New 260 Sundancer, 2007, just launched a few questions-toilet, a/c, fresh water

Nick E Carmichael

New Member
May 26, 2018
19
St. Paul MN, Mississippi River
Boat Info
2007 Sundancer 260
Engines
Merc
Hoping to conquer the world on one post, this is my first boat, just launched, trying to figure it out. Couple questions:

1. how to flush the toilet (vacu Flush)? lights are on as your standing in front of it looking just to the left both green, one said discharge, one I think said water. Do I need to make sure my freshwater tank is full first?

2. How do I add/fill up my fresh water tank? is their a display on the dash that tells you how much you need to add/level? Didn't see it.

3. Turned on fresh water pump on panel, makes noise, but no water from faucet, because tank was drained when winterized correct? need to add water first?

4. Ran a/c in cabin today, turned on a/c on panel (I was plugged into shore power), ran for a few minutes than get a p5/ps error code. How do I fix that? Can hear a compressor turn on when it comes on, when its working is says cooling in green letters in two places on the display, when it goes to p5/ps it says cooling in one place on top of the display but goes out below.

5. Tried turning the generator on from panel, first switched panel "on" button on, then hit start. Turns over but wont' actually start. Do I need to do another adjustment down in the engine compartment at the beginning of the season before I can start it from the panel.

If anyone could help me out it would really helping get off and running, thanks.
 
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So Nick.... First, welcome to the forum. I don't have all the answers but I'll give some a shot.

First I want to ask you a question. Did you have a survey performed before purchasing your boat? I'm guessing no as all of these items would have been addressed in the survey results. If you did get a survey you should ask for your money back. Now that I beat you up a bit lets look at the issues....
  1. Pictures are a wonderful thing. We on the forum are visual learners. There are many brands and types of marine heads. To tell you how to flush it, it would help to know that info. But I am going to assume it is a Vacu-Flush and if it is, Yes, the tank needs to be filled and the water pump on as does the vacuum generator. Should be a switch labeled "Head" or something. In fact filling the water tank would solve #1, 2 & 3. With water in the tank and the water pump turned on, you step on the pedal that is on the side of the toilet and hold it for 2-3 seconds then release it. If it is not a Vacu-Flush maybe someone else more familiar with a '07 260da can help.
  2. To fill your water tank you get a hose and put the end of the hose in the tank fill port. Turn on the water. When the tank sounds full or water comes out the vent....the tank is full. The fill port should be along the deck of your boat. It will look something like this and say "WATER" on it. Be sure it says "WATER" as you don't want to put water in the tank labeled "GAS".
    untitled.png
  3. Answered
  4. Don't know what brand of A/C you have and again a picture would help. Did you get any manuals or little booklets when you bought your boat. You are seeing an "error" or "fault" code. I'm going to again assume here....since you say your boat was winterized the valve that pulls water for the A/C pump is probably closed. You are going to need to find that pump and open the valve. However, the manual should tell you for sure what the issue is if you look up that fault code.
  5. Again a picture of the Generator would help but following the premise the boat was winterized there is a raw water intake with a valve (called a SEACOCK) somewhere near the genny that was closed as a function of winterizing the boat. The sensor in the genny may be recognizing the lack of cooling water present. You need to open that valve.
Now I could have just given you some incorrect advice here but based on the information provided I didn't have too much to go on. But give some of these suggestions a try and maybe someone with a boat like yours will chime in.

Good luck
Shawn
 
Ive got an 05 260 and I dont believe there are any significant differences to our vessels so i'll amplify some of the answers above.

1. Fresh Water Pump and Head both need to be ON from the power distribution panel. (Fresh Water tank also needs to have water!). I believe the switch in the head is ON or DISCHARGE, you can leave it in ON and control the head via the distribution panel. A light above the switch will also indicate when the holding tank needs to be emptied. When you turn on the Head switch at the panel, you'll hear a pump kick on and create vacuum. To use, just press down on the pedal to flush, keep holding down for a few seconds to rinse with fresh water.

2. As NorCal said, your fresh water fill is labeled (WATER) and is next to the WASTE pump out on the starboard side, just below the arch base (if so equipped). The tank is in the bilge and the only way to know it is full is when water comes out the inlet.

