bilge pump wiring

[sea wolf]

i'm trying to wire up a new bilge pump. a buddy of mine attempted to do so, but screwed it up. 2 wires from bilge pump, black & brown. when i hook these 2 wires to what i'm assuming are the wires to the helm switch,{ black & brown also}, nothing happens. i ran a wire directly from the brown wire from the pump to the batt., the pump runs but will not shut off at the helm. i also found 3 wires, brown, black & green, which he cut, in another loom. i spliced these wires according to color with the wires from the pump & like i said what i believe are the wires from the helm switch, nothing. i can't figure out what the green wire is for & for the life of me can't figure out where it would go. i'm trying to give an accurate description of what is going on here, i hope someone can help me out. p.s., i will never let anyone ever touch my boat again unless i am there watching! i don't know how he screwed this up, but i am stumped.

 

[almost retired again]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Hi Sea Wolf (sounds like a submarine name)<br />On the helm switch the center wire should hot(12volts),the other wire from the switch should go back to the bilge pump tan. The other black wire on the pump should be attached to a negitive terminal or ground.<br />Hope this helps

 

[taylormd]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Hello Seawolf.<br /><br />With my boat, there is an automatic switch connected to my bilge pump in addition to the toggle switch on my dash. That could be why you have a third green wire that was cut by your friend. Check to see if you have a separate automatic switch or if one is built into your pump. Most boats have an automatic bilge switch that can be overridden by the dash switch. <br /><br />If you have a built-in automatic switch, then you must have power going to this wire all the time. If you have a separate automatic bilge pump switch, see if your friend cut these wires. <br /><br />If it were a simple wiring connection, then you should have been able to make the connection and the pump work by turning on the dash switch.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: bilge pump wiring

hello taylor. it's not an auto pump. just 2 wires coming out of pump, black & brown. when i splice the wires according to color, i still get zilch. if i run a wire from batt. to brown wire from pump, it runs, but won't shut off at helm switch. i'm at a loss as far as the green wire. there is a connector with 2 wires on each side, brown & black. the green wire is in this wire loom but doesn't seem to connect anywhere. that's the 1 he cut. i have 4 wires, 2 black & 2 brown, not counting the 2 from bilge pump. i'm connecting these together according to color. the pump still won't run, unless i hot wire it. anyone have a cobra 87, 3.0 liter? maybe someone can look at the wiring, mabe the bilge pump wiring is the same?

 

[troyo]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Seawolf, normally, the black wire from the pump wont ground to the helm switch, it should be ground directly to the battery or another good ground. Dont let the colors confuse you . The two wires at the helm switch serve one purpose... one to bring the load (power to the switch, and the other to take the load to the pump; turning the switch will complet or break the circuit. Try grounding the black on the pump to battery, the brown on pump to one leg of the switch, and test the green wire as that may be the one running power TO the switch. Good luck

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Here's a drawing of how it's wired. (give it a few seconds to apear) You will have to determine what colors are used in your own particular setup. Also note the switch positions could be different for yours also.<br /><br />

 

[sea wolf]

Re: bilge pump wiring

thanks for the replys guys. if it ever warms up here in central n.y. i'll tackle it again. it was only about 40 deg. today for a high.

 

[rml]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Isn't there something about wiring the pump "hot" so that any potential arcing occurs away from the bilge where gasoline fumes may accumulate ?<br /><br /> --rml<br /><br />40 deg? I'll take it, it snowed in parts of Maine yesterday!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: bilge pump wiring

RML, A bilge pump is a submersable pump. It can be run in the bottom of the lake. It is designed to be in an "explosive" atmosphere. Completely sealed up it is not a danger to fumes unless you use a too light of a wire and the wire burns up.<br /><br />Yup snowed in VT yesterday too. 2" on the mountains and a dusting elsewhere. Don't you just love Sprintime in NE.<br /><br />Bob

 

[rml]

Re: bilge pump wiring

Thanks for the explanation Bob. Sometimes those pesky trees keep me from seeing the forest <br /><br /> --rml

 

[patlisa]

Re: bilge pump wiring

RML I have a 65 Starcraft Jupiter V myself my email is patlisa@surfbest.net reply and I will send you a couple pics maybe we have some pointers for each other. Does anyone know how I can contact another member directly? Got my sealegs but new around here. Great site Thanks

 

[Jersey Jim]

Re: bilge pump wiring

65 Starcfaft- to contact another member go to the top of his/her post near the date/time. The third from the left symbol (2 guys shaking hands) is the email address of the writer of that post. In your case you have opted to allow only moderators to contact you, if you would care to change that - go into your profile and check off the applicable entry.