Runaway bilge pump

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O

ogger

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Joined
Jul 28, 2009
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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C SE
Hull Identification Number
USFMLT211617
The automatic bilge pump on my RC21 developed a mind of its own and has run the battery flat.This happened while the tug was sitting snugly on the trailer. As we are in the middle of a long heat wave - 10 days 90+ temeratures this has me beat. How do I solve the problem? The moment I put the charger on the bilge pump began running again. There has been no water in the bilge.
I am not very mechanical so any suggestions gratefully received. I assume there is some way to tuen it off but the instructions for the bilge pump were missing from my papers and there is no fuse marked easily identifying it.
Cheers,
Ogger
 
Your float switch has gone bad...
IMMEDIATELY disconnect the positive cable from the battery... Put a battery charger on the battery to see if it can be saved... I doubt that it can if it has been discharged to zero for days or weeks... Personally, I would just replace it knowing that it will never have the oomph it used too, even if it takes a charge again... If this battery does take a charge it can be used around the dock or your garage for when you need a 12V dc source for a small job...

Follow the wiring from the pump until you come to a fuse/connections then disconnect until the pump is repaired/replaced...
You will need to remove the pump and float and have someone who speaks 'pump' look at it to see if it is repairable or needs replacing (most likely, after running dry)...
 
Had the same problem on my TomCat. Went down to the boat (it's on a lift) and heard the stbd pump running. Fortunately :?: The boat is on a charger for all the batteries and it did no harm to the batteries, don't know about the pump. I pulled the pump fuse and will wait for warmer weather to pull the pump. It's down in the sponson and very hard to get to. I will have to unsnap it from the base and raise it until I can find the problem. I've already replaced the port pump because it failed...

Charlie
 
On your R21 you dont need to disconnect the positive cable. Just remember this. Anything that is automatic and can turn on, even without the switch on must be fused. You should see a fuse located directly on your battery coming off of a brown wire. Just remove the fuse and this will stop.

The other thing I have seen happen with these floats, is sludge build up in the lever if its the older style. We now use an electronic one that is more resistent to oil and sludge but still needs cleaned.
 
My bilge pump (R21EC) did that on occassion. One of the live-a-boards on my dock told me about it. The pump was catching a piece of trash on the output side resulting in the water in the output hose draining back and reactivating the pump. I ran about a gallon of water thru the pump and flushed the piece out.

Gene
 
Same thing on my R21-EC. Debris got lodged in the intake that "fooled" the pump into thinking there was water in the bilge. I just unplugged the pump from the drain hose and was able to work on it without disconnecting the wire. Cleaned it up and it works fine again. Like you, I am not a nautical engineer, but the logic of it was simple to figure (even for one as lacking in mechanical skills as myself!) A shame about the battery, though. I agree, it's likely a gonner.

Texas Steve
 
Make sure the manual bilge pump switch in the cabin is off.
 
Good thought, Tugly... I missed that because my switch has tape across it to prevent accidents...
 
After I pulled LENABELL last fall I was away on business & my wife called in the middle of the night to tell me the boat was making a bad noise. She took the phone out to boat on the trailer and discribed the location (sounded like bilge pump). I asked her to pull battery cable from house battery and it stopped. When I got home it turned out she had actually pulled the common ground cable in such a way that all 4 batteries were un-grounded but that also solved the problem. I then reconnected ground and aft bilge pump immediately restarted. I took a water hose and flushed around the pump and level switch. I think some debris had caused the switch to stick because that cured the problem. I have the newer sonic switches without moving parts. Best I can gather is that my pump had run dry for possibly several hours or more. I then tested the bilge pump with the drain plug reinstalled and it worked fine. I also took boat to Gulf coast and kept in water for 2 weeks and it worked fine. Apparently running dry does not hurt the pump.
 
We have had the same problem with our 2009 R-21EC. This is the Johnson Pump and seems to have an electronic sensor, or possibly an internal float switch. It runs so quiet, it's very hard to know that it is running dry. "Kamalani" is kept in the water, and we usually make sure to keep the shore power connected just in case.
 
Mine is louder when dry than when actually pumping water. The only time I had previously heard it run dry was when I tested the manual switches. When dry you can hear it inside my house with the boat sitting on trailer 50 feet away. When wet you can hardly hear it while on boat.
 
I've been having intermittent problems with my bilge pump on my 2009 R21 EC where it just decides to run and run and run. I could have sworn the EverReady bunny was in there.

At any rate I have flushed the bilge with a gallon of water and cleaned the solid state switch sensor pads and all around the pump. While it is working well today, it normally does but it has those rare moments.

Being that it is a Johnson UltraSwitch Combo Pump (cartridge style it appears) (Andrew please correct me if i'm wrong about the cartridge part), my pamphlet that came with the boat documentation does not say exactly what Model or Mfg Part number it is. I loath the thought of pulling the pump out to just ascertain what model and rate this pump is and works at (spelled "lazy" on my behalf).

Can you guys at the factory tell me if it is the Pumptype - L450 UC,L550 UC,L650 UC,L750 UC with Part # 12V 32-1450UC-01,32-1550UC-01,32-1650UC-01,32-1750UC-01 respectively , etc etc. I'd like to get some spare parts for it (spare motor cartridge, solid state switch, etc) and am also thinking about adding a second one into the mix so I have a full time backup. I've been keeping No Worries in the water year round so far and we have lots of wet weather here lately.

PS... I have downloaded the PDF files for the Johnson catalog and specs on the various pumps thay have. If anyone wants me to mail them to them just let me know your email address and I'll send along to you.

Carl
 
If you pull the cartridge out of its casing, it will say a GPH rating on the pump. We changed somewhere down the line, so it matters on the year of your boat. The float switches that you get from Johnson, are all the same. I sell these parts here at the factory, so maybe you can order a new cartidge and float from me? If you are wanting to order the parts, just send an email to parts@rangertugs.com with the GPH rating of your current pump. Easy deal =)

About $12.00 for the pump cartridge
about $22.00 for the float switch.
 
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