Bilge Pump Functionality Questions

[twentiesforever]

Hey Forum,

A few questions about my bilge pump and how it works. Sorry for being a noob at this. When Im out, I always have the bilge switch on in case water comes in so its all automatic. I left it on and went home for a couple of days. I came back and it had drained my battery. I recharge my battery and go out and all is well. Today while messing around, I noticed that the light on the bilge switch is not on. It was terribly windy today and was alone so I couldnt tell if the pump turned on or not when the switch was activated. I also noticed that the breaker was in the out position. Its a little hard to tell since its covered in rubber but it felt "out" if i tried to rub my finger across the breaker rubber nipple instead of just in. I tried pushing it back in and it wouldnt stay. So questions:

1.) If everything works fine, does the bilge pump turn on by itself if there is enough water in the bilge?
2.) In my situation, is my pump off and broken?
3.) Is my breaker broken? I thought breakers normally do not fail so is there something else awry?
4.) Do I need to replace my pump and if so, is a normal swap all that is needed?

I will return with a buddy to see if the pump really is broken or not but I was confused about its wiring and the breaker it has. Im used to the old fashioned fuses.

 

[octavio3311]

Yamaha's bilge setup is the stupid version. It does not have a float sensor like others. If so - it would automatically pump water when detected.
The stock bilge will cycle on every few minutes to check for water. If it doesn't detect water, it'll turn off, just to cycle on again a few minutes later and it will keep cycling as long as the switch is on.
If you left it on, and your battery switch on - yes - it will drain your battery.

If you open your engine compartment and hit the switch, you should clearly be able to hear it cycling on.

 

[Britboater]

Sounds like your breaker switch has gone, I had two go on my 190. If I remember right there 5amp and you can get like for like at Westmarine, http://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-sea-systems--push-button-reset-only-thermal-circuit-breakers--P006557607

 

[Matt Phillips]

Yamaha's "automatic" bulge pump cycles every 3-5 minutes looking for resistance on the impeller. if there is resistance, it will pump. If no resistance, it will stop. Unfortunately, this causes the pump to cycle ~500 times in a 24-hour period. This will kill a battery if it is not on a maintainer.

I keep my boat in the lake all summer on a dock where I cannot have 24-hour access to power. As an alternative, I ran a direct fused wire from my bilge pump to my house battery, then use a solar charger to maintain the battery. This has worked well for going on four seasons now. I also like the direct wire to the battery as there's no way for someone to be "helpful" and turn the dash switch off (the light stays on all the time). Here's a link to my DIY on this project: https://jetboaters.net/threads/solar-battery-charger-install-w-pics.3414/#post-56919

Enjoy!

 

[Big Shasta]

On word..."Crappy" Replace it with a water sensing pump (I used the rule mate 750) or a float switch pump. Wire it directly to the battery (with a fused link) and never have to turn the switch on again.