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Auto and manual bilge pump confusion |
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SevenCostanza 
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Joined: September-01-2024 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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 Topic: Auto and manual bilge pump confusionPosted: September-16-2024 at 2:26pm |
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I recently bought my first boat, a 1983 Ski Nautique 2001. I've been reading through the manual and trying to understand how to operate the bilge pump. When I flip the the bilge pump switch on the dash, it doesn't do anything. But every once in a while I see it's obviously pumping out water so I assume it has an auto function. But I don't see an auto pump switch on my dash, so I'm not sure how this is controlled. One of my dash switches is missing the label so maybe that one controls it? I want to make sure the auto function is always on.
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KENO
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Joined: June-06-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 11028 |
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Posted: September-16-2024 at 5:43pm |
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How about a picture of your dash(the whole thing) and a picture of your bilge pump and any float switch associated with it.
It'll help a lot for figuring out what you have for a pump setup.  PS......how about a picture of the side of the hull, showing the graphics even if they're not original
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SevenCostanza
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 2:12pm |
  
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SevenCostanza
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 2:20pm |
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Not sure why all my photos are uploaded sideways, sorry about that. And honestly I'm not exactly sure where the float switches are; I assume that's something that detects when there's too much water in the boat.
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KENO
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 4:31pm |
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If you want some more pictures and info on your boat, click on the link below, it's to an ad on Planet Nautique when it was for sale in 2020.
If you're wondering why I knew it was the same boat, I was looking at pictures of 83 dashboards and that one had the same hole in the dash as yours. ( There's supposed to be a 20 amp breaker there feeding power to the ignition switch and the dash). Somebody did some "not so good" wiring changes from the looks of it. But anyways.........good looking boat Now for your bilge pump, here's a link to it on Amazon It needs to be wired like the diagram in the Amazon link. Your switch is an SPDT ON-OFF switch and you'd need to replace it with a SPDT ON-ON switch that would let you have it selected to Manual or Auto with no ability to turn it Off........or you get a SPDT ON-OFF-ON switch that lets you turn both the Auto and Manual functions Off, either accidentally or because you want to. Having gotten my butt whipped by one of those pumps on a friends boat, I can tell you that if the Auto wire has power, then the Manual feature doesn't work. The instructions with the pump say that but not very clearly at all. It's that particular pump, not all automatic pumps are like that. If you disconnect the Auto wire, then the Manual feature will work If you say how you want the switch, I could point you in the right direction for a switch that looks about the same probably A) ON-OFF-ON B) ON-ON If you want to replace the pump, I might have a recommendation or 2. PS.....In your pump the float is under the plastic housing and you can't see it. Sideways photos happen quite a bit around here when you use the site method of posting photos |
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TRBenj
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Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21168 |
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 6:36pm |
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Ken, just to clarify- presumably the manual function only becomes disabled when the auto wire is powered (+12v)? Meaning you can’t use the on-on switch scenario you describe with that pump- right? Or even the on/off scenario with auto hard wired on all the time… but the on/off/on should work fine, I think? Or use separate on/off switches for each auto and manual- and just remember the manual won’t work with that pump if the auto switch is on.
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KENO
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 8:08pm |
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The On-On will work because in one On position you have power to the Manual function, nothing to Auto.
Then flip it to the other On position and you have power to the Auto function and nothing to Manual On-Off-On works fine like you said and let's you disable both functions. And like you said, Auto hardwired disables the Manual function and scrambles your brain trying to figure it out .I'd guess that's what he has right now since it works in Auto but not manual. And the 2 switch setup works too.
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SevenCostanza
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Posted: September-17-2024 at 8:31pm |
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Yeah that's definitely my boat in that listing. Unfortunately the person who ended up buying it in 2020 decided to never put a cover on it, so the vinyl currently looks a LOT worse than it does in those pictures 😢.
Ideally I want the pump to always be on auto, but in case the float malfunctions it would be nice to be able to turn it on manually with my current switch on the dashboard. If I buy a different pump then could I use a ON-ON setup with my current switch? Thanks, Ben |
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KENO
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Posted: Yesterday at 8:15am |
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If you were to get a switch like what's in the link below, and put it in place of your present bilge pump switch, you'd be able to have one switch that manually starts the pump, turns all pump power off, or turns on power to the Auto feature
It has a lighted handle like your original switch, but being 41 years newer it won't be faded like the original That would work with your present pump You could also use the unused switch right above the bilge pump switch to supply the Auto function. (from the factory it came with power supplied to it but hooked to nothing, for use as an accessory switch) That way you don't have to buy or change anything. With that switch ON, your Auto feature works, with it OFF then you can use the Manual switch. Either way, not knowing what's been done wiring wise over the years, you'll have some investigating to do. There are a variety of ways to make it work in Manual and Auto but these let you turn off the Auto function Or...............you buy a new pump whose Auto wire can be hardwired to the battery with a fuse and the Manual wire hooked to your present switch on the dash. Here's a link to one available at a variety of places that works good. It's got a magnetic float switch in the housing, has a time delay when shutting off in Auto and is 800 gph which is plenty. Red wire is for Auto.............instructions with pump show it hooked to an ON-OFF-ON switch, but hardwiring works just fine. If you want to disable Auto, you pull the fuse, otherwise it's always in Auto ready to leap into action and can't be accidentally disabled. You can also lift the float switch with a magnet to test the Auto circuit Brown is for Manual ............hook to your switch on dash Black is to ground Choices, choices I'd go with the last choice, I've had good luck with that pump, better luck than some higher priced more well known brands that I won't mention. But any of the options above will work.
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