Bilge pump and switch problem

[George Harrington]

We took delivery on a 2011 R21-EC at the end of May 2012. On one occasion we got on the boat and the bilge alarm was blasting...on the second occasion, the Harbormaster called to say the alarm was sounding and they were manually pumping about 2 inches of water out of the cockpit. We called our yard and they replaced the pump, still not working so switch was replaced. As the need for the fix was urgent I'm wondering if we can get reimbursed for parts and labor? Can't hurt to ask, right? I still have a concern as yesterday we were on the boat when the bilge pump turned on, water pumped overboard and the pump continued to
Pump continued to run and run until we shut it off manually ...what are your thoughts?

 

[abcandjrc]

I'm puzzled. How did you shut it off manually?

I can't speak to your boat in particular, not being there. But you should have two modes for turning the pump on, one automatic, one manual. The manual mode should be the only mode with "on" and "off".

The automatic mode should be wired to the battery bank with a separate wire and an in-line fuse. On our boat it sits atop the battery. Newer ones probably hold the two-pronged fuses that are nearly universal now. On our boat, it contains the older style glass fuse cartridge. It's the little yellow thing in this picture:

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If that fuse is blown or the battery dead, the pump won't run. But unless the sensing switch on the pump is bad, it should cycle on and off whether you are on the boat or not, whether the battery switch is on or not. The only effect the bilge pump switch in your panel should have at that point is to turn it on. But then it will run until you turn it off(or until the pump or the battery die).

Sounds like something in the wiring is atypical for an automatic bilge pump.