karcher k4 wont power off

irishman_abroad

Hi All,

I have a karcher k4 that has developed a strange problem.

It turns on no matter what position the power switch is in i.e. as soon as the plug is in the unit switches on, and wont turn off at the power switch on the unit.

I have also noticed a drop in pressure along with this.

Would anyone have any ideas of any troubleshooting I could do(I dont mind opening it up and poking about but would need some idea of what to look for).

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

whizbang

Its the pressure that turns it off. So if its not getting enough pressure, it wont turn off... Simples!

Sorry, I can't help with the pressure. Anyone know is there a filter in these ?

kirving

whizbang wrote: »

Its the pressure that turns it off. So if its not getting enough pressure, it wont turn off... Simples!l

Not the case here, as the OP describes it as running if the power switch is off, not the trigger button.

OP, perhaps it's just a broken switch, but after that I'd be guessing a short circuit somewhere.

Does the switch feel loose? Is there any water leakage from the unit itself?

I believe Karcher have a good maintenance/repair service available. They have a limited number of products so have surely seen it all before. Give them a call.

irishman_abroad

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

I had been running the pump out of a water barrel so if it was a pressure issue it was with the internal pump.

Since my last post I decided to have a poke about and took the whole pump out of the plastic covering and cracked everything open to see if I could see any obvious issues with the electrics.

I didn't see anything but did remove the capacitor and re-seat it.

Whatever I did worked when I put it all back together and its fully functional now.

Thanks again

autumnalcore

irishman_abroad wrote: »

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

I had been running the pump out of a water barrel so if it was a pressure issue it was with the internal pump.

Since my last post I decided to have a poke about and took the whole pump out of the plastic covering and cracked everything open to see if I could see any obvious issues with the electrics.

I didn't see anything but did remove the capacitor and re-seat it.

Whatever I did worked when I put it all back together and its fully functional now.

Thanks again

If drawing from barrel make sure you have a filter on the inlet and backwash filler every now and then.

From memory the K4 (might be thinking of K5) has a piston and rod that pushes the switch, the o-ring can wear causing the water to pass the piston, the o-ring can roll off the piston or the bore can get gunged up with oxide /dirt assuming its aluminium as opposed to plastic. If its got big hours and dirty water the bore could be worn and require a bigger o-ring.

If you take out the piston and bore looks scabby cleaning it with wire wool or scotchbrite will probably resolve it. If the bore looks ok then new oring will probably solve it.

Seve OB

OP, same thing happened me with a K2. Except I had no drop in pressure
It worked fine though, just no need to use the power switch any more.
It did blow up eventually ...... years later, but that particular day I was probably just overusing it, not taking breaks, just had the trigger pulled and kept going at the patio for ages.