R27 bilge pump won't stop running

[Dale777]

In 2 instances now on my 2012 R27, the aft bilge pump would not stop running even though there was no water in the bilge. The only way I could stop it from running was to toggle the manual bilge switch on the panel at the helm. Any ideas on what the problem is?

 

[dencarst]

Dale

I have the same problem and the only way to stop it was toggle bilge pump switch. This has been a problem since
the boat was new.

Dennis
Tug of my Heart 11

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

If you have the Johnson pump with the electronic level switch I suspect your problem is with the electronic sensor. It has two small openings to detect water level and it can clog easily. To verify that this is the problem, check the wiring at the bilge pump and remove the inline fuse in the electronic control circuit. The pump should start and stop with the manual control switch. The sensor can be cleaned with wire dry spray using the small tube to squirt it around in the sensor. The problem is that it does not seem to last long. I have cleaned mine twice only to have it act up again within a few weeks. I am going to replace mine with a simple float type. As of now I am manually checking it every day and the secondary bilge pump is my back up. It had the same problem too but after cleaning it it seems ok for the moment. My personal, unsolicited opinion is that the electronic sensor is #@^&%$#!

If you don't have the same switch as Ladybug, Too, my apologies for my rant.

Pat, Ladybug, Too

 

[Lobo]

I had the same problem 3+ years ago on my R-25. Turns out the bilge pump switch(s) on the 12 volt panel is/are supposed to be OFF unless you want to manually override the automatic part. In the OFF position the bilge pump will still turn on if there is water in the hull that needs to be pumped out. As the 12 volt panel switch doesn't have one of the safety covers I happened to brush against it and turned it on without knowing I had done it. I had the engine on when I did it; heard this motor after docking, getting rigged and sitting having a cold one. Had to cut a wire near the bilge pump to shut the thing off.

I bought a few covers from West Marine @ $5 each and now I can't accidentally turn anything on.

Hope that helps.

Did I mention that the next day I had the same problem, but fortunately by the end of the day Andrew Custis was on board and sorted me out.

Dave

 

[baz]

In 2 instances now on my 2012 R27, the aft bilge pump would not stop running even though there was no water in the bilge. The only way I could stop it from running was to toggle the manual bilge switch on the panel at the helm. Any ideas on what the problem is?

When you say you "toggled" the bilge switch was that from ON to OFF... and I don't want to sound superior posting this. As Lobo/Dave has posted, it's easy to have the switch in the ON position accidentally. I had the same issue on my R-25 and burned out the bilge pump... :shock:

 

[Dale777]

In 2 instances now on my 2012 R27, the aft bilge pump would not stop running even though there was no water in the bilge. The only way I could stop it from running was to toggle the manual bilge switch on the panel at the helm. Any ideas on what the problem is?

When you say you "toggled" the bilge switch was that from ON to OFF... and I don't want to sound superior posting this. As Lobo/Dave has posted, it's easy to have the switch in the ON position accidentally. I had the same issue on my R-25 and burned out the bilge pump... :shock:

The manual bilge switch was in the OFF position. I toggled the manual bilge switch from OFF to ON then back to OFF.

Since this post, I've talked to Andrew who suggested that I clean the contacts on the bilge pump sensors, check the cartridge, and possibly drill a 1/8" hole in the check valve (in case there is an air lock causing the problem). When at the boat tomorrow, I will do all this.

 

[JerryE]

I love my electronic bilge pump which saved my bacon when it FAILED to go off. The two sensor contacts appear to detect only water and can discriminate it from diesel. You can reach down and short the contacts with your finger to run the pump dry-it's very sensitive to moisture from water.

I launched my boat in a tiny harbor (Prince's Cove) next to the haughty-taughty town of Osterville, MA. The engine conked out as I got to the dock and repeated efforts to restart the boat failed. Opening the engine hatch revealed a bilge full off diesel fuel. My high pressure pump had failed and diesel was being sprayed big time into the engine compartment through a ruptured gasket on the secondary filter, each time I tried to restart. Yet, the bilge pump was not pumping diesel fuel into the pristine bay; of course, the harbor master was right there observing. The bilge pump did not turn itself on in the presence of diesel. After sponging out 2/3 gallons of fuel into a bucket, the pump worked fine when I cleaned and rinsed the bilge with water. A float actuated bilge pump would have cost me at least $10,000 (or the insurer) for cleanup not to mention the newspaper articles about my despoiling of Cape Cod bays. I'm sticking with the electronic model bilge pump!

 

[baz]

I love my electronic bilge pump which saved my bacon when it FAILED to go off. The two sensor contacts appear to detect only water and can discriminate it from diesel....snip...

That is an interesting piece of information, as I had not thought about that specific issue. The fact that the pump has the feature of distinguishing water from diesel is excellent.

Mind you, you did say "appear to...", but from your experience there's no doubt! 🙂

So, do we know if Ranger Tugs installs these type pumps as stock items? More precisely, do the installed stock bilge pumps have the feature of distinguishing water from diesel ? I really don't want to 'test the waters' to find out. 😉

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

I believe that any oil in the bilge will foul the electronic sensor and require cleaning. I am weighing the balance of a $275,000 boat on the bottom versus a little diesel over the side. Mind you I don't advocate poisoning the environment but diesel isn't as bad as all of the crude that gets dumped in our Gulf by the 4000 plus oil wells operating out there now. If you check with insurance companies you will probably find that many boats sink at the slip because of a combination of bilge pump failure and a really bad leak. My R29 does have a back up bilge pump and it does still have the electronic sensor. If the secondary pump comes on you either have a really serious problem or the primary has failed. I will most likely put the common float switch on the secondary, leave the electronic on the primary and go along with the thought that it ain't good to pump diesel over the side.

Pat, Ladybug, Too

 

[Zundels]

When our R-25 bilge pump was running continuously all we needed to do was reach into the bilge and clean the eye sensors on the side and then it worked fine. There must have been grunge on the sensor causing it run.

I was also one who had run the pump all the time and needed to learn that the panel switch is to be off unless we wanted to force the pumping.

Don

 

[Portugeezer]

I also went through the toggling of the pump switch in order to stop the run-on of the bilge pump on my R21-EC (2008). Looking at the new electronic sensor (the black cartridge that I call a float switch), I noticed two dime-sized circles which I suspected to be the sensor locations. Going back to my boat, I found the same two circles on the installed cartridge and wiped the slime from the surface with my fingers. The problem has not recurred.

 

[Dale777]

Although Andrew recommended 3 possible solutions as noted above for the continuously running bilge pump, I tried only his 1st suggestion to clean the sensors. Ever since then, I've had no further problems. Now, I tend to run fresh water into the bilge until the pump starts after each run along the Gulf Coast of Florida. I'm hoping the fresh water will keep the slime from building up again. Otherwise, I will simply clean the sensors with my fingers and some fresh water.

This fresh water might also help avoid some of the rusting of the motor mounts. Soon, I will use a wire brush to remove the existing rust on these mounts, then apply Corrosion Block from West Marine.