If you are having trouble with the water pump in your Tuttnauer autoclave, you need to find out what the problem is right away and fix it. There is no water or too low a water level means that your machine is not working properly and will not completely sterilize your equipment. And that means you’re basically out of business until you fix the problem.

If you’ve always sent your autoclave in for repair when there’s a problem, then you know how expensive those repairs can be. You have labor charges, parts charges, and don’t forget shipping and handling charges. You could almost buy a new machine when all is said and done! If you are having problems with the water in your Tuttenauer autoclave, here are some troubleshooting tips that can help you solve the problem yourself.

• If the water is flowing in the wrong direction, check the two tubes connected to the pump. It may be that you just need to reverse them.
• If the pump is noisy, check to see if the mounting bracket is loose or broken. You may just need to adjust or replace it. If it is not the bracket, the problem is probably inside the pump and you will need a new one.
• If the water pump keeps blowing a fuse, first look for pinched or kinked wires that may be causing a short. If that is not the problem, turn off the pump and disconnect the wires from terminals number 1 and 2 on the solid state relay. Turn the pump back on and if the fuse blows again, the problem is with the water pump or with the pump condenser and you will need to replace both.
• If the pump does not turn off, then you need a volt / ohmmeter to test the relay. Read between TP13 and TP1. A 10 to 12 volt DC signal is required to tell the relay to turn off and a 0 to 1 signal is needed to tell it to turn on. If the reading is something else, it means you have a problem with the control circuit.
• If the signal is correct, repeat the procedure on the relay. And if you get a wrong signal there, you will need to replace the Ajunc board.
• If your pump won’t turn on, the first thing to do is check the fuse and replace it if necessary. Next, look for pinched or kinked wires running from the solid state relay to the pump. If that doesn’t help, turn off the power to your autoclave and disconnect the wires at terminals 1 and 2 of the relay. Now, connect those two wires together and turn the pump back on. If the pump still does not work, it will need to be replaced.

While your autoclave may be a ‘machine’ and performs a very important life-saving function, it is, after all, still just a big box with a few basic pieces of work. It is generally quite easy to find the problem. And most of the time you can fix it yourself!