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SD 217...A couple of bilge pump questions.

pbolden
pbolden Member Posts: 45 ✭✭
in Engine Discussions
  Hello Everyone, I have a SD217. How/where do I access the bilge pump? Also, I have dual batteries. Will the bilge pump automatically work when the battery switch is in the off position? That is to say is the pump wired before or after the battery switch? My boat is in the water 24/7. If there is very heavy rain and I've not been to the boat in a week or so, I must manually run the pump for 4-5 minutes to clear the bilge . Even after restoring the battery power the pump doesn't cut on automatically and must be switched on manually from the helm. For this reason I believe the float is malfunctioning and may need to be replaced. How should this pump normally function? Thanks, Paul Bolden
United States Coast Guard Aux, VFC, FSO-VE
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  • donmat
    donmat Member Posts: 41 ✭✭
    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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  • pbolden
    pbolden Member Posts: 45 ✭✭
      donmat, did you find anything out about the bilge pump from the rep? Thanks, Paul
    United States Coast Guard Aux, VFC, FSO-VE
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  • donmat
    donmat Member Posts: 41 ✭✭
    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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  • pbolden
    pbolden Member Posts: 45 ✭✭
      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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  • Macklin
    Macklin Member Posts: 12 ✭
    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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  • Capt_Steve
    Capt_Steve Member Posts: 416 admin
    Hey Macklin...checking with Hurricane engineers on this for you.

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  • Capt_Steve
    Capt_Steve Member Posts: 416 admin
    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. 
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  • donmat
    donmat Member Posts: 41 ✭✭

    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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  • Capt_Steve
    Capt_Steve Member Posts: 416 admin
    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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  • donmat
    donmat Member Posts: 41 ✭✭

    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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