Noob with some questions

[kobx]

Hello fellow aquasporters. I bought a 98' 175 Osprey a while ago, and am starting to tackle some of the "bugs" that I am noticing. This forum has been a great resource for me, and for that I thank y'all. Anyways, here is what I am currently tackling and could use some advice/tips.

Bilge Pump - Notice it wasn't discharging the water out the trough hull, investigating it and I found that the hose was clogged with a bunch of sea grass. When removing the hose from the bilge pump, the "nozzle" from the pump cracked/broke, so looks like I'll be replacing a new a pump. I also noticed one of the wires going the float switch is gone, simply disintegrated. So, looks like I'll be getting a new float switch. Now, here's my question, I noticed the plug has three pins, with the middle pin having two wires splice to it (one coming from the float switch and one from the bilge), what are they, common hot or common ground (just curious)? Also, does anyone recommend a good connector to use for replacing the existing, corroded one?

Live well drain, thru hull fitting - I noticed this fitting sits right at water line (not above it), being its plastic, I don't like it. So, I am going to replace it with a SS one. Does anyone know what size I need/what size hose goes to the live well drain?

Live Well - It leaks, there is a gap between the top of the well and the console, that is allowing water to escape. Is there anything wrong with spraying some of the Great Stuff expandable foam to fill it, and "seal" it with 5200? Also noticed it is leaking from around the inlet fitting. Probably just going to lay a bead of 5200 around it.


Water in the bilge - After a day out with the fam, I notice there is water in the bilge. It seems to be worse when we are fishing (probably due to the leakin live well), but even if we are not, there is still some water accumulating in the bilge. For gauging the depth, I say its barely enough to kick on the float switch (if it worked), if at all. Is this normal? Or the begging of a leak somewhere?

Fuel Gauge - Doesn't work. I know its not the sender, because I just replaced it (thinking the original sender was the cause). I'm fairly confident I wired the new one correctly. The gage still always shows full, which led me to replace the sender in the first place. However, when I replaced the sender, I noticed the needle would dip slightly when I move the float down (Its a Moellere reed). In other words, I can see the gage slightly register a drop, but certainly no what it should be, all the way down to empty.


For the record, I've always wrenched/worked on my own motorcylce, and vehicles. This is my first rodeo with a boat though. Thanks in advance for any replies.

- Ken

[seabob4]

Well good morning Ken, and welcome aboard!

Alright, bilge pump.  The 3 wires in the plug are 1) constant hot, runs from the batt to 1 lead of the float switch, 2) the combined wires, which are the other lead of the float and the pos lead off the pump, they are combined with the single lead on the other side of the pump running fwd to the manual switch on the console, and 3) ground from the pump.  Do away with the plug and use heat shrink adhesive lined butts to do your connections.  For a replacement pump and switch, I'd recommend a Rule 750 GPH pump and a Rule-a-matic float.  I believe the 750 is the largest rating pump that has a 3/4" outlet, which is what your old one was.  Go any higher in GPH ratings, and the outlet jumps up to 1 1/8"

You're livewell drain t/hull should be a 3/4" barb.  Any number of outfits sell SS ones that will drop right into the existing hole.

Spray foam into your gap should work just fine, but I would paint over it with gel coat rather than smear 5200 all over it.

Your fuel gauge, make sure you have a good ground on the back side, also make sure the retaining nuts on the terminals are tight.  Get your meter out and check continuity between a known good ground and the ground on the back side of the gauge.

[gman 82 aquasport]

Welcome aboard  
Getting right to the ?s
Bilge pump, if you have to replace both the pump and the float switch, you might consider a pump with the switch built in. Wires as easy as the pump itself..As for connectors to use, would only reccomend water proof heat shrink connectors..
 Live well drain, not sure about yuor model but I'm prettyy sure my fitting was 5/8 inch.

Live well, does yours not have a  overflow pipe? Check for that first.. the foam spray and 5200 should seal it for a while, and will seal the fitting as well.
Water in the bilge, many possibilities... how many times does the anchor go in and out in a day and is it stored in the bow opening. could  come from around the live well leak, or any hatches in the floor, may be time to do a reseal job on all hatches and pieplates. I get water from my anchor storage when using it, rope holds water well.
Fuel gasuge issue.. check your connectors on both ends of the wire for corrosion, if looks ok, might try a new wire to see if the wire is bad..there is way to check the gauge itself, but I'm not real familiar with that process.And with everything on a boat doing with power check out your grounds on anything that doesn't work properly.
Hope this helps you get on your way. out posted by seabob  follow his lead on wiring  

[seabob4]

Gary, I figured with 9 views and no one jumped in, might as well be me...

