• Registered: 2010-01-05
  • Posts: 3

Topic: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Hi - Quick Disclaimer---I'm VERY new to boating and this Contessa ('83 JJT Kahu Kura) is my first boat.  I'm an extreme newbie.

Due to the cold weather, I hadn't used the boat for awhile.  Yesterday, I went down to find both batteries dead.  (The boat has been repowered with the Yanmar 1GM10.)  When I purchased the boat last spring, the seller replaced the #1 battery.  The other one has a date stamp of 2005.

I bought a 6 amp automatic battery charger and went down to set it up today.  As soon as I plugged it in to dock power, the automatic bilge pump kicked on and emptied water for perhaps 30 seconds.  Then the water flow out the stern stopped but the bilge pump motor kept going.  I went below and turned off the auto bilge switch to keep anything from burning out.  It's been wired to bypass the panel---This might be standard practice?

I stuck my head as far as I could behind the companionway stairs with a flashlight to look down at where the bilge pump is located.  It looks as if there might have been a foot or so of water in it before it kicked it originally---hard to tell.  There's about 3-4" in there now.  (The seller told me that the packing gland needs to be tightened and I plan to do that in a couple months when I haul the boat and do some bottom painting, etc., so I think that's the source of the water.)

So, what do I do about the pump?  I believe that it's running is what drained the batteries----it kicked on occasionally when I was on the boat this summer.  But I'd never heard it run continuously before.  Could that be because it was damaged when the water was over the pump when it was without elect? Or maybe somehow it runs because it's wired directly to the batteries and the battery charger is directly running it when it was connected?  The pump looks very difficult to access way down in the narrow bilge and frankly, I don't even know what I'm looking at other than tubes and wires down there.  Thanks in advance for any suggestions and sorry for the wordiness!

Bill

  • From: Belle River, Ontario
  • Registered: 2005-03-20
  • Posts: 143

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Hi Bill

Welcome.... get the stuffing box/packing glan tighten... it should only allow a couple of drips per sencond when the engine is running... the stuffing box should not drip when the engine isn't engaged...
I would re-stuff the box when you get it out of the water.

Dose your bilge pump have a float switch... check the modle# and see if it's built in.... it could be faulty... or maybe it's just a pump that is on when the swich is on.

all the best
jose

  • From: Ottawa, On
  • Registered: 2005-03-10
  • Posts: 353

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

If you're going to pull the boat and at the same time pull the stuffing box to repack, there's not much point in reinstalling.  I would replace with Volvo Penta type stuffing box.  It's a rubber bell, that has a big momma clamp that clamps around the stern tube, has a cutlass bearing type surface to support the shaft, and uses a double lip garlock type seal ( aft side water lubricated, fwd side packed with grease ) to keep water out.  Maintenance is to inject grease once per season or approx 100 hrs, service life depends on how often you want to change it.  My father changes his every 5 years or so, and the one that I'm using (2 seasons) is one of his old ones......

If I recall i posed the link to the part, just try searching

stefan_d's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-05
  • Posts: 3

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Thanks for the thoughts about the stuffing box.  The Volvo Penta box seems to make sense and I'll research it before I pull the boat.

Any thoughts about the running bilge pump?  If I have to replace it, is there a recommended brand?  Also, I looks very difficult to reach...is there a method anyone has used to install one?

Thanks again!

  • Adrian
  • Adrian
  • Administrator
  • Offline
  • From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Registered: 2005-04-18
  • Posts: 542

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Adrian's Website

  • Registered: 2010-01-05
  • Posts: 3

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Well, it looks as if I gave a false alarm.  I went back to the boat today to unplug the charger.  After I did so, I flipped the bilge pump switch back on to auto.  It ran for a few seconds to empty the bilge, then shut off.  I flipped over to manual and it turned on, sucking dry, so I turned it back over to auto and left it at that.  The only thing I can guess is that having the pump wired directly to the battery that I was charging meant that the charger was causing the pump to run continuously as long as the switch was on auto.

Now about the leak....Thanks again for the comments/ideas about the packing.  I'll address that when I pull the boat in a couple of months (along with new zincs, bottom paint, etc.)

Cheers!  Bill

  • From: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
  • Registered: 2005-10-10
  • Posts: 237

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

The float switch lives in a really bad environment and will not last forever. The other cause could be debris jammed under the switch and holding it up. The debris may have floated away when water filled the bilge again so now it works again. The bilge pump is usually hooked in before the master switch so that you can turn all the power off but still have the pumps active when you are away from the boat. Better to risk a flat battery that risk sinking.

  • Registered: 2011-10-23
  • Posts: 1

Re: Auto Bilge Pump Running Continuously

Hi Bill,

I was just cruising the net and thought I'd look up your boat. 

The bilge pump switch is electronic (not a float switch).  I went  through three of them altogether but they are not expensive.  Sounds like it is working OK now though.  The switch is zapped strapped to the bilge pump and lowered into "the hole".  Takes a few contortions to get around the engine mounts but it is possible to bring the whole thing into the cabin.  The electrical connections that I did are double heat shrinked (connector and marine grade tubing).  I suspect that water eventually gets in at the switch body and the thing fails because when I have cut the connects out they have looked dry in the past.

The stuffing box has a grease fitting and was professionally repacked and the hose replaced two years before you bought the boat.  Add grease with the grease gun to the nipple and all should be well for awhile.  If there is more water dripping than you like when the motor is running, just add grease.  This is probably better than tightening the stuffing as no groove gets cut into the prop shaft.  With a grease fitting the drips will slow to nothing after a few hours but should be reasonable when running.  Oh, I spin the shaft by hand as I pump to spread the grease around inside the fitting.

We were in Port Townsend last summer and looked for the boat but couldn't find it.  Checked and one of the marinas said the boat had been there but there was no current contract.  Just wanted to take a look at her...

We actually went to Olympia and back in our Yamaha 33 and that was an OK trip.  Hope you're having fun.

R