Momentary bilge pump

[Mfpaul]

New owner of a Seadoo Utopia 205SE. Working my way thru various small repairs in the off season. The boat supposedly has an auto bilge with manual activation as well. Seems there is some water in the pump area. Pump is not engaging automatically. When activated manually via the cockpit switch it turns on only momentarily (a second or two, but not nearly enough to move any water) and blows the fuse in the main fuse panel. Replaced the fuse twice playing this game. I have attached what I think is a photo of the bilge Pump. Not sure if it is stock or a replacement by previous owner. Should I just replace it with something new?

 

[Ronnie]

The filter / intake may be clogged. Verify its the bilge pump by finding the outlet and tracking the house back to the pump. You should be able to rem or the top which will give you access to the filter screen below. I would also clean the top of the pump / impeller out as well as any build up surrounding the pump in the bilge area. Maybe there is not enough water for the pump to recognize and stay in for. They only way to check is to put more water into the bilge. If the pump is broke you can pull the main drain plug to drain the water you put in.

 

[Mfpaul]

Ok. That’s helpful. I’ll do the belly crawl in there to get my hands on it and trying remove it. That appears to be the lowest spot in the bilge with standing water - even with the rear drain plug out, so maybe there is crud in there holding stuff up. The whole bilge area is greasy dirty and needs a purge…

 

[Julian]

Ok. That’s helpful. I’ll do the belly crawl in there to get my hands on it and trying remove it. That appears to be the lowest spot in the bilge with standing water - even with the rear drain plug out, so maybe there is crud in there holding stuff up. The whole bilge area is greasy dirty and needs a purge…

You should clean your pump screen yearly...most don't. Once you have it unclipped and the screen cleaned, move the impeller by hand to ensure it isnt siezed, then put it in a small Tupperware container or bucket to test it pumping.

 

[VitaminSea]

The whole bilge area is greasy dirty and needs a purge…

FWIW…
I believe newer pumps recognize (not sure how) when there are containments in the water (gas/oil) and will not operate (to avoid polluting the environment). Not that it would cause the fuse to blow, but you may need to manually clean your bilge before engaging the bilge pump (once you determine what’s causing the increased current draw).