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Bilge pump wiring

Discussion in 'Post Yacht' started by Greg Page, May 18, 2021.

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  1. Greg Page

    Greg Page Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2017
    Messages:
    387
    Location:
    Annapolis MD
    A prior owner bypassed the pump wiring on the breaker panel that allows manual operation. The two pump breakers are supposed to get power direct from the battery. I can trace the (now inactive) hot pink wire that runs from the separate buss bar for the pump breakers down into the engine room wire tray but can't see where it exits anywhere.

    Can someone tell me where it exits to the batteries for a DD powered 43? With the CATs there are now 3 battery banks, a 24V for each engine and a 12V house battery, and I don't know if the house battery bank (now under the genset) was somewhere else previously.

    It will require a new wire run for the front pump, not sure yet if can salvage the wire run to the aft pump. It is still active at the pump, but not wired to the pump breaker at the panel, so still tracing where is actually goes now.

    Thanks
  2. OutPost

    OutPost Member

    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2016
    Messages:
    73
    Location:
    Long Island, New York
    Are you looking to put it back on the 12v breaker panel?

    I removed my bilge pumps from the 12v breaker and put them direct to battery with an inline fuse. I had several occasions where the breaker tripped due to pump load or who knows what and I came to a boat with more water in it than I’d prefer to have. I could not understand why Post wired the pumps that way. Perhaps your previous owner moved them off the breaker for a similar reason.
  3. Greg Page

    Greg Page Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2017
    Messages:
    387
    Location:
    Annapolis MD
    The bypass loses the manual function. The breakers do need to be changed out as the factory ones are only 7 amps for the pumps.
  4. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,120
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Don’t go cheap on bilge pumps and wiring. Run new wires to new breakers with new float switches and pumps. You didn't say how old the boat is but ch aces are the wires have some corrosion which will reduce pumping capacity. Yeah it a little more work but how much do you enjoy your sleep at night?

    First thing I did before repowering (not a post) was redo all the pumps, switches, breakers, override switches and wiring with new alarm panel. I sleep so well at night
    Capt Ralph likes this.
  5. Greg Page

    Greg Page Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2017
    Messages:
    387
    Location:
    Annapolis MD
    Traced down and corrected the forward bilge pump wiring (removed a prior owners lamp cord bypass). Have the aft pump back to running through the correct breaker and auto/manual switch. I need some more terminals to complete the manual function, i ran out of the correct size for the terminal strip.

    I'm glad I didn't leave it the way a prior owner had it. The aft pump was sistered to the cabin fan breaker on the switched side of the 12v main, not on a direct connect breaker.

    including all the poking and prodding to see what was going where I probably have 10 hours in fixing the pumps back to their original configuration. The reason for a prior owner to go muck it all up was a bad circuit breaker for the aft pump (and probably undersized). Didn't find any reason to cut up and bypass the forward pump wiring.