Extra Water Pump Switch

One of the things I really like about traveling with the Wildcat with two small boys is the easy access to the bathroom. When they have to go, we find a wide spot and they go. No looking for a fast food joint and worrying about what diseases might be lurking in a public rest room.

One of my quirks is I don't like to travel with the water pump on. 40 gallons of water inside from a loose fitting or faucet left running would ruin my day so I always turn it off when we hit the road again.

However it is kind of a pain in the 28BH because the switch is beside the fridge which is in the center of the unit. I can reach it with the slide out retracted but it is just a pain to get there.

So I added another switch on the wall beside the door. It is an illuminated switch just like the other one. I ran a wire from the 12v fuse panel from the same fuse that is connected to the original switch. I connected this wire to my second switch. I then ran a wire from my second switch to the 12v feed on the water pump. If either switch is turned on, they both light up. I can turn the pump on and off from the door and if the switch is not illuminated then I know the other switch is not on either.

The LED above the switch is illuminated when the pump is running. The pump in the Wildcat is in the front and must suck the water from the under belly tank at the rear. Sometimes the pump looses prime. Often I flip the pump on and run a little water for something and shut the faucet off. However because the pump lost prime, it continues to run but because the faucet is turned off, the pump can never suck water to itself and therefore continues to run. In this mode the pump is very quite and hard to hear.

The small LED lets me know this is happening. I ran a wire from the LED to the wire on the pump that is between the pressure switch on the pump and the pump motor. This wire only has power when the pump is running.