Lund bilge questions

I have a 2005 Pro-V i bought a few years ago. Last Fall I noticed that the auto bilge stopped working, but the manual bilge (with the switch on the dash) worked fine.

Here’s where my confusion comes in.

If you look in the top photo, the bilge pump is on the right (under the hose) – at least when I turn on the “bilge” switch on the dash, that’s the pump that comes on and it worked fine last year. Isn’t the bilge supposed to be the one with the two black boxes next to it? It’s my understanding that I need to clean underneath the black boxes – a possible cause for the auto bilge to seize up and stop working.

My question is then, what is the pump with the black boxes next to it supposed to be – or is the auto bilge a separate pump? My two livewell pumps are a little further up the boat by the starting battery. My washdown pump isn’t working either, but I understand that’s the big pump in the second photo.

Please help!

You have 2 bilge pumps. One auto, one manual. The one on the left is the auto. Either the pump is bad, or the switch is bad, or both.

You can tshoot by unhooking the power wires on both pumps and swap them. if the good pump doesn’t work when you flip the float up, you know its the float. if the pump that doesn’t work is hooked up to the switch and works, you’ll just need a new float switch. if it doesn’t, you’ll need a new pump and float.

the bilge with the black boxes (floats)that’s the automatic one that should be wired direct to a constant power source. The one standing alone is the manual pump. Did you check the fuse for the wash out pump?

Thanks guys. I thought that the auto bilge and manual bilge were the same pump – obviously wrong idea. I checked the fuses, but will re-check connections and will try the trouble shooting.

Check fuses first. If you have two separate pumps not working you could have blown some fuses. If that’s not it, the most common problem for an auto bilge to not work is the float is gummed up and stuck down. Put some water in your boat, enough to turn the auto bilge on, and then tap the float boxes with the back end of a screwdriver. Sometimes it will knock the float loose and turn it on.

Those are the two easy checks. If it still doesn’t work you have to get dirty.

I had an 05 Pro V with wash down. Sometimes if it sat awhile I would have tap the wiring connection under the console for the on/off switch and it would kick in. Also had the switch go bad and needed replacement. As the other person said, you can knock the top of pump with something, they dry out and stick occasionaly.
good luck Steve K.

The floats were notoriuos for sticking in the autobilge pumps. I would try this first. The cartridges that house the impellor with motor will detach from the housing. If you feel along the side of the housing you will notice a tab. Gently pull the tab out to the side and let it sit on the housing. Then just twist the cartridge and the pump will come out. When you get the pump out twist the impellor on the bottom of cartridge and see if it rotates freely. Then pull the brown and black wires and touch them to a 12 volt power source and see if the motor rotates. If it does it is the float. If I remember right the float is attached to the main housing which would need to be detached so you could either clean the float mechanism or replace it. Sometimes just replacing the whole bilge is the best thing to do. Remember the boat is relatively expensive to replace compared to a bilge pump. Safety first in my mind. The big pump in the the other picture is for the washdown pump I beleive. It is good to check all the pumps to make sure sand and weeds are not in the pump housing. I hope this helped.

Is there a hose connected to the “pump” on the left side?

OK – I took out the auto bigle pump cartridge and hooked it up to the manual bilge connection. The pump turned on. Regardless, I replaced old pump cartridge with a new one. I then played with the float and the little knob float on the outside of the black box “floats” freely. Should the pump turn on when the float switch goes to the top – because it didn’t turn on when I slid it to the top.

Yes, it should turn on. Sounds like bad wiring.

As the float rises it should turn it on. It must be defective, I would replace it. I am not sure if you can order the housing or not by itself. Let me know if need help getting one. Its always good to have an extra pump so keep the old one for a spare.

I believe this is what I need? http://www.wholesalemarine.com/pc/MAY-04104/33000002/Bilge+Pumps/Mayfair+Automatic+Bilge+Pump+1000+GPH.html

Or I suppose I can just replace the float? http://www.wholesalemarine.com/pc/MAY-36152/33000003/Float+Switches/Mayfair+Electro-Magnetic+Bilge+Pump+Float+Switch.html

Replace just the float if the bilge works. But first disconnect the float switch and hook the wiring straight to the bilge. It should turn on. If it does not then you have bad wiring, if it does then you have a bad float.

Quote:

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Replace just the float if the bilge works. But first disconnect the float switch and hook the wiring straight to the bilge. It should turn on. If it does not then you have bad wiring, if it does then you have a bad float.

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So if I wire the auto bilge direct, bypassing the float, it should turn on automatically? I don’t have an on/off switch for it.