Karcher K2 jetwasher not turning on

[Merlin5]

Hi all. I've got a Karcher K2 basic jetwasher, new, used 3 times and now the motor doesn't turn on at all. I called Karcher and explained that when I tried using it yesterday before the motor died, it was working with good pressure for a few seconds and then the pressure weakened. When this happened I noticed the first few feet of the hose was flattening out. When I switched the jetwasher off, the hose reinflated. Turn it on again, same thing happened.

Karcher customer service suggested it was probably an air block so I followed the instructions to bleed it but it made no difference, this thing appears to be dead. No humming or buzzing, no sound at all. So I'm guessing it's not a capacitor. Perhaps the switch is faulty? Thumping the machine doesn't make it come on. Fuse is working. I'm out of warranty as this was bought for me a couple of years ago but I only just started using it a few weeks ago.

Any suggestions on fixing it?

 

[Burnerman]

Firstly, don't feed these machines with a ribbon or coil hose.....they just can't deliver the volume of water.
Anyway, this wouldn't cause the machine to fail so start with the fuse and then check for continuity across the on/ off switch. When you are in there, see that the fan on the end of the motor can spin....although the motors are water cooled the fan assists with cooling.
Inside the machine is a pressure switch which shuts the machine off when the lance trigger isn't squeezed so check that for continuity too - it's fine to temporarily bypass it.
John

 

[Merlin5]

Firstly, don't feed these machines with a ribbon or coil hose.....they just can't deliver the volume of water.
Anyway, this wouldn't cause the machine to fail so start with the fuse and then check for continuity across the on/ off switch. When you are in there, see that the fan on the end of the motor can spin....although the motors are water cooled the fan assists with cooling.
Inside the machine is a pressure switch which shuts the machine off when the lance trigger isn't squeezed so check that for continuity too - it's fine to temporarily bypass it.
John

Thanks John. I first should say I don't know really anything about electrics and don't have a multimeter, so I guess I'll need to buy one to check the switch and find out how to use the meter to check continuity.

I'll open it up and remove the guts of it. Is it obvious which one is the pressure switch, and how would I bypass it?

Also, I'm sure I had the motor running yesterday before I connected any hoses and lance trigger. Should the motor not be able to run when there's no lance attached and triggered?

 

[Burnerman]

These machines are pretty simple really, but they mustn't be run for more than a minute without actually spraying - hence the cut out that senses water flow through the machine.
Any pressure sensors can be unplugged and the terminals bridged.....I can't say which your machine will have as Karcher have produced literally countless items!
You can wire the motor directly ( through the capacitor) for a test, and if the cap shows any sign of burning it's usually goosed.
John

 

[DaveHerns]

If it's anything like my Nilfisk, they're a real pain to open up. Hidden screws and clips everywhere.

 

[Merlin5]

These machines are pretty simple really, but they mustn't be run for more than a minute without actually spraying - hence the cut out that senses water flow through the machine.
Any pressure sensors can be unplugged and the terminals bridged.....I can't say which your machine will have as Karcher have produced literally countless items!
You can wire the motor directly ( through the capacitor) for a test, and if the cap shows any sign of burning it's usually goosed.
John

​

Thanks John. I wouldn't know how to wire the motor directly through a capacitor or bridge terminals, I'm kind of out of my depth here, lol. But I'll take a look inside and maybe take photos to post here for further help.

If it's anything like my Nilfisk, they're a real pain to open up. Hidden screws and clips everywhere.

Speaking of Nilfisk, I've been recommended to buy one as they're much better and more reliable than Karcher. Is there truth to that?

 

[Burnerman]

I'd say as with everything, you get what you pay for......some Karcher gear costs around £50 and should really belong in a Christmas cracker.
The bigger stuff though, has a good spares back up.
John

 

[Merlin5]

I'd say as with everything, you get what you pay for......some Karcher gear costs around £50 and should really belong in a Christmas cracker.
The bigger stuff though, has a good spares back up.
John

That made me laugh

 

[winston1]

I'm out of warranty as this was bought for me a couple of years ago but I only just started using it a few weeks ago.

What's that got to do with it? The consumer rights act gives you up to six years protection (5 in Scotland) as did the sale of goods act before it.

Your contract is with your retailer not the manufacturer so that is who you have to deal with.
Expect a fight as many retailers try to fob you off.

EDIT. The act strictly applies to the purchaser not the receiver of a gift. Maybe get the purchaser involved.

 

[Merlin5]

Nah, present was from my brother and he won't have the receipt anymore.

 

[Merlin5]

If it's anything like my Nilfisk, they're a real pain to open up. Hidden screws and clips everywhere.

I found the outer shell easy to open up. I knew I'd get to make use of my drill hex bits and drill extension one day It was harder unclipping the white plastic protective inner shell. Anyway, here's a video. I don't know how to proceed from here or where the pressure switch is. Also, after plugging in and unplugging, I got a shock from touching something near the fan. But everything is solid and intact, and nothing burnt that I can see.

 

[Burnerman]

Nice video!
The small square capacitor that you can see across the switch is to prevent TV interference and is also the reason that you got a shock - they are capable of storing electricity for a time.
All seems ok - how do you feel about bypassing the turn switch, ruling it out of the equation? You then plug it into the mains and use the socket switch to briefly test the motor.
I can't see a separate pressure switch on this machine, but there must be something that switches the machine off when the lance trigger is released - maybe it's combined with the turn switch itself.
Take care!
John

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks John, glad you liked the video

Yep, I'm happy to try and bypass the on/off switch. I understand what you're saying about using the mains socket switch to test it.

Sorry to sound like such a dummy, but can you tell what I need to do in order to actually bypass the switch, is it complicated, will I need to do some wiring?

 

[Burnerman]

In a nutshell, you'll see the cable coming from the plug is blue and brown (switch input) .both go into the switch.
When the switch is turned on, both of these wires are connected to the output side of the switch......the colours may be the same but occasionally the brown turns to black. (Switch output).
If you can connect the switch input directly to the output, you have bypassed the switch!
Ignore the capacitor for now.
Personally I use crocodile clips with a short length of wire, but I keep my fingers well clear.
John

 

[Merlin5]

John, I've marked six spade clips. 1 and 2 are presumably the switch inputs and 3 and 4 are presumably the outputs. Do you mean I need to remove the spade clips of 1 and 2 and connect the bare wire ends with 3 and 4? 2 with 4 and 1 with 3? If so, will it work if I use electrical tape to bind the wires to the spade clips of 3 and 4?