sundancer 290 1996 water pump

[kevinnice]

hi. im new here and i just bought a sundancer 290 1996 model. i have two problems i could use help with:

1 The water pump doesnt come on and i cant find it to fix it - does anyone know where it is located?

2 The anchor windlass works to lower the anchor but does not respond at all when i want to raise it - neither from the switch on the forward deck nor from the switch in the cockpit.

Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[Sea Ray 290]

We have a 290 1997 and it is under the bed in the aft cabin on the right side. Don't have a windless.

 

[Sadler]

We have a 290 1997 and it is under the bed in the aft cabin on the right side. Don't have a windless.

I think the fresh water pump is where you say, under the bed in the aft cabin, but on the port side. Probably what you are saying, but just thought I'd add a clarifying point.
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Does the windlass not turn when you move the switch to raise, or is it that the rope is slipping? It sounds like it's not turning. If so, it's probably a problem with the up/off/down switch or the relay not working in that one direction. If it's not the switch, the relay is easy to get to--it's in the long horizontal locker on the port side of the cockpit, near the floor.

 

[kevinnice]

thank you searay290. i found the pump where you said. now i see that its roughly level with the bottom of the water tank and there doesnt appear to be a cut off valve! the pump is a shur flo and i want to remove it to inspect it and check the filter etc. but i have no way of draining the tank before removing ! any ideas?

 

[kevinnice]

thank you sadler for your help. the exact problem is that neither the cockpit switch nor the deck foot switch will raise the anchor. no clicks, nothing. both the cockpit switch and the foot switch work for lowering the anchor.

i looked in the panel you described and there is the main dc panel including a fuse for the windlass. im sorry im so dumb but i dont know what you mean by a relay. I presume if the fuse was the problem then it wouldnt work in either direction?

 

[Lazy Daze]

thank you searay290. i found the pump where you said. now i see that its roughly level with the bottom of the water tank and there doesnt appear to be a cut off valve! the pump is a shur flo and i want to remove it to inspect it and check the filter etc. but i have no way of draining the tank before removing ! any ideas?

One way would be to purchase a cut-off and just install it quickly. They do install very easily - just slides on. I'm going to guess that the line size is 15mm, but it could be 1/2". Best to put a mic on it and measure. Bring a couple rags with you, but it should go pretty quick. Cut the line between the tank and the pump. This would be the ideal way.

The other way would be to have a small assortment of plugs ready to go - rubber or cork - and a few rags.

If the line is long enough to reach into a bucket, you could drain it a bucket at a time - using either plugs or your thumb to hold the water in the line while the bucket gets emptied.

 

[Sundancer]

The water pump is controlled by a switch on the dashboard. Make sure that is switched on before you tear into it! A lot of folks don't realize it's separate! If it doesn't work, then I'm sure the compartment where your Shurflo resides has a bilge pump that should pump the water overboard when you disconnect the line. I would just unhook it from the pump and plug it while you fix it. I know if I cut mine, I'd have to move the pump over since there isn't a lot of spare hose to work with back there.

The relay's look like large black fuses. I'd suggest swapping them and then check your operation. You probably will have up and no down! That would be an ideal and easy fix! They should be near the controls for the windlass as described above.

 

[Sea Ray 290]

I held the hose (we plugged it) while my husband changed out the pump. Then we just wipped out the excess water with a rag and a bucket. It was not fun, but it worked.

 

[Sadler]

Sundancer is right. Be sure to check that the fresh water pump is switched on, and that there is water in the water tank. The switch is the farthest left switch on the bottom row of the double row of switches on the dash. Also, the batteries have to be turned on for the water pump to work. That switch is in the same locker that the relay for the windlass is located.

The relay for the windlass is a high current switch that makes the connection between the battery and the windlass. The switches on the dash and out by the windlass are small/low current switches that control closing of the relay. Move one of those switches to down, for example, and the relay is made to move one way that sends + to one terminal on the windlass and - to the other. Move one of the switches to up, and the relay moves the other way, causing the voltage to be reversed to the windlass. The fact that neither the dash nor the foot controls will move the windlass, says that the problem is most likely the relay. You can test the theory of the bad relay by touching a jumper across the battery input terminal on the relay and the windlass terminal on the relay with a high current wire like a battery jumper cable. Be sure you know which contacts to jumper, because choosing the wrong ones could cause some damage or risk a big arc. I don't know from memory which wires are where, but you could figure it out by looking and using a volt meter. I do know that the terminals are accessible on the relay. By the way, you can find the right relay by having someone switch the windlass off and on from the dash, and listening in that locker for what is making the clicking sound.