Noticed I had quite a bit of water in the bilge after the last outing. Found a hose leak but also found that the bilge pump is not working. When I turn on the switch at the panel it still does not run. The switch at the panel feeds this pump along with another manual pump. When I put the switch in dual mode to have both pumps run I get 12.4 volts on the wires feeding the manual pump which is running and 0 volts at the wires feeding the auto pump.
The fuse on the hot from the battery is fine. I pulled the pump out and wired it directly to the battery and it runs when I lift the float. When the pump is disconnected I have 12.4 volts leading to the pump. When I re-connect the pump the voltage drops to about 6 volts and the pump will not run. I’m at a loss on what I need to do at this point to figure out what the issue is.
When it comes to bilge pumps I am extremely conservative. If anything is not even close to right…replace the pump, wiring, and switch. You can chase it all day and even get it to work but… all new means higher degree of confidence. It’s not that expensive or time consuming versus wondering if it is working propoery or worse, if the pump fails when you need it the most. If your boat has a “few years on it” this could be an omen to start checking out all your wiring.
you most likely have corrosion some where causing a weak connection. even though the fuse may not be blown, they are bad about getting rust on the connections and not having a good connection, id start there. if you still dont have any more than 6 volts after replacing the fuse and cleaning the connections, youre going to have to start running down the circuit with an ohms meter.
Proline 201WA
Aloha 24ft pontoon (LooneyToon)
Old Town stern with 7.5 johnson
Thanks for the help. I found a corroded splice and the wire pulled apart when I tugged on it. Need get some wire and put this to bed.
Kudos to those that work on these things for a living. Trying to work in the bilge of a CC is ridiculous. My back and thighs are letting me know that they are not happy.
Good deal. Glad you figured out the issue. One word of advice, if one is corroded, others in that general area are probably corroded. May be beneficial to replace others while you’re there. As you’ve noticed, it’s not fun down there, so better to replace things while you’re in there than have to do it again shortly after
Proline 201WA
Aloha 24ft pontoon (LooneyToon)
Old Town stern with 7.5 johnson