Alarm coming from under helm station

[340DA]

On my 2000 340 Sundancer today an alarm sounded that was coming from under the helm station. Here’s what happened: I pushed the throttles forward and an alarm sounded as the boat attempted tilted up attempting to get up on plane.
Once I pulled the throttles back and the boat was level in the water, the alarm went off.
Has this happened to anyone else? An alarm sounding, Coming from underneath the helm?
Thanks

 

[340DA]

Just an FYI, I was traveling at 5 miles an hour, then I pushed the throttles forward, once I was at around 2000 RPM, the alarm sounded coming from under the helm station.

 

[Creekwood]

On my 2000 340 Sundancer today an alarm sounded that was coming from under the helm station. Here’s what happened: I pushed the throttles forward and an alarm sounded as the boat attempted tilted up attempting to get up on plane.
Once I pulled the throttles back and the boat was level in the water, the alarm went off.
Has this happened to anyone else? An alarm sounding, Coming from underneath the helm?
Thanks

It may have been the high water bilge pump alarm that sounds when the second higher level bilge pump is activated. If the bilge has water, when you go on plane it shifts to the back and can trigger the higher pump to go on and set off the alarm.

 

[Jaybeaux]

+1 on what @Creekwood said. Forward hi water alarm. Start opening up the floor hatches.

Jaybeaux

 

[340DA]

OK, I will open the floor hatches and check for water. So, what am I "looking for" when I open them??? An Overflow of water? Bilge pump stuck? OR not working?
If I know what I'm looking for, then I can fix it.
Thanks!!

 

[bfernald0]

OK, I will open the floor hatches and check for water. So, what am I "looking for" when I open them??? An Overflow of water? Bilge pump stuck? OR not working?
If I know what I'm looking for, then I can fix it.
Thanks!!

Look all the way to the stern where the bilge sump is and see how much water is in there

 

[340DA]

Look all the way to the stern where the bilge sump is and see how much water is in there

One thing I forgot to mention in my original post is that when the alarm was going off we smelled a faint burning smell. When the alarm stopped, the burning smell went away. Could that be a sign of a burned out pump? Or some other issue?

 

[Creekwood]

One thing I forgot to mention in my original post is that when the alarm was going off we smelled a faint burning smell. When the alarm stopped, the burning smell went away. Could that be a sign of a burned out pump? Or some other issue?

Thats never good. Where was the smell coming from? Behind the dash?

 

[340DA]

I could not pinpoint the location of the smell. Not sure if it came from under helm or from the cabin.
Definitely NOT from the engine compartment because I raised the hatch and no smell or smoke coming from engine compartment.

Are there 2 bilge pumps in the cabin? Is One near/outside the head/shower and is a second "sump" near the back of the aft cabin?

 

[bfernald0]

I could not pinpoint the location of the smell. Not sure if it came from under helm or from the cabin.
Definitely NOT from the engine compartment because I raised the hatch and no smell or smoke coming from engine compartment.

Are there 2 bilge pumps in the cabin? Is One near/outside the head/shower and is a second "sump" near the back of the aft cabin?

If I were you, I'd grab the manual for your boat (it's available at SeaRay.com if you don't have it) and give it a look. You've got 3 bilge pumps and a showerbox by default on that boat.

The 'highwater' bilge pump originally referred to on this thread is one of two bilge pumps located in the stern sump, directly adjacent to the transom. One is mounted higher than the other, which is the 'highwater' bilge pump. The 'highwater' bilge pump alarms when it comes on to warn you that you've got excess water in the bilge.

Thus, the first bit of advice on here, based upon your description, was to check the stern bilge to gauge the water level--the theory being that when you attempt to go on plane, the high water alarm (if that's the alarm that is actually going off) comes on, which would mean you've got excess water in the bilge, that all drains to the transom and fills the sump when you're attempting to jump on plane.

You can see the location of the two bilge pumps in the diagrams below, which are contained in the manual for the 340 DA of your vintage.

Now, your boat should also have a systems monitor on the dash, all the way to starboard. It's depicted in another figure below, which is also in the manual. The "high water" light will come on with an alarm, indicating the float switch on the high water bilge pump has activated. Thus, while you should know what's going on in the bilge in terms of water, if a look down there is inconclusive, keep your eyes on that system monitor the next time you attempt to jump on plane to see if the alarm is correlated with a light on the panel. If it is, you'll have your answer.

You'll note lights on the monitor for the other bilge bumps and the showerbox as well, but I don't believe any of those alarm when the lights come on.

The manual for this boat is relatively detailed and a useful read for newbies. Another good document to have is the parts manual (also available at SeaRay.com), which basically shows a schematic breakdown of every system, in detail. It can be useful for diagnosing issues.

View attachment 148746

 

[340DA]

Thanks bfernald0 for the detailed description. Let me address some of your comments so we can diagnose further.

The good news is that:
(1) I do have the manuals that you suggest. I find them helpful and I do refer to them often.
(2) I maintain awareness on the (bilge) water level in the bilge/engine compartment often. I checked yesterday (Sunday) before leaving the dock and the level was low. Even when I turned on the bilge switch, at the helm station, the pump ran and no water pumped out.

The bad news: my boat does NOT have that Systems monitor (fig31.1) as shown in your diagram above. Thus, I need to rely on my awareness of systems monitoring, just like I did when I "visually" checked the water level in the engine compartment bilge.

I called Marine Max and spoke with one of their Service staff. Based on my description, they believe the issue is "likely" to be in/around the shower sump pump and/or the other pump located near that box.

So, my next step is to open that box up and check all components..

Does that make sense to you???? FYI, I'd appreciate any further suggestions.

 

[bfernald0]

Thanks bfernald0 for the detailed description. Let me address some of your comments so we can diagnose further.

The good news is that:
(1) I do have the manuals that you suggest. I find them helpful and I do refer to them often.
(2) I maintain awareness on the (bilge) water level in the bilge/engine compartment often. I checked yesterday (Sunday) before leaving the dock and the level was low. Even when I turned on the bilge switch, at the helm station, the pump ran and no water pumped out.

The bad news: my boat does NOT have that Systems monitor (fig31.1) as shown in your diagram above. Thus, I need to rely on my awareness of systems monitoring, just like I did when I "visually" checked the water level in the engine compartment bilge.

I called Marine Max and spoke with one of their Service staff. Based on my description, they believe the issue is "likely" to be in/around the shower sump pump and/or the other pump located near that box.

So, my next step is to open that box up and check all components..

Does that make sense to you???? FYI, I'd appreciate any further suggestions.

No systems monitor?! I thought they all came with those. Okay, well, the shower sump is under the floor board in front of the fridge. The forward bilge pump is actually to the stern of the shower sump, in the middle of the lower seating area/berth. There's a small square hatch there in the middle of the carpet. It's under that.

 

[340DA]

That's correct, NO systems monitoring component. For some reason, my boat does not have that item. Not sure why not..

I'll be looking into the shower sump and then the forward bilge.

Thanks....

 

[Lenny3]

My 310 acted that way when the rear bilge failed and was not working.

I had a drip less seal that was leaking while underway (fixed now) bilge filled with water when in the no wake zone and when we accelerated the water rushed to the rear activating the midship bilge pump.