I have no pressure and the pump surges when i release the trigger on my electric karcher modle k 2.360

Rian Peters

• 121 Answers
• Posted on Aug 28, 2008

SOURCE: My 3.99 Karcher pressure cleaner

Hi! robcarroll
Did you purge the air from the pump before starting the motor.
InMrFixIt

SOURCE: Karcher 2400 psi blaster When you

To determine if your problem is due to an easily replaceable part, follow these steps:

1. Connect the water supply hose, the pressure hose, and the wand WITHOUT any nozzle tip.

2. Turn on the water supply, and press the trigger until water is smoothly running out of the nozzle
after any air is all purged out. Release the nozzle trigger.

3. Start the engine, and let it warm up for about 30 seconds.

4. With the engine running smoothly, press the nozzle trigger. The water should flow out of the nozzle (without the tip installed) at a faster rate, while the engine noticeably loads down as it used to do before your "no pressure" problem. If it does not load down, turn it OFF, and disconnect everything, and contact a Karcher repair facility.

5. If the engine does load down, release the trigger, and install one of the nozzle tips (not the black one).

6. Press the trigger, and the engine should load down, and you should have normal pressure from the wand. After you release the trigger and press it again, you will probably again have no pressure, and the engine will not load down. Removing the nozzle tip, pressing & releasing the trigger, and re-installing the tip should give you normal pressure again, but releasing the trigger will cause no pressure until you again remove the tip, press the trigger, and re-install the tip.

This is caused by a bad UNLOADER VALVE, which is located under a black cap with a metal button on it located on the top front of the pump. I don't know if you can purchase the replaceable parts from a Karcher repair shop, but when a neighbor & I took his washer to a repair place, it looked pretty simple to do this repair, and he was charged about $60 to replace a $5 (maybe) part, and it took about 5 minutes.

SOURCE: Electric Karcher pressure washer surging when turned on

Dear firenutt681,
One simple thing you can do, is to check for leaks. Check if hose at machine is leaking. Check gun if it is leaking. You can also check if water still comes out of lance nozzel. These leaks however so small, will cause the machine to surge.
Another reason is due to a faulty SPILL VALVE. This spill valve( often called CONTROL VALVE) will contract when the gun is closed. When it contracts under the enclosed pressure it will switch off the machine by means of a Micro Switch. Now if this Spill valve is faulty it will loose its compression under pressure and puts on the micro switch again. This can be seen once in a while or more frequent, as in your case. I sometimes do service Spill Valves, but mostly I replace them with a new one. I do not know the model number of your machine, but normally you have to open the cover and you should spot the spill valve on the head. Most probably you see a thick wire or a cap containing the micro swith. If you find the micro switch, you have found the spill valve. Sometimes it is a bit hard to pull out the spill valve. Myself, in various Karcher models I remove the spill valve by trying to feed water and put on a bit the machine. In this way the spill valve will be spitted out.
Another reason which makes your machine surge, is leakage from from the detergent inlet.
If you do not see no leakages at all....then for sure it is the SPILL VALVE.
If you cannot do this job yourself or you do not find spare parts...you can continue using the machine as it is...but before closing the gun...switch off the electricity. I only recommend this in an emergency. You do this so that you do not leave the machine surging. This surge will for sure damage the electric motor and the capacitor (assuming it is single phase).
Regards,
Fulltech.