I'm a new owner of a 2014 Ranger 21 EC. The other day while doing some cleaning I noticed that the auto switch never turned on the bilge pump even as the level of the water in the bilge got to the point of sounding the bilge alarm. When I looked into the bilge pump area I noticed two black boxes - switches I believe, which are wired to the bilge pump. Only the alarm switch, mounted higher in the bilge was firmly attached. The other box which I believe is the switch to activate the pump automatically was floating around loose in the compartment. I'm assuming this should not be the case? If it is supposed to be attached somewhere, that spot didn't jump out at me. The bilge pump operates fine with the switch at the helm. Making the assumption here that the automatic switch should activate regardless of the main electrical switch being turned off at the helm? Thank for any help to this newbie tug owner
Bilge pump automatic switch
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Bruce Moore
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Newf
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There is a plastic clip at the base of the pump housing. The square box auto sensor slips down over it. I'm assuming here that you have the Johnson 750GPH model which is what I have on my 2014-21EC. There is a photo in my album that shows this clip but just google the Johnson 750GPH bilge pump with auto sensor and you will see what it should look like. Also, these sensors need to be clean so give it a good cleaning before reinstalling..
Thanks NEWF, I will check that out. I'm not sure which bilge pump it is but I will see if I can figure that out by googling that pump and checking out your album. On another note, the fuse in the wire that comes off the battery that feeds the bilge pump was also burned out. Thanks for the help, hopefully I'll get it figured out.
Newf
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Most likely it's the Johnson pump like mine and there's not a lot of room to work down there. I accidentally broke that clip on mine trying to get the box back on and had to replace the housing. (it's only plastic) The fuse should be 5 amps if I remember correctly and you can see from my photos what can happen if the wrong fuse is in there. Sorry about the quality of the photos in that album. Not sure why they are so distorted.
knotflying
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Floating around is your first problem and that needs to be corrected. The next thing is to periodically clean the face on the box to ensure that the sensor will work. There are two raised circles on the sensor. Wet you fingers and touch the circles with two fingers, one on each circle. The pump should engage if the sensor is operating properly and the fuse is good. If it does not work then the sensor needs to be replaced. However, before replacing, make sure the pump itself is functioning by engaging the manual switch, which should be a rocker switch/fuse breaker in you 12 v panel.
Thanks for the help Newf and Knotflying. Problem resolved. The pump is a Johnson Pump and the float switch works after I replaced the fuse and tested it out with the two wet fingers. Secured the sensor to the pump housing and it's already to go. Thanks again for the help! Great site!
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