Bilge Pump Help

[ntroisis84]

I found out my bilge pump stopped working when I almost sunk my boat. Apparently I didn't winterize properly and a freeze plug came out after about 10 mins on the lake. Luckily no crack in the block. Didn't know where water was coming from so I was just sucking it in trying to get to the dock. I decided to get a new pump after testing and seeing I was getting 12v to the pump. I also decided to get a float switch since I leave it in for the summer. I hooked up the new pump and tested the float switch and the pump worked. However when I use the manual switch at the helm it does not work. I retested at the pump and did not have power from the manual switch now. I hit the circuit breaker and I have power to the pump again. As soon as I turn on the manual switch it flips the breaker again. I tested the old pump on the auto switch and ends up it works just fine. I'm thinking I have a wiring issue, switch issue or circuit breaker issue but have no idea how or what to test. Any suggestions? I have an 03 Chaparral 215 if that helps

 

[JASinIL2006]

If you leave your boat in the water, I’d want two bilge pumps and two batteries, on isolated circuits. I’d set pump #2 such that it only came on if pump #1 wasn’t keeping up.

Not answering your question, but I would not leave a boat on the water without a backup pump/battery.

 

[tpenfield]

The bilge pump wiring should look something like this below . . .

Are there 3 wires coming from the bilge pump originally? 2 of them (A, B) would be for the +12 volts. One of the 2 would go to the helm switch and the other would go to the float switch. The third wire (C) would be the ground.

It sounds like your 'A' wire is connected to ground, but it should not be that way. As soon as you flip the helm switch it is a short circuit to ground (which it should not be) and trips the Circuit Breaker (fuse). Check to see if the wiring from the new pump is connected correctly and trace out the wiring from the helm.