight chain and on-line. http://www.harborfreight.com/ Their basic meter seems to be constantly on sale for either $2.99 or $3.99, depending on the latest sale flyer. I've bought handfulls of these and have one in each of my vehicles and in our TM. I've also given them out to friends in the vintage car hobby as I try to educate them on cleaning up the corroded connections all these old cars seem to have.

Harbor Freight also has somewhat better meters for a little more, including a clamp on multi-meter currently on sale for $10!

Decades ago I was an instrument repairman for a defense contractor and was paid to calibrate 3 per cent accuracy meters that cost hundreds of dollars. I am still astounded that today meters with a greater level of accuracy have fallen in price to throw-away items. Just getting old I guess. ;-)

Arn

Sears had a very nice inexpensive multimeter with a rubberized case cover that will assist here and be useful for all your TM needs. The model # is 82141 and they have it on sale for $10- $12 an a regular basis. I bought one just to keep in my TM for electrical issues.

Thanks so much for the Sears model # and the Harbor Freight info..Chris is going to Sears this afternoon, so he can probably pick up a multimeter while there now that he has a model #. He talked again to the Kim (Quality control) at Thetford, and Kim told him to go ahead and switch the red and white wires that Al's photo shows, and that it wouldn't hurt the pump to do so...if it works better then that is the fix..Chris and Kim seem to have struck up a friendship as Kim travels to Mexico to help out on projects there, and they have been speaking Spanish to each other long distance...so maybe we have made a good contact. At least they seem to be enjoying the conversations.

We did switch the wires and it had little effect on the amount of water flowing out of the pump and into the bowl...a bit more came out...not enough to flush a piece of paper.
When Chris called the general Thetford number rather than his new friend, they told him that he would have to deal with the guy Andrew who installed the new pump for warranty service. The problem is that Andrew thinks that the toilet is operating correctly and he told Chris that nothing more could be done...he obviously has a low opinion of the Thetford toilet but he did call Thetford, must have told them that we were expecting too much or some such thing. So now what can we do? It looks as though there is only one inlet tube from the pump from the diagram I managed to download...could it be partially blocked? What else is there to investigate? It cannot be possible that the toilet is working correctly if it is unable to flush a single piece of tp..no one would buy such a shoddy product, would they?

Not wishing to be a smart___, but did you consider my post above? You are exibiting the SAME problem we had. I may be incorrect in the numbers, but I believe there are 2 feed tubes that attach under the perimeter of the toilet from the pump. One of ours had come loose, so not enough water was pumping to flush anything. Seems like you may be ignoring the easiest fix and going off in the wrong direction. Please let me know if I am the one going off in the wrong direction!!! It is not a shoddy product as witnessed by the large number of people who are perfectly satisfied with it's operation...

No, we are not ignoring the intake possibility...We had hoped that the Thetford rep would at least look at some other possibilities like the intake, but he has refused to do so. My point was not that there may be something disconnected in the intake or something blocking the flow, but that the local Thetford rep has refused to look at it further saying that it is working correctly. Another point I was trying to make was that the rep obviously doesn't like the Thetfords, so he is not inclined to help us...he offered to install some other sort of toilet...but we know that the Thetfords work for most of you, so our disappointment is much more with the rep and with Thetford than with the toilet itself, since they won't cover the warranty unless the original guy does the work, and he is refusing to look at it again because he says Thetford will not reimburse him....that is the main source of the problem..a negative inward spiral of service help. I downloaded the diagram last night for the 03900 Electra Magic, which is the only one I could find on the internet, and it shows one inlet tube. I remembered your message saying you thought there were two tubes. We wanted a diagram before trying to open it up ourselves and check it out. We did appreciate your suggestion and definitely are going there next. In the troubleshooting section,it does say that one source of low flow is the pump wired backwards, and we reversed those wires with no significant improvement. The other suggested causes were lack of charge water and running the pump dry, neither of which we have done...there was no mention of blocked or disconnected intake tubes, which would seem to be an obvious possibility, as you suggest, Scott.. Unfortunately for us in some ways, we are academics rather than mechanics or practical engineering people, and we do need the help of forum members for the practical solutions..and we very much appreciate all your help and will follow through on any suggestions..We will also call Ed at Trail Manor when he gets back from vacation and will call Kim at Thetford again. Kim seems to like Chris and Ed has always been a great source of help.

[ShrimpBurrito]

This is the diagram to the toilet, the Thetford Electra Magic 80 RV:

http://www.thetford.com/HOME/PARTS/P...8/Default.aspx

Not sure if it's the same diagram as you have or not, but I had never heard of the 03900 number you referenced.

Dave

Thanks...I think the brochure I have is for the Marine model...the diagram seems to be very similar or the same at first glance...some of the accessories are different..

Don't give up the ship! Hubby says if we bought any other kind of trailer, he would install this toilet. We are very satisfied!!!!! At some point, the solution will be found. Keep looking! Queen