Sunday, February 21, 2021

Fixing my Thetford C2 cassette toilet pump

My newly acquired campervan come equipped with a Thetford C2 cassette toilet, however the flushing pump is not working. After some research on the internet, I concluded that there are 3 possibilities for the non flushing problem:

1. Blown fuse

2. Wiring issue

3. Pump itself is not working

Of the 3 possibilities, wiring would be the hardest to resolve for I have very little idea of how and where the toilet pump wire is routed in the camper. I checked the fuse and found that it was blown ( a purple colour 3A blade type located under the pump switch ).


Thinking that it is an easy fix, I replaced the fuse and tried to activate the pump, but there was no sign of any pumping action. However the good news is that the lamp in the toilet dimmed slightly when I pressed the pump switch, so the wiring should in working order. This left the pump as the default root cause, I removed the pump and the problem is immediately apparent, it looks like the motor has seized and burnt, which explained why the fused was blown.



The old pump is not Thetford branded, but a brand called Reich. Thetford parts are not on sale in Malaysia, some UK sites listed the original Thetford pump for C2 cassette at 30 over Sterling, which translate to about RM 150, not including shipping cost.

I searched on Lazada Malaysia and found a 12v submersible pump which looks very similar to the original Thetford pump, and it is much cheaper at RM23. The site also helpfully published the physical dimension of the pump, and that enabled me to ascertain that it will fit into my C2 cassette toilet. 


Curiously, the no-name pump is closer in shape to the original Thetford replacement pump, I guess the this is new design. Unlike the original Thetford replacement, the non-name pump does not come with a new bracket, however the new pump fit into the old bracket without much problem, albeit not as snugly, to me that is ok. So now I have a fully functioning toilet!