3. What NorCal said

4. Quick research indicates the P5 code is likely a overtemp. Be sure the seacock for the AC pump is open in your bilge. There is a pump that will pull in seawater to keep the AC compressor cool, a quick guess without much info is this is closed or the pump isnt working.

5. I am jealous, I dont have a generator

Hope this helps!
 
welcome.. i have an 06.. hopefully the seacocks.. i always fill my water tank before an outing, sucks to run out.. agree with above.. good luck!
 
I usually fill the bowl on the head with enough water to completely cover the seal and ball before turning it on. It helps create a better seal so the vacuum pump can build up pressure. The foot pedal can be lifted with your toe to run water into it without actually flushing.

Be on the lookout for a water heater bypass from when they winterized it. Many people remove the blue cold water line from the input of the heater, and connect it to where the red hot water hose connects (not the heater side, the other end). This causes the water pump to be able to run antifreeze to all of the hot and cold lines at the same time. To undo it, look for a blue line coming from the cold manifold (where all of the blue lines join), and immediately making a U turn to connect the hot water manifold with all of the red lines. Just remove the blue one from the red manifold and hook it to the water heater inlet. The outlet of the heater should have a red line hanging somewhere. Connect it to where you removed the blue line. If they did this, be sure to open one of your hot water faucets and make sure the fresh water pump is on while you are filling the water tank. The hot water tank will hold 6 gallons, but it wont fill up until you do this. If you just fill up the tank and stop, the first time you turn on a hot side faucet the main water tank level will drop 6 gallons immediately.

As to the AC. Did you open the seacock for the AC water inlet? If not, it should be in the bottom of the bilge. The water line coming from it has a glass bowl with a metal strainer basket in it. If the seacock is open, the handle will be aligned with the hose. Did you take the boat for a ride with the seacock open prior to trying to use the AC? If not, the error is because there is no seawater flowing through the system because it needs to be primed. The easiest way is to take a quick ride in the boat with the sea cock open. The second easiest if you can get to the through hull that the seawater comes out of is to put a garden hose up to it and prime it by filling it up through the outlet.

I'm jealous, too. No gen here, either.
 
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Thanks for the help I really appreciate it. Filled up the fresh water, no problem, was clearly marked on the starboard. Turned head on, and pump on at the panel and the head seems to be running properly which is great. Ran a/c today at the dock briefly before a cruise, didn't get the error but didn't run it very long. Nonetheless, if it shows up again I will check the seacock as recommended or trouble shoot the pressure issue. Another question for you, can I only run the air conditioner when I am plugged into shore power? tried running it when the boat was running and the display was off after I unplugged from shore power and I couldn't get it to turn on until the end of the day when I plugged back into shore power. I still couldn't get my generator to fire up, any tips on that one would still be appreciated, I may jump in the bilge and try and see if there is a gas line or something off from when it was winterized, turns over but won't start.
 
Nick, you have two electric systems on your boat. One DC 12 Volts and one AC 120 Volts. If you look at your electric panels you will see the two systems.
The air conditioning, battery charger/inverter and posible some outlets/lights are on the AC 120 Volts. You can only power the AC 120 volt with the generator or plugging into the shore power. In other words you can only run air conditioner with the gen running or shore power.
The engine, lights, electronics, bilge pumps, head, fresh water pump, blower, etc are on the DC 12 volts. This system is power by the batteries.
You can download the original owners manual of your boat at searay.com. or just google it. If I were you I would hire a mechanic that show you how everything works. This will be cheaper than fixing what you might break trying to make thing work.
Make sure you have the battery charger or inverter running when the boat is on the water. Check the bilge pump to make sure she's floating when you come back.
 
[QUOTE="If I were you I would hire a mechanic that show you how everything works. This will be cheaper than fixing what you might break trying to make thing work..
Nick this is great advice. Also if you show your location someone here on CSR might be able to come to you and show you for free. Very helpful bunch we have here. Also you should check out this thread http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/260-sundancer-thread-comments-questions-and-answers.414/[/QUOTE]
Ok thanks, I am on the Mississippi in St. Paul MN
 

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