SD 217...A couple of bilge pump questions.
Comments
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There seems to be a lot of problems with the auto function on the bilge pumps on these boats. Mine only works on manual also. It quit working the second year. I'm heading to the boat show in Augusta today and will try to talk to my dealer and a hurricane rep if one is there about this. I plan to replace mine this year which is no small task considering the location on the 188ss.
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donmat, did you find anything out about the bilge pump from the rep? Thanks, PaulUnited States Coast Guard Aux, VFC, FSO-VE
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No. There wasn't a rep there and the dealer was so busy selling Hurricanes that I didn't get to talk to him. I did e mail customer service but they weren't much help. They did send me a wiring schematic but it shows a manual pump so that's no good. They suggested I contact johnson pumps (pump manufacturer) which I may do but probably will just replace it this spring if i can figure how to get to it. It's mounted on a stainless plate that is fastened to the transom and I suspect I will have to take that loose and turn it to get at the pump. Once I get the boat out of storage I'll have a closer look at it.
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Thanks anyway donmat. I had a similar experience with customer service as well. Nice people, just not very helpful...United States Coast Guard Aux, VFC, FSO-VE
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I replaced pump and float last weekend. What a pita! And we could not figure out how to get the pump to run manually. Now it only works in auto mode. Wtf? We wired everything up the same way as existing.
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Hey Macklin...checking with Hurricane engineers on this for you.
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pbolden...here's what you're looking at...
Access to the pump is through the inspection ports in the splash well. It won't be fun to reach with the engine in place.
The automatic function is wired directly to a battery and will remain active when the battery switch is turned off.
Boats built prior to Dec 2011 can experience a situation where the automatic switch turns the pump on, but not off, resulting in dead batteries. The pump in question is Johnson #54239.
If the pump doesn't run automatically, it may be hooked up incorrectly, electrically, or not at all. -
After my last post about my auto bilge pump not working I received my wiring schematic from hurricane and after doing some tracing found out there is a fuse box located in a black connector near the battery. I replaced the 5 amp fuse and after three years my auto bilge pump works again. Check this out if you have a bilge pump that works in manual but not in auto. I was getting ready to replace the float switch (already ordered !!) when I found this.
Make sure you tape up this fuse box with electrical tape after opening because it's right under the battery hatch which leaks copious amounts of water directly on it and the battery which may have caused the fuse to blow. I'm also going to fasten all wiring up out of the bilge area as this may also be an issue. These are some areas that Hurricane could improve on in my opinion.
These are now the least of my worries as I have considerable gel coat bistering on my hull after 3 seasons and I'm working on that now with my dealer and Hurricane. I'll post more on that later.
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Good stuff, don...thanks for coming back and letting us know what happened. Just say the word if I can help on the Hurricane side of your gel coat issue.
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Thanks Steve,
I'm waiting to hear from my dealer now. I've done some research on the issue and will get into that in another post after I hear from Hurricane. This should not happen period!!
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Thanks for the info Capt Steve. Through the access ports in the splash well...YIKES! Question. Typically how much water needs to sit in the bilge before the auto-float switch is tripped?
Thanks,
Paul Bolden
United States Coast Guard Aux, VFC, FSO-VE -
Have 206 SD 217. Replaced bilge pump yesterday. Noticed the pump was a Johnson 1200 GPH cartridge pump so ordered new one from Overtons. Went in through access port in splash well had son hold flashlight and look through battery compartment and I used power drill with Phillips bit and unscrewed the 2 screws holding the pump/float mounting plate to the transom . When this was done passed the plate and pump forward through the access panel on deck on opposite side of battery access . The electrical conector for the pump wiring is in this access area took out old CARTRIDGE and put in new one and spliced in brown and black wires then just reversed the steps and everything worked fine. Did this with boat in the water and engine mounted (was standing in about 18 in of water). Took about 1 hour. Seem much easier when you use the Johnson replacement cartridge and reuse the float. Taking out the metal mounting plate was not to bad just let your helper guide you and work by feel. Andy
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Hey Paul...that auto-float should activate at a minimum of two inches of water.
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Andy,
I'm sure you thought of this but I hope you used 5200 sealant in the screw holes when reinstalling the plate as this could let water into the transom if not sealed. I'm glad to find out that this procedure works as I was looking at doing the same thing before I found the bad fuse that solved my problem. One thing I was wondering, were the wires long enough to pull the plate or did you have to cut them
Don
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Don. I did put sealant on the screws. Yes the wires were long enough. The best part of removing the mounting plate was that the plate and pump had enough slack in the wire to just pass it out through the access hole on the starboard side. There was a gray conector/disconnect inside the access port that you could pull apart and easily cut the old black and brown wires and splice in the 2new ones working on the outside deck . I can not imagine doing the replacement inside the bilge. Good luck
