Bilge pump switch question
Printed From: CorrectCraftFan.com
Category: Repairs and Maintenance
Forum Name: Boat Maintenance
Forum Discription: Discuss maintenance of your Correct Craft
URL: http://www.CorrectCraftFan.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27020
Printed Date: November-18-2024 at 9:23pm
Topic: Bilge pump switch question
Posted By: 74Wind
Subject: Bilge pump switch question
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 11:38am
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74 Southwind. Bilge pump switch not functioning. Can anyone tell me why there are 2 wires going to one tab, and none to the other? One wire goes to the fuse, the other up into the spaghetti. Also, I've not removed/checked any fuses since I got it. It's got the little individual black things thru the dash. Would'nt wanna break anything as I'd guess most/all have not been opened in 38 years so might be a tad brittle....are they threaded so twist off? or pull off? What kind/# fuses? Thanks ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Replies:
Posted By: hotboat
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 11:50am
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Slight turn ccw and the spring should pop it Out. They take the old cylinder type fuses ------------- Brian |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 11:55am
"old cylinder type fuses" is not a great answer!  There are lots of old type fuses. To be more correct, they are 3AG fuses.Jeff, You'll need to be more descriptive on the wiring. 2 wires going to one tab? What tab? ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 8:47pm
Thanks, thats what I figured, just checking. ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
hotboat wrote:Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 8:49pm
On the back of the on/off pull switch there are 2 tabs for connecting the wiring. Rather than 1 wire attached to each, both wires are attached to a single tab, with the other having nothing attached. ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 9:05pm
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Hmmmm. So, are you talking about on the bilge switch at the dash, or at the pump side? If you're talking about at the dash... it's possible someone made it so the bilge pump is always hot. If it's an auto bilge pump, this might be ok. Because, it would shut itself off on the pump side, and always be ready if the boat is moored, and someone doesn't pull out the switch. Pics would help. |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 9:23pm
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Jeff, I'd say Brian has a good theory. Get the VOM out and check at the switch as well as the pump. In fact, you should have done that before even asking the question. With a question like "2 wires going to one tab" we can only guess. ------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 11:35pm
Sorry, should have added pump is fine & activates properly when the float switch is lifted. Since it does so with the dash switch not pulled, the Brians theory must be correct. No pix available. Don't know how to link, just your basic off/on push-pull switch. Google Sea-dog 420390 if you'd like to see similar. So...theory is by having both wires run to one "tab" it creates constant available power to pump. Can check fuse and VOM the contact wires Friday, but I'd guess either: Since pump has power, the wires & fuse are good indicating a bad pull switch. or: If both wires attached to one tab the on-off functionality of the pullswitch has been compromised? ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: mark c
Date Posted: July-17-2012 at 11:48pm
| Both wires on the line side (battery side) of the switch means the switch is bypassed and you have no fuse protection for that circuit, again assuming a 74 has the same push/pull circuit breaker switches my 87 has, and not a separate fuse and separate switch wired in series. If you have a fuse upstream then just the switch is bypassed and the pump will have power as long as the fuse is good, and theirs a battery in the boat. |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 12:05am
Nope, no circuit breakers to my knowledge. 1 wire goes up a few inches to the back of the individual fuseholder for that switch; the other up into the spaghetti. There are a number of fuses accessed individually from the dash. And so it seems it has power and fuse protection but no pull-switch capability since it has apparently been bypassed(?). So....how does one enable both all-the-time floatswitch power and pullswitch on-demand power? ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: mark c
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 12:45am
| Usually requires two wires to the pump from the auto/manual switch(es), (mine has two one auto, one manual. The auto one would be wired from the auto switch and passes thru the float switch so the pump only comes on when the float lifts up and the contact closes to provide power to the pump. The manual feed has to bypass the float switch so it doesn't matter whether the float switch is opened or closed. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 12:47am
I'm guessing this boat originally had a manual switch only bilge pump, and when they replaced it with automatic, they decided to override the switch. Some automatic bilge pumps, mine included, have a separate positive for manual and a seperate positive for automatic. You would feed the automatic post constant hot, and then, re-enable your switch, and use that wire to go to the manual post on the pump. |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 2:04am
So, by "automatic" you must mean an all-in-one with internal floatswitch then? Mine is separate. I'll check it all out this weekend. My other boat has a separate floatswitch that's automatic and an operational pullswitch, maybe I'll also compare them. ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: 8122pbrainard
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 8:54am
Sometimes it's best to read first posts in threads.
------------- /diaries/details.asp?ID=1622" rel="nofollow - 54 Atom /diaries/details.asp?ID=2179" rel="nofollow - 77 Tique 64 X55 Dunphy Keep it original, Pete < |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 9:30am
Huh? ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |
Posted By: mark c
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 10:01am
| Since he has nothing to add, he's just busting my butt. Sometimes he should read and understand the entire reply instead of taking one sentence out of context. |
Posted By: Bri892001
Date Posted: July-18-2012 at 1:08pm
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Jeff, There may be a way to work with the pump you have. Mine is all in one with the internal float switch, so that's what I'm familiar with. Marc C was describing a way to accomplish the same thing with an external float. --You would have your constant hot wire (from wherever you decide to take it, you could use the existing) go through the float switch. --Your manual would go from the currently unused, switched power side or your dash switch. Maybe run a fresh wire for this. This wire would bypass the float on the pump side, and go directly to turning on the motor. |
Posted By: 74Wind
Date Posted: July-19-2012 at 1:13am
Yep, no point in changing pumps, I prefer external float switches anyway. I'll take a closer look at the wiring this weekend, thanks. ------------- 1974 Southwind 18 1975 Century Mark II |