It doubt it is a factory install. The best thing to do is turn it on and find the culprit. If you can hear it you should be able to find it. If you have equipment onboard especially electrical it should be inspected for proper function, wiring, and if it has a hose connected to it that should be inspected to. If I were to guess it is a high water bilge pump, a blower motor, or a cockpit macerator pump switch. There may still be one at the helm but quite honestly the switch should be in the cockpit to monitor discharge. My advise the next time you go on the boat plan on spending an afternoon finding out all the things that previous owners have done to the boat.
If and when I sell my boat I plan to designate a couple of days to deliver the boat to new owners. I have added or changed many items over the last 5 years. I have changed many installations that Fluid Motion did when they built the boat. If I didn't like where or how it was installed I relocated it, rewired it ,changed the hose runs, sensor locations, and wire runs. I moved the batteries, water pump, rerouted waste hose, moved the auto pilot pump, changed the hight and location of the high water bilge pump and alarm. ( I can not figure the thought process of the high water pump and alarm.) The elevation it is installed at is a "to late warning" D3 Volvo has a starter motor, and a timing belt that would be under water before the high water bilge pump will turn on automatically. The alarm sensor was higher by 3". If you have this alarm go off it is a warning that you have high water in your bilge and you probably have a serious leak or badly plugged cockpit drains. It is also a warning that the water was high enough to damage your starter and timing belt tensioner pulley, and sea water tensioner pulley. Both of those items have the potential to cause engine failure. I unfortunately know Ranger Tug R25 owner that this happen to and did not understand the consiquences. He never had the cover removed, timing belt and tensioner replaced, sea water pump tensioner replaced. The results was a complete engine failure, the engine locked up, piston and cylinder cracked. after the piston hit a valve after the timing belt jumped a couple of cogs.
Durning your inspections of pumps, blowers, alarms, electrical components...... if you hear it and see, or know it is there somewhere find it. Inspect the installation, Look at the wiring, look at the way the hoses are routed, look at the installations. Is the location in a good place to function properly, If its a pump will it air lock ( in my case the marine air unit was installed to high so the pump air locks) The high water alarm was mounted to high. ( I have never had high water but when I was testing it I looked at the elevation I thought about the ranger Tug owner???? The waste hose coming from the head going to the tank went( up and down, up and down all the way to the waste tank) So what?? Stuff settles in all those valley's and shortly you have a smell in the boat!!! I don't like smells. A new hose and proper installation no smells. (this was found 12 months after owning the boat, I also installed fresh water flush at the same time) 4 years later no smells!!! I could go on. I'm not just talking about Rangers or Cutwaters. It is any boat. Know your boat find the components, know what they are for and how they should work. If you find something that you don't know when doing your inspections than TugNuts is a good place to get some answers.
Sorry Diaton ,I'm not trying to highjack your thread that sound more like a riddle. Guess what this switch is for! Search the component down, if you don't know what it is take a picture. Post the picture and someone on the forum will give you your answer. Good Luck with your search for the mysterious switch component.
