BILGE BLOWER KEEPS POPPNG FUSE?? Any ideas

[sdl22]

On my 230Select,,
I keep blowing the bilge blower fuse. Minute I hit the switch at the helm, the 7.5 amp fuse pops. I replaced original fuse thinking it might be a fluke thing, but the new fuse popped as well. I checked the blower motor and did not see any loose wires ar anything looking suspicious. Any ideas on how to trouble shoot.....

Everything works fine..
Thanks

 

[BarryCF]

The fuse is there to protect the wire from too much current. Pulling too much current indicates a couple of possiblity's, there is a dead short to ground somewhere between the fuse and the blower, the blower has developed a short to ground, or the blower motor is frozen causing it to pull excessively high current. Disconnect the blower from the wiring, if the fuse doesn't blow then you have a fault in the blower, and if it does you have a short somewhere in the wire or switch.

 

[PMC]

I'd guess that the blower is frozen, and needs replacement. We had one go bad on our previous 185.

You may be able to work the fan free by turning it by hand - I was able to get the older one to work again, but not reliable enough for me. The replacement cost is minimal for a standard 4" blower.

If it helps - you will need new zip-ties. My duct work was attached using them, and could not be salvaged.

 

[CoralReefer]

Mine did the same. I thought I fried the motor. Well....I did. Check the blower. I had sucked up a water bottle cap and it was lodged in the fins of the blower keeping it from turning. You never know.:huh:

 

[sdl22]

Thanks for the advise..
It there only one blower motor. I see one on the port side but cant seem to see one on the starboard side...

Thanks again for the suggestions. I will examine my fan when I get into the half monkey/contortionist mode...

 

[Big Billy]

Sometimes due to dampness the shaft slightly seizes, a little WD40 and your off.......

 

[drichards143]

Thanks for posting this. I was having the same problem on my 2001 230 BR. I just bought the boat from the original owner who lived in Austin, TX. Put a new fuse in and it blew immediately. Read this thread and pulled the bottom hose off only. Reached up inside of the fan and found a TEXAS sized wasp nest made out of mud which was keeping the blower from spinning and resulting in the fuse blowing. Cleared the nest out (fortunately - the wasps were long gone), put in a new fuse, and it tried it again. PERFECT!

 

[boat noob]

+1 to trying WD-40 to fix this issue. I was having same problem: fuse kept blowing as soon as I put a new fuse in. I checked wiring from helm console to blower motor and it looked fine. Tried moving fan blade by hand and it was stuck. A little WD40 and it was spinning freely in no time. Popped in new fuse and now it's working great.
Always good to try the inexpensive fix first. Not sure how long it will be until it seizes again however. And this blower motor is not easy to access on my boat.