Water flows through the pressure washer pump just fine when the engine is off, but as soon as the engine turns on, water stops flowing out of the pump. What is the cause of this? I suspect the pump may have gone out, but if anyone has experienced this before, I’d like to know what you learned so as to inform my next steps.
This is on a Troy-Bilt 2600 PSI 2.3 GPM pressure washer from Lowe’s, model 020415. It has a Honda GCV 160 engine and an AR model RMW 2.2G24 pump. According to the reviews on the Lowe’s website, this model is notorious for having the pump go out after only a small amount of use.
The machine seemed to be working fine until the other day. I turned it on and was using it. Then, all of a sudden the engine turned off on its own. It turned it back on and 1-2 minutes later it turned off again. I repeated this several times, with the engine seeming to just turn off by itself. Finally, while the engine was still running, water stopped flowing. I turned off the engine and water started flowing again. The water was now very hot. This is not a hot water power washer.
I tested the garden hose by itself. It was working fine. Then I tested the machine with the pressure hose disconnected and water flowing directly out of the pump. Water flowed through while the engine was off, but as soon as I started the engine, the water stopped flowing. When I turned the engine off and water started flowing again, the water was warm.
I really think this is a pump issue and not an engine issue. What specifically in the pump is causing this? Is it possible that a single component of the pump needs to replaced, or will an entirely new pump be required? Since the pumps on this model of pressure washer are notoriously cheap, is there another model that is compatible with this machine that will last longer? How do I know if a given pump is compatible with the rest of the pressure washer machine?
Thanks for your help!