Ballast won't empty

[JayhawkMoomba]

Out having a great time this past weekend...
went to drain the ballast and NOTHING. The light was on the toggle switch, but no sound in the pump as I would normally hear.
Two questoins:
1) how do you manually drain the ballast if I need to..
2) does it sound as though the pump is out? what do I need to check?

Since I have had the boat, the ballast would fill up despite the toggle switch being in the 'neutral' position. Annoying but I could always empty.
Made it rather difficult getting the forward part of the boat over the crank wheel when trying to trailer it.
HELP!

[Fman]

Out having a great time this past weekend...
went to drain the ballast and NOTHING. The light was on the toggle switch, but no sound in the pump as I would normally hear.
Two questoins:
1) how do you manually drain the ballast if I need to..
2) does it sound as though the pump is out? what do I need to check?

Since I have had the boat, the ballast would fill up despite the toggle switch being in the 'neutral' position. Annoying but I could always empty.
Made it rather difficult getting the forward part of the boat over the crank wheel when trying to trailer it.
HELP!

Sounds like your pump took a dump, it can be replaced with a Tsunami 800 that will fit in the mounting bracket. To access the pump remove the rear quarter panel (not the drop down side panel, its further towards the rear of the boat). You will see the pump there, remove it and reconnect the wires and you are good to go. This is a good time to install some 3/4" kink free ribbed bilge line to avoid the lines kinking when draining.

Your bags are filling because the sprinkler valves are either failing or in the open position. Check the manual black lever to make sure they are in the closed position. These valves will fail eventually on all the boats, its just a matter of time. They can be replaced easily and for a small amount of money.

[jonyb]

Sounds like your pump took a dump

it failed at dumping :D

Jayhawk, there's no way to manually dump the bags other than to pull the lines off of the sprinkler manifold and drain through the bilge. I've had to dump my 1100# bag in the front center through the bilge before and it took forever. I trailered the boat and parked it on a hill first though. Hope my bilge pump doesn't quit..... or do i? j/k.

[mrkplatt]

I had the drain pump on one of my rear ballast bags quit last weekend. got the boat on the trailer, and while still on the boat ramp, out of the water..., pulled the back drain plug and disconnected the drain hose from the bag instead of running the bildge. Drained in 5 minutes or so.

[jzelt]

My drain pump also isn't working. I ruled it the pump as I disconnected it and plugged it into a pump that works, so I am under the impression the wiring from the switch is still good. I can not find a replacement that looks like it has the same fittings. It is a Rule pump 700 GPH aerator pump 12 volts 5.0 amp fuse. Is it a case of getting a regular bilge pump and them popping off the blue case and screwing the old fitting to the bottom of the new pump? Any help is appreciated.

[Fman]

My drain pump also isn't working. I ruled it the pump as I disconnected it and plugged it into a pump that works, so I am under the impression the wiring from the switch is still good. I can not find a replacement that looks like it has the same fittings. It is a Rule pump 700 GPH aerator pump 12 volts 5.0 amp fuse. Is it a case of getting a regular bilge pump and them popping off the blue case and screwing the old fitting to the bottom of the new pump? Any help is appreciated.

The Tsunami 800 will fit in the holder, and you can find them at www.wakemakers.com for $29 right now.

[jzelt]

Thanks FMan. Ordered 1. Someday when funds get better (for some reason the new boat took most of them away so I need to have some left to play with it), I will put in your upgrade.

[jonyb]

Looks like I'll be ordering one of those too. I'm getting pretty good at dumping ballast through the bilge

[jason wood]

Just had the same thing happen to the driver side empty pump on our 2006 20ssv... Get home and find the ballast tank full... Here's what I found...

Turn on the switch, the "Empty" light glowed but the pump didn't turn on... Found the fuse panel up under the drive column below the driver's side console... The fuse panel is well labeled with; "right," "center," "left" and "fill," "empty," so you know which fuse is which... The pump fuses are 5 amp and solenoid fuses are 3 amp... Our boat has 700GPH pumps, 1100GPH pumps need bigger fuses... Found the 5 amp and 3 amp fuses blown for the rear right tank... Replaced the fuses...

Tried turning the pump on again, still didn't turn on... The pump is in the rear corner of the engine compartment at floor level... Very hard to see... You have to open the side panel access to the engine compartment... You cannot fully open this panel with a full ballast tank... Access the pump by prying the panel open as far as you can... You have to remove the hose connecting to the top of the pump... The hose is held on by a hose clamp, so a straight screwdriver is needed to loosen it... Remove the hose and let it drain into the bilge... The bilge pump will turn on automatically to drain the water out as it empties into the bilge...

