Both bilge pumps not working

J

jmanteu1

Member
Jul 6, 2014
37
Lake St. Clair, MI
Boat Info
280 Sunsport 2001
Engines
Twin 350 Mercruiser
Had big engine issue earlier this summer and spent half the summer without the boat. Now running great but yesterday noticed both my bilge pumps were not working. 2001 Sea Ray Sunsport 280 with twin Mercruisers. Two float switches and 2 pumps, neither work when I hit the bilge pump switch at the helm. I wanted to check the float switches first but they are so far down, I can only barely get my hands on the one closest to me, the next one is closer to the stern with the both pumps even farther out of my reach. There wasn't a lot of water in there, maybe 2 gallons, I pumped it out with a portable pump. But there was enough that it would have typically kicked some out when I hit the helm switch. Any ideas where to start trouble shooting this one? All other electronics appear to be working, including hatch lift, nav lights, depth finder, etc.

Thanks in advance.

Jake
 
I use my deck brush pole every once in a while to lift up the float switches to make sure they work.

Especially before I do a wash down.

Is the helm switch lighting up when turned on?
 
I’ll check to see if the switch is lighting up. My float switches have the plastic cage on them so I’ll need to unscrew them to get them out of there, I can just flip with a brush. I’m thinking there is a fuse or breaker somewhere along the line if both pumps are not working and the float switch was not kicking the pumps on with the 2 gallons in there.
 
You should have a breaker or fuse for each pump. It would be a little strange that both breakers would pop at the same time though? Unless someone flipped them intentionally while it was out of the water?

How close to the pumps can you get? 2 gallons of water doesn't sound like a whole lot. Are you sure your pumps were deep enough in the water to prime? With my Rule pumps the red baskets need to be pretty well under water before you can get the pumps to prime/pump.
 
Sometimes the cage-style float switches have a knob on the side that you can twist to raise teh float and activate the pump. Do you have those? Can you post pics of the pumps and floats?

I always have a little water in the bilge. Every time I get to the boat I hit the helm float switch just in case but only once in a while is there enough for the pump to actually pump anything out.
 
Checking the float switch is a good start - find a way :) The float switch "box" should have a little knob on one side that is connected to the float, inside the box. Rotate the knob to lift the float.

Fuses... you'll have a fuse for the dash switch - this is with the rest of the fuses near the helm. You might have breakers? But you'll ALSO have an inline fuse for each pump. This will come off the battery or the battery switch. In other words, you have two fuses (or breaker)... one feeds the pump, one feeds the float... the pump can be activated two ways.
 
2673EF39-16FD-4669-A3D8-01AAC28C651F.jpeg
 
Even though it’s not a lot of water, I would usually get a little bit to kick out, and I would hear the pump on at least. So maybe it’s just my helm switch. I’ll play with the float switches. Thanks for the help all.
 
jmanteu1 said:
Even though it’s not a lot of water, I would usually get a little bit to kick out, and I would hear the pump on at least. So maybe it’s just my helm switch. I’ll play with the float switches. Thanks for the help all.
Click to expand...
The lower float switch looks to be about covered in water? That one should be turning on. It could be stuck, though.
 
Just a fyi, on my 98 290 there is a fuse panel just by the exit door of the boat that says bilge. I had a problem.with one of mine runninh dry and it popped the breaker. Pushed it in and they worked. Problem.was 1 of the pumps burned out due to running dry. You have to have a breaker for them. Look for a bilge breaker
 
1 pump is your normal bildge pump. The other is a high water pump. 2nd pump is just a back up. If you start to hit the high water pump that means the 1st pump cant keep up with the water coming in. Its a back up o shit pump
 
Yes the bilge breaker is popped. When I push it down it doesn’t stay down. Never had to mess with this panel before. Do I need to take it apart to reset or swap something out. I could try again with a screw driver to reset, I wouldn’t stay with my finger alone.
 
If it's not staying reset, then there's either a short and it's doing it's job or it's old and tired. You'll probably want to get someone else involved in the testing for the first scenario, but if you're comfortable with basic electrical work, you can swap the breaker (or wires) with a known-good one - the emergency pump should be the same amperage - but you can double check by looking in your owner's manual at the wiring diagram. Before doing any electrical work, understanding those diagrams wouldn't be a bad idea, anyways. Do NOT use a higher amperage breaker for testing.

You "could" temporarily bypass the breaker... but if there IS a short somewhere, you run the risk of melting a wire and possibly causing a fire.
 
Sir, mine was the same way. It should not be the breaker. I would not mess with that. It is the bildge pump itself. The breaker is doing its job. Replace the pump and all will be good. In my case the pump ran dry and seized the motor. When i hit the breaker on it would pop. Swap out pump, bench test pump to confirm and you should be set. You are also not gonna find those pumps. Trust me i looked.
 
Jeff Delbuono said:
Sir, mine was the same way. It should not be the breaker. I would not mess with that. It is the bildge pump itself. The breaker is doing its job. Replace the pump and all will be good. In my case the pump ran dry and seized the motor. When i hit the breaker on it would pop. Swap out pump, bench test pump to confirm and you should be set. You are also not gonna find those pumps. Trust me i looked.
Click to expand...
Jeff, just a reference, stating that it HAS to be a short in the motor is incorrect. I've diagnosed more than my fair share of these (not just one or two) and the breaker COULD very well be the issue. In other words, just because the symptoms are the same as your experience, doesn't mean the cause HAS to be. As I noted above, it could be a number of things - but diagnosis is needed to be sure - before just throwing parts at something. Plus, in this case, testing the breaker is the easier/faster thing to do - at least in my opinion.
 
I agree sir. Just giving my experience. Thats why i said take out the pump and bench test it to confirm. It could always be more then 1 problem. That is something he can do before hiring a guy or waiting 6 weeks to get a guy to look at it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,261
Messages
1,429,544
Members
61,137
Latest member
Bayou Bruin
Back
Top