Bilge pump cycle counter installation

[PicoGoss]

I have installed a bilge pump cycle counter on my RT 27. I mounted it in the pilot area next to the heater control switch. I captured to 12V positive and negative power from the three way battery voltage gauge terminals. My reasoning was that the counter should draw very little power. I connected the activation wire to the manual bilge number one breaker reasoning that this terminal would only be energized when the bilge pump was activated. I tested it using a flow of water into the bilge. So far so good. Now I find that my counter seems to remain at 0 while I’m under way, but shows suspiciously large numbers (currently 23) after a night at the dock. Maybe my set up logic is faulty, but if not, it would appear that the circuit from the manual breaker to the pump is being energized by some other source. If fact, there were two existing wires on that manual breaker terminal. The simple question is; where does the second wire go and to what purpose?

 

[knotflying]

It all depends on what pump you have. Some of the pumps installed are programmed to go on intermittently to check for water and if they detect none they go off. Others will only go on when water reaches a specific height in the bilge. What perplexes me is why does it not go on while underway. So I would make this initial thought: Let's assume your pump does not have the programmed intermittent check and the pump only goes on when water reaches a specific level. When underway your boat is most likely in a bow up position. Hence, if water is accumulating in the bilge it may be forced back to the stern and is not accumulating enough for the level to rise and engage the pump. At the dock, when fairly level water is infiltrating enough and the pump is engaging. When you get to the dock empty the bilge and even wipe it out using a rag. In the morning, if there is water in the bilge, stick your finger in the water. If it is salty then you may have a leak from various places. They could be the shaft seal, thruster shaft, hull fitting, sea water strainer cap, if you have air conditioning the strainer cap from there. Raw water hoses from AC or to engine from strainer or to toilet or to raw water washdown. If the water is fresh water it could be from any of the fresh water connections. However, if it were a fresh water leak your fresh water pump should have been cycling often without use of water.

 

[PicoGoss]

I agree on the possible sources of water, but see no signs of intrusion. I have the original model Johnson pump that does not run unless it sense water. Currently, my suspicion is still on misleading triggering of the counter. I guess I will have to track down both original wires connecting the manual bilge pump breaker to the pump itself and to ???. Of course, until the mystery is solved, I must be open to other possibilities.

 

[PicoGoss]

Okay, looked for more sources. I have some seepage around the rudder post assembly. Puts my concerns in a new light.