karcher pressure washer

[chucklor]

A simple test fot it is to remove the lance and pipe from the pressure side, turn on the water and then switch it on, you should see a pressure increase coming out the unit itself, if it does not then it could be something simple like the micro-switch on the pressure side sticking, and as you said it has been standing a while. I have also know these washers in the past to do this a then for no reason rectify themselves, I would be very tempted to remove the plastic casing to expose the pump and check whether nothing has sheered (like the motor to pump connecting pin) if everything is ok lightly tap the unit with a hide mallet or a piece of wood to make sure nothing is sticking, before you do anything make sure the unit is isolated from the power...chuck

[daithi]

im thinking it could be pressure aswell,deffo not the hose as it used to work on the end of a 10metre pipe,at the moment i have cut a new one down and made that up,its only a metre long
will try it at me mates and see how it works there

just make sure hes on a different water network to ya
theres no point him living next door to you

after the cold spell at christmas there was a lot of burst pipes etc
and council turned down pressure to stop water been wasted etc
so they might not have turned it back up enough after the leaks been fixed

[cablefreejunkie]

A simple test fot it is to remove the lance and pipe from the pressure side, turn on the water and then switch it on, you should see a pressure increase coming out the unit itself, if it does not then it could be something simple like the micro-switch on the pressure side sticking, and as you said it has been standing a while. I have also know these washers in the past to do this a then for no reason rectify themselves, I would be very tempted to remove the plastic casing to expose the pump and check whether nothing has sheered (like the motor to pump connecting pin) if everything is ok lightly tap the unit with a hide mallet or a piece of wood to make sure nothing is sticking, before you do anything make sure the unit is isolated from the power...chuck

when you say an increase in pressure once the mains is on,would this be a very big increase or just a slight one ? reason i ask is that i have tried the above and it does increase but not very much,and yes it has been standing,,also to take the casing apart is it allen key bolts or star bolts,i cant make it out by just looking and will have to borrow some tools to further investigate

[Grizz]

Have you taken the nozzle off the lance and made sure there is no dirt clogging it? (my cheapo one came with a little needle type device to do this).

[cablefreejunkie]

done that but the pressure is still nothing to write home about,i will take it apart today and see whats going on inside
thanks for all the advice peeps

[craigyj]

How old is it? Mine had hardly any use and packed up-18mths old;contacted Karcher and sent me a new one-all goods have to give reasonable use for their purpose,the domestic range is notorius for going *it* up.I bought mine from Tesco Direct and they sent me a gift voucher for ?72.A result both ways.Hope this is useful,Craig,Nott'm.

[mickydibble]

I had this problem a couple of year ago and had to sell my karcher washer because the pressure of the mains wasn't good enough,my pressure now as got better ???? And borrowed a karcher to test and worked a LOT better than before ,in fact I actually got the job done

[Tamarc]

If you have had it standing with water still in pump over the harsh winter we have just had,esp if left in cold garage etc,the pump could well have been damaged,not an econimical fix for a Karcher,best just buy a new one.

[chucklor]

when you say an increase in pressure once the mains is on,would this be a very big increase or just a slight one ? reason i ask is that i have tried the above and it does increase but not very much,and yes it has been standing,,also to take the casing apart is it allen key bolts or star bolts,i cant make it out by just looking and will have to borrow some tools to further investigate

The increase should be quite considerable, even if the mains pressre is low the pressure washer should spurt out high pressure for a few seconds and then drop, it will continue to do this if the mains pressure is low as the water flow is not sufficient to create a flow/pressure harmony. As for internal studs I think most manufacturers use a combination of stars and keys just to piss you off a little more...

[racin-snake]

if its been stored in a garage or shed over the winter theres a good chance the water inside has frozen and knackered the reg inside
the reg is on a spring when flow is sufficient it lets motor run
but its nylon into aluminium so chances also its furred up inside too
take the covers off and have a good look ?

[cablefreejunkie]

i had it apart yesterday,i took the bottom section off which has the inlet and outlet pipes connected to it,the seals all looked fine i checked it over,,i then assembled it again but left it out of the casing,connected the water it was flowing out ok,then connected the hose without the gun on the end,switched on and it was flowing out without any problems,i took the gun to bits nothing was blocked reassembled put the gun on the hose/lance switched back on and the same ~~~~in problem again,,i dont really want to spend ?90 on a new one as it seems a waste to bin this one,espescially if it only needs a cheap part to fix,,,i cant find anyone in my area that services or fixes these
only thing i never done was to take the whole motor apart,i guess thats the last thing i can try before it goes in the bin

[chucklor]

check this out cfj....[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUbXxECvtNM"]YouTube - How to fix a sticking Karcher Pressure Washer[/ame]

[Itsme]

What kind of connector is used on the inlet side? If you are using a hozelok type quick connector check the condition of the "O" ring fitted to the inlet nipple as these deteriorate and allow air to be sucked in on the inlet side this will cause the pressure washer not to function properly.

Also Pressure washers require the nozzle at the end of the lance to be in good condition i.e. the hole not to be worn as the pump only develops pressure against the resistance of the nozzle, worn nozzles or water leaks on the pressure side will result in a loss of pressure.

As already mentioned previously if the washer was allowed to freeze then this could have damaged the internal parts of the pump. Are there any signs of leakage?

[cablefreejunkie]

quick update
its in the bin
,spoke to a karcher guy in the boozer last nite,told me there shite and only built to last 40 hours roughly and that mine was most definetly ~~~~ed due to the cold weather and me not draining it out after i last used it,,
,spend ?250 and buy a decent one
wished i had stayed at home