Once the ballast tank was empty, I removed the rear quarter panel by taking out the 2 screws holding it in place... I disconnected the quick disconnect about a foot away from the pump on the feed wires... I turned on the switch and checked for 12VDC... No voltage on the pins... I returned to the switch panel with all 3 fill-empty switches and removed the 4 philips screws holding it in place... The panel is close to the driver's seat, so you need a "stubby" screwdriver to remove them... I pulled the plate out with the switches to access the terminals on the back... The feed wire at the pump was pinkish with a red stripe... I located this wire on the switch... It is the second connection down on the left side of the switch (looking down at the switch it is on the left...)I removed the wire by pulling it and the blue spade female connector slid right off... Checked voltage from this pin to the big red wire right above it (in the top left position looking at the switch from the top, this is the main 12v feed to the switch...) I had 12v which told me the contact is open and not working... If it was working, the contacts would be closed and there would be no difference of potential, or should be zero volts instead of 12v... There was an open terminal just to the right of the one the pinkish white striped wire was on... I checked voltage on this contact to the red wire above it with the switch on "empty" and there was zero volts... Turned the switch off and checked voltage again, 12v... This told me this terminal was the same type of contact as the one previously used... I put the pinkish white striped wire on this terminal, pump turned on for a second, then the fuse popped and all the lights went out... This is for sure a bad set of contacts in the switch... This also tells me a problem with the pump could have burnt the contacts in the switch...

Checked the fuse panel again, blew the 5 amp fuse again... Now I wanted to check the condition of the pump... I pulled off the pinkish white striped wire and also the wire in the same original position as this on the center switch (second one down on the left)... I'm not sure what color wire this is... Sorry, can't remember... Put on the pinkish white striped wire and turned on the switch... Pump turned on for a second, then shut off and blew the 5A fuse on the center switch... This tells me I have a bad pump... I put the pinkish white striped wire back to the good terminal on the original switch and reinstalled the other wire on the center switch... Put the panel back together... Replaced all bad fuses...

I took the output hose off the pump and unscrewed the 2 screws holding the bracket in place... I pulled the pump out, went to West Marine and grabbed a new one... Reinstalled the pump and hoses, connected the wires, turned on the switch and the pump stayed on without blowing the fuse... Good to go... I put the rear quarter panel back in and closed the side panel...

I now need to buy a replacement switch and swap it out with the defective one currently in the boat... It will be ok for a while, but I like everything to be correct...

Hope this helps...

[Fman]

Thanks FMan. Ordered 1. Someday when funds get better (for some reason the new boat took most of them away so I need to have some left to play with it), I will put in your upgrade.


Be careful when you install the new pump, the threads on the PVC piping are very brittle and will strip out easily. You only need to tighten the fitting down a little past snug. Also check and make sure they give you the hose rings to go inside the fittings for a nice leakproof seal.

If you get the chance to install the Tsunami ballast fill upgrade you wont be disappointed, it has been flawless since I installed it. It makes your day on the water so much more enjoyable!

[jzelt]

I got and installed the pump last night for draining. I first hooked up brown to brown and black to black wires. Turned the switch to drain and it ran backwards. Re-switched the wires and now appears to be running in the right direction. I put it in a bucket of water but it did nothing but whirl. (no suction). Do they work on gravity pushing the water to the "impeller" which then would push it out the other hole to the outside? Looking to test it on a bag Sat.

[Fman]

I got and installed the pump last night for draining. I first hooked up brown to brown and black to black wires. Turned the switch to drain and it ran backwards. Re-switched the wires and now appears to be running in the right direction. I put it in a bucket of water but it did nothing but whirl. (no suction). Do they work on gravity pushing the water to the "impeller" which then would push it out the other hole to the outside? Looking to test it on a bag Sat.

Hmmm... I thought it did not matter what wire you connected too, I thought the pump would only turn in one direction? but I could be mistaken. Let us know how the pump works, and you are correct, they will not prime themselves and need to be force fed. One other note, once you start draining and water stops coming out bump the drain switch on/off a couple more times. If they hit an air pocket while draining you not get any flow, turning the switch on/off a couple times will start the draining process again. I will usually do this at the dock while the boats at an angle it seems to get the remaining small amount of water left in the sacks.

I am going to make some ramps this winter to place under the bags.