Problem with fresh water sprayer system (Sundeck 220)

[Jdr01930]

Last week, I was using the fresh water sprayer on the bow, and the sprayer's button seemed to get stuck in/on for 10 or 15 seconds, then I got it to pop back out. Figured some salt spray dried around the nozzle mech maybe.

But since then, the system is not working. If i turn the helm switch on I hear the motor going. I think before the motor only ran when I pressed one of the nozzles.
No water comes out (yes, helm switch is on!). Sometimes I can get a little burst of spray from the stern sprayer, but that's about it.

Any suggestions? I'm not sure exactly how this system works - is there an air pump that pressurizes the tank, or is it a water pump?
The system is boxed in in the stern, so tough to inspect without removing some panels. Or maybe it's something in the nozzle end?

 

[Tejaus]

On my 1999 230BR the sprayer on the sink had a bad O ring. Went to Ace Hardware and got a replacement. If yours is the same as mine the "face" of the sprayer just unscrews. This sprayer has a white plastic body with a stainless threaded connection. My sprayer on the transom is different from this one with a stainless body. Hadn't had a problem with it though.

My pump is a ShurFlo diaphram pump. http://www.yachtsurvey.com/repairing_diaphragm_pumps.htm . RV's use 'em too so you might get parts at a RV dealer if needed.

Mine wasn't pumping water but the motor was working so I took apart the diaphram and and looked fine. So I put some vasoline on the rubber parts and reassembled. Works like a champ now. There is a little adjustable valve that senses the pressure to start and stop the pump on the bottom. It doesn't adjust the amount of water flow however.

 

[aqua*holic]

Mine is a diaphragm pump also. It is mounted in the bilge area right next to the engine. Very easy to get to. Not sure if yours is in the same place. Pump runs until the line pressure is built up and then turns off. Pump will start again when a sprayer is used and the line pressure falls. Check to see if your bilge is fillig with water when the pump is on. This would mean you have a leak or broken water line. If the pressure switch isn't working right, it could keep the pump running too long and over pressurize the system. If all the sprayers do the same thing, it is not a problem with the front sprayer. It is a problem with the pumping system. Also, I am not trying to belittle, but make double shure there is enough water in the tank to run the pump.

 

[Jdr01930]

If the bow sprayer was stuck open, would the pump not be able to keep up and cause these symptoms?
Based on the replies so far, it sounds like the system is not holding pressure, and this occurred right when the front sprayer got stuck open. I'm thinking externally the sprayer looks "unstuck" but internally maybe something is still open. But I've never seen the system lose pressure when I'm spraying stuff, leading me to believe if it were stuck open, the pump would be on and water would be coming out (that is, pump can keep up with an nozzle stuck open).

I added a few gallons of water just to be sure there actually was water in the tank.
I have not noticed excess water in the bilge - but would need to double check as I might not have left the motor running long enough to accumulate enough to notice. (concerned about burning out a pump or something as I wasn't sure how this thing worked)

This boat is only a few months old so I assume this would be covered under warranty (well, build a year ago but first purchased/launched recently), if it's not something stupid/easy I'll just give the dealer a call. However hauling the boat and towing an hour to have them check it out would not be desirable. Maybe they make house calls.

 

[Jdr01930]

Finally got a chance to dive into this, and might have fixed it...
Took the pump out, and found water flows freely from the tank to the pump fitting, so no obstruction there.
Took the pump apart, diaphragms etc look fine - no debris.
Put it back in, still no worky.

Brought the pump home, disassembled/inspected again - no obvious problem.
Put it on a 12 v power supply, stuck the intake in a bowl of water - the water just vibrates - no pumping.

Turned the pump over and poured water into the intake while it was running, water just poured over it for a few seconds, then it started sucking it through. Repeated the first test (stick intake on bowl so it has to pump UP), works fine now!
Drained the pump and retried, this time going through a few feet of hose so it has to prime, it works.
Before I bring it back to the boat I'm gonna time it to pump a gallon of water from a bucket to make sure I'm getting something close to the rated flow.

I did not see anything pop out when it started working, nor did anything seem wrong when disassembled, so I'm a little concerned it will work for a few weeks and crap out again - but we'll see...

Pump is a Jabsco 31395-0092

 

[Kingsfr]

We had a similar problem with our water pressure. The pump would work 'cause we could hear it turning on, but we would only have good pressure flow out the nozzles for about 1-2 seconds then the pressure would disappear to just about nothing. If we turned the nozzles off for about 10 sec. then turned them on again we would get the same thing, a short burst of pressure, then nothing. I assumed there was some kind of vacuum leak or something like that.
It turned out to be the filter on the water pump. My brother read in the boats manual that it should be cleaned at the end of every season. When I got the filter open there was over 1/8 inch of crap on the screen. I washed it off with a hose, reassembled it, and, presto, it worked great. Water pressure is now what it should be. Works like a charm.

 

[Jdr01930]

Just following up - I reinstalled the pump a few weeks back after doing the procedure mentioned 2 posts above, and the sprayers have been working perfectly since.

In my case, it was not debris in the screen, but something must have been lodged within the diaphragm/motor itself.
The test I did before reinstalling (time pumping a gallon of water) came in at a hair under it's rated capacity of 3 gal/minute, which should be fine as my test was far from ideal/perfect.