I have an old Coleman Powermate 1310 electric pressure washer that stopped working today. With a little trouble shooting I found the problem is in the limit switch mechanism that prevents the motor from running when there is no feed water pressure.
I don?t fully understand how this mechanism works. It has a pretty standard limit switch (push to close circuit) with a metal arm (steel) with a magnet on it. This magnet is actually loose. It attaches by magnetic force to the limit switch arm. The arm sits next to a plastic manifold. The magnet will stick to either the manifold surface or the switch arm. I presume that somehow there is supposed to be another magnet inside the plastic manifold that would repel the magnet on the switch arm moving it to a position that would open the limit switch. The plastic manifold does have a plastic piston with metal or a magnet attached. It slides but I cannot extract it. This piston does not seem to have a spring to restrict it. When the piston is pushed fully back the magnet is no longer attracted to the plastic manifold, but there is not enough repulsion to move the limit switch to the closed position.
Is anyone familiar with type of mechanism and can explain how I can fix it? The operator's manual is pretty lame. It would nice to be able to locate a diagram or exploded drawing.
TIA
Jay Cups