r/pressurewashing • u/SunriseSwede • 6h ago
Troubleshooting Self Inflicted NorthStar/Cat Pump problems
Pictures from earlier this year. Washer has spent a hard outdoor winter and my guess is my laborer did not follow directions on winterizing, and I am just a daggone fool for accepting his word that it went well and as expected. I found the unloader knob on the ground by the tires. I rethreaded this thing in, but could not get any water out of the hose. I put it all down that day as I had no time to actually think about it.
4 months later, and I see one o-ring on the unloader knob is junk, but am going to need this thing soon as our season is starting to see signs of wrapping up. But even without the o-ring, there is no water to the hose tip. When I turn water from the well off, there is a tremendous amount of pressure at the hydrant when unhooking the hose. Then when unhooking the hose from the pump, just a dribble from the pump itself. When removing the unloader valve, there is minimal water coming from the discharge/heater side of the manifold. Could it be the flow switch plugged? I am no pressure pump repairman, but it seems that it is either a very simple thing or a very expensive thing. Any smart people out there who can advise before simply spending an arman a leg to have the suits repair it?

