Bilge Pump Question

[CRIMAR30]

I was just out in the back yard washing my boat, and decided to try out the automatic bilge pump. It seems that it works manual, but not automatic, anyone have this problem before? And a fix for it?


Thanks, Mark

[rudderhinge]

Yes I have. I put the plug in the bottom of the boat. Stuck a garden hoes in the bilge and ran water for 30 min. The pump never did kick on in auto. Pulled the pump head and turned it upside down and it still did not turn on. after checking the Plug, switch and breaker and found that the hot wire going to the battery was hooked up to the negative side of the battery. I switched the wire to the + side and the pump ran. ????? Was this the first time you tried the auto switch?

[CRIMAR30]

I did the same thing, ran quite a bit of water in the bilge, and it never came on, so I tried it manually, and it pumped right out. I only did this, because I've read on the forum that you should try it once in a while, glad that I did, but now have to figure out how to make it work.

[CRIMAR30]

Yes, it was the first time i've tried it, but seeing as it runs manually, it must be hooked up right, I suppose.Maybe it was because my yard is not quite level, the boat's only about three months old.

[rudderhinge]

Does your pump have a built in float switch? If so then there should be three wires. Check and see lf your pump has three wires going to it. If it does one wire is a common ground, one comes from the switch (12 volts when the switch is turned on), and the third wire goes to the battery with a in line fuse in it. This is the 12 volt power going to the pump through the float switch. This is the wire that was hooked up to the negative side of the number one battery on my boat. I movw that wire to the + side of the battery and the pump then worked.
It is hooked up that way so that the pump will run even if your battery switch is turned off. You should be able to pull the pump head from the pump base and turn it up-side-down and the pump should run. Give it a couple of seconds and see if it comes on. If not there is no 12 volt power getting to the pump through the float switch.
You can also find the wiring plug going to the pump and unplug it. The black wire is ground. The brown wire should have 12 volts when the switch is turned on. And the brown with a wite strip should always have 12 volts if it is hooked up wright. Good luck. You can find the problem. Let us know what you find. Bob.

[CRIMAR30]

Problem solved. I went out and bought an electrical tester to see if the pump had power to it, and while tracing out the wires, found the fuse holder. The fuse looked ok, so I looked around, and found the end of the wire that's supposed to be from the battery just hanging there. I hooked it up, and tested it out, and am now back in business again. Thanks for everyones input on this.