[BigWaterBigFish]

Need help/advise - washed down the boat at the carwash on Sunday, it's a 18' Striper Walkaround. On the way home, checked to make sure the water was draining out, bilge pump working, pumped water out all the way home. Got home and put the cover on like normal, all good. Next day, walking past the boat, I could hear the bilge pump on. Scrambled inside and checked (little difficult to do given location of pump - in "hold" behind the batteries, down by the drain - enough room in the hatch for me to get one arm in, a little light, cannot visually see it). No water, no obvious debris, no obstructions that I could feel with fingertips. Felt around till I could feel the "lift trigger" and pushed down, pump shut off. Came home last night, the pump is going. Checked again, same thing, no water/debris. Checked a couple of times last night and it hadn't come back on but this morning as I go out to go to work, it's whirling for all it's worth. Again no water, no obvious debris in the space. So I disconnected it's lead to the battery. What do you think is wrong and what should I do to figure this out ... this is the biggest boat I have owned and first experience having a bilge pump. Thank you in advance for your ideas.

 

[Guest]

It sounds like your switch has something jamming it. You need to take it out and clean or replace it.

 

[bigtrout]

There is a swith on the side of the pump if it is like mine. car wash pressure can put it in the off position or on. It is also used to test the pump if it is an automatic.

 

[Troller]

Keta is probably correct . They are cheap to replace. Sounds tho your problem maybe accessing the float. It should be mounted with two screws. Good luck.

 

[Captn]

Those darn things are never easy to get at. Simple to fix, but a real pain to get to, as is almost everything else you want to work on, on a boat!

 

[Pete]

Automatic bilge vs. switched ... I have mine on a switch so it doesn't turn itself on and drain my batteries when I am not using it. If you're moored, you may want an automatic to clear rainwater when you aren't there. In the driveway, I wouldn't be too worried about sinking, so a manual switch is fine as long as you remember to use it when you need it.