Bilge Pump Constant Running

[RiddleJacob]

Hey guys, I am brand new here and I have just bought my first boat last week , a used 2016 Scarab 165 G with 65 hours. so far the only problem I’ve had was a blown fuse for the bilge , the dealer I purchased the boat from sent a service tech out on Wednesday who simply swapped the fuse. Today I finished on the water and tried to run the bilge and nothing came out until we shifted weight in the boat towards the back. Then spat out a tiny bit of water and it proceeded to run until I got worried after about 10-15 min and pulled the fuse. Wondering if I’m missing something , still new to all this and appreciate any input!

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Your boat likely has an older version of this pump: https://tinyurl.com/veum4z6t

The older versions of this pump (I had the same problem) were angled incorrectly. The water sensor is located in the prism shape (there is no actual float, it's a solid state sensor), the end that points towards the front of your boat. The intake is at the stern end of of your boat.

The new versions come with a base that is angled so that when it's glued, the bow end of the pump is HIGHER than the stern end. This is important and you can replicate that yourself. I used a stainless steel clamp and installed it around the pump on the bow end of the pump to raise that end as much as you can. The trick is to have the clamp screw located under the pump but still accessible. That bulge in the clamp will raise that end. I tried various things like wedging something underneath, but with waves and stuff, it would constantly slip out. The clamp has been terrific. But the angle required may vary boat to boat a bit. So if it's not enough, you may have to insert something plus the clamp on the bottom to lift it higher.

So what's happening right now is the sensor is low, so it detects the tiny bit of water and tries to pump it. But because that sensor is low, the intake side is too high and can't suck the water. So it goes into a cycle of detect, try to pump and fail, detect, try to pump and fail. You want it to be less sensitive to water and simultaneously have the intake as low as possible to suck as much water out as possible.

Clear? And of course, make sure there's no debris on the intake side. Zip ties for example are commonly found in bilge pumps and can clog the intake. The intake side btw can be just twisted off. It's secured via an o-ring only. So it's easy to clean.

 

[RiddleJacob]

Thank you, do you have a pictures of how you set yours up? I do believe that could be the issue with mine , also had a 10a fuse for it when it says 5a.

 

[Luc Lafreniere]

Surprisingly I do! lol You'll see in the close up I added some tape to make the clamp screw as low as possible. I essentially added enough tape so that after the clamp is snug, the angle of the pump is as steep as it will allow.

The fact that yours runs constantly, it's almost guaranteed this is the issue. Otherwise a short circuit or a failed water sensor.

 

[RiddleJacob]

Thank you , I will try this right now , I had moved it around and it temporarily stopped , will use that clamp to tighten it to the bilge and some tape , hopefully this works! If not I’ll send a picture of what’s going on.

 

[RiddleJacob]

Thank you , I will try this right now , I had moved it around and it temporarily stopped , will use that clamp to tighten it to the bilge and some tape , hopefully this works! If not I’ll send a picture of what’s going on.

No luck .. going to call the dealer up and see what they are able to do