2008 Hunter 36 that we bought the end of last summer - on board last weekend to finally begin spring work and get back in the water. I confess i just don't remember from limited time on board last year - the 12VDC Bilge pump breaker is illuminated (red LED in the tip) all the time instead of just when the switch is held over to manually operate the pump, and a faint noise is coming from the pump. If I trigger one of the two float switches, the noise gets louder, pump seems to operate. Can't be sure of actual pump operation yet as the bilge has been dry all winter (YAH!) and haven't had a chance to actually test for real by filling the bilge with enough water to trigger the pump. What is more likely - bad pump or bad breaker?
Bilge Pump breaker
- Thread starter George Braun
- Start date
Sounds like a float switch with a medium resistance short. The pump runs all the time but slowly due to the resistance in the float switch. As soon as the float switch is actually triggered, the switch closes with a very low resistance and the pump now runs at full speed.
Replace the float switch.
Oops- What do you mean "Two float switches"? Only one pump? Are these float switches the traditional switch or electronic switches? Are they connected in parallel to just one pump.
Your answers could change my answer.
Replace the float switch.
Oops- What do you mean "Two float switches"? Only one pump? Are these float switches the traditional switch or electronic switches? Are they connected in parallel to just one pump.
Your answers could change my answer.
Yes, I agree with Rich, you can disconnect the float switch wires and connect them together to test the pump. Remove the pump and put in a bucket of water to test if it works. It does not need any hose, let it recycle its own water that it ejects.
I found two float switches, mechanical, forget the brand, mounted at different heights in the bilge, both will trigger the single bilge pump. Without re-reading the Hunter manual that mentioned an optional "emergency" bilge pump, I'm not 100%, but only found a single pump at the deepest part of the bilge. Will be looking again this weekend. The floats are in parallel, either one will turn the pump on. I like your answer of a short in the float. Will update after this weekend.
With two switches, there should be two pumps, each with a separate discharge. Makes no sense for both switches to trigger the same pump.
only one switch - on the DC distribution panel - I believe it's a "on/off/momentary on" combination breaker with a LED in the tip of the handle. Perhaps my mistake was not turning it off after haulout - if Rich's educated guess is correct, that would mean it was energized but off all winter, and the resistance of the float switch was somehow damaged, perhaps by freezing.
Wasn't clear that you were not talking about float switches. I have switches such as you describe on my DC panel for both pumps. They are three-position switches: off, on (auto), and momentarily on (must be held in that position and the pump runs while you hold the switch in that position).
Sounds like redundancy for the float switches, if the lower fails the upper should catch it. What a novel concept for what it's worth. Seems like you have verified the pump works. Strange that both switches would have the same fault so I would check all the connections and voltage in and out of the control switch.
“the 12VDC Bilge pump breaker is illuminated (red LED in the tip) all the time instead of just when the switch is held over to manually operate the pump,”
The LED is indicating it is on and there’s power to the pump. Not that the pump is running.
At least the one I’m familiar with.
The LED is indicating it is on and there’s power to the pump. Not that the pump is running.
At least the one I’m familiar with.
I'm beginning to suspect that the switch is bad. Toggle should not be illuminated all the time I believe, just when activated. Haven't opened up the panel yet. Anyone know what the switch configuration would be? SP or DP? Believe it SHOULD be off/on/momentary on. Hopefully the original is a Sea-Dog, found the exact switches online in their catalog in a number of configurations. Both float switches seem to operate correctly, although I may replace them also.
Preferred switch would be on/momentary on. No off position. From the h240/260 manual here’s the wiring diagram.
Switch with led will normally indicate that switch is on and has power (some seadog toggles will give white light with panel light and changes to red when on) . Current draw on a led is minimal and gives visual confirmation you have power to your bilge pump circuit. When on/momentary on switches are not available I have seen off/momentary on switches used with the remaining auto power lead run directly to the battery or to a non switched positive bus.
Switch with led will normally indicate that switch is on and has power (some seadog toggles will give white light with panel light and changes to red when on) . Current draw on a led is minimal and gives visual confirmation you have power to your bilge pump circuit. When on/momentary on switches are not available I have seen off/momentary on switches used with the remaining auto power lead run directly to the battery or to a non switched positive bus.
Back in the day lights on switches and dashboards of cars were called "Idiot Lights". When you think about it and read through this thread it seems that some say the light is on when the pump is on and others say the opposite. I think that is why they were called idiot lights. They really don't tell you anything unless you know how they are supposed to function. Besides that, if the light on the switch is on all the time that is known as a parasitic load on your battery. Such loads will drain your battery to zero volts unless you have a charger running all the time. It is parasitic loads that kill batteries when the boat is in storage. I would replace that switch with an unlighted one as its only purpose at this point is confusion. Two float switches that both turn on a single pump means they are redundant to each other. You may know that float switches are not all that reliable and fail frequently. If your pump is making noise it could be either one of the switches that are causing the problem. The only way to know which switch is at fault is to disconnect each one in turn. When the noise stops you have found the culprit. You can replace the float switch to keep the redundancy or remove it and just run on the one switch. Since your boat already has a redundant switch wired in I think you should replace it.
I have a different perspective on the lighted switches. We have a dual position bilge pump switch with one LED on whenever the switch is set to Auto, and a second LED whenever the pump is actually running (manually or from the float switch). Having the LED always on helps when looking around the boat before leaving, as a quick indication that the switch is still set right. It does take a moment of training to know what to look for but that’s not so hard. An LED that size probably draws about 20 mA, which adds up to less than half an amp hour per day. We are always on shore power anyway for things like our refrigerator, but even if we weren’t if we were leaving the bilge pump set to auto we’d assume we’d need some way to recharge the batteries in case the pump ran.
Rich gets the gold star - correct answer. Turns out that replacing the float switch was the answer - switch on panel now functions correctly, as does bilge pump. Along the way I figured out that the other float switch does nothing beyond trigger a cockpit high water alarm.