[gran398]

Welcome!

That leaking livewell is draining straight to the bilge. Fix that, it should be the biggest culprit.

Check the pie plates too as Gary suggested.

To check for thru-hull, or potential hull leaks:

On the trailer, jack her up good in the front, let all of the bilge water drain out through the transom garboard drain (aka the "plug").

Then dump her in, leave the livewell off....and check for leaks through the bilge inspection hatch around your pickup, drain hoses, through hulls, etc.

[kobx]

Thanks for the quick responses!!! Admittedly, I did go straight for the kill with the questions before any foreplay. So, allow me to introduce myself. Name is Ken, I live down in Venice, FL, and am new to the boating world. I've got my degree as a Mechanical Engineer, and started my career as a Machinist. I like to think I am capable of turning a wrench, but absolutely hate chasing electrical gremlins. I'm a father of two little ones (4yr old boy, 2 yr old girl).  Anyways, I like understanding/preping every angle of a job before I attack it, so I'm sure I'll be pinging you guys a lot as more issues present themselves. (that is of course, if my precursery search of the forum doesn't provide me with the answers... )  Also, I absolutely love this Aquasport 175. Awesome starter boat for me and the fam.


Bob - How confident are you that thru hull fitting is for a 3/4" hose? I only ask because I ran down to the local marine surplus store on my lunch break, and noticed the ID of the mushroom (the ID of the outboard hole) was a lot smaller, consequently the overall thru hull appeared much smaller that what is currently in there. Also, being that I have been messing with the bilge drain hose and inspecting the live well thru hull for leakage, I seem to recall the live well hose being bigger (or at least looking bigger). Anyways, not meaning to question you, just curious.  I went ahead and bought the 1" and the 1 1/4" SS thru hull. Guess I'll find out for sure this weekend. Hopefully there isn't some wierd combo of bard OD vs hole required in the boat going on with these thru hulls. I would think that type of stuff is standard (but I don't know).

In regards to the water in the bilge responses. I didn't think of the water retention in the rope. We do drop anchor alot, and thay may be the cause. With me replacing the thru hull, and fixing the live well, I think that pretty much should cover all sources (unless of course its my drain plug and/or live well pick up thru hull).

Again, thanks for the quick responses.....  :bounce:    :smurf: (<- had to through in the smurf, I mean really, what does that really represent anyways?)

[seabob4]

The livewell drain hose is pretty much an educated guess for me, but typically, drains in the bottom (the primary drain) of livewells are either 3/4" or 1 1/2".  Doesn't mean they can't be 1" (sounds like what yours is, I just said "typically".

The only way to be certain, of course, is to get your hands on the hose.  Which, as you said, you'll be doing this weekend.  Fun doing this stuff now that summer's back, huh?  

[kobx]

OK, started tackling the bilge pump and float switch last night, got everything removed, and am ready to wire (assuming Amazon will be delivering my pump later today). I took a stab at laying out the connections, and wanted to run it by you guys.

So based on the below wiring color code (sorry for it being horizontal):




And the wiring diagramn supplied by the float switch (and knowing that we use the float switch as the "auto"):



I've come up with the following connection scheme:




Can someone let me know if  I am on the right track or if I am way off?

Thank you

[Bergertime]

I am sure Bob will come along.. but I took a swipe at it based off the instructions you posted.  I am assuming that the wire colors there match both the pump and switch.

Key: (End Butt Connector)<---> (End Butt Connector)

1) + power wire feeding from your float switch and + wire supplying the bilge pump should be combined within one end of a butt connector.  The other end should be the + from your switch panel. This allows the bilge pump to be controlled via the float or helm switch.

Colors:  (Bilge Pump-Brown & Float-Switch Black)<--->(Helm Switch -Brown)

2) The + supply for the float switch should be wired directly to one or more of your batteries. This provides an always hot connection controlled via the float. Some say you should have a fuse, other say not as it's a failure point in a hostile environment.  You can choose your direction here.
Colors:  (Float Switch-Brown)<--->( Pos Battery)

3) Connect your grounds (pump) where available.  I have a ground bus at the stern but your boat may be different.  
Colors (Bilge Pump-Black)---> (Neg Battery or Ground Bus)

One suggestion - If you have wire-nuts I would suggest that you use them and test both the float and helm switch before you use heat shrink butt connectors.  This will allow you to change wiring easily if you make a mistake.  Then you MUST use the appropriate connectors (heat shrink butt connectors) when you are sure everything works as designed.  

Simple diagram

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11326&start=15

Hope this helps.

Good luck

B

[kobx]

Thanks for the reply, Berger.

I am basically trying to replicate what was originally done. The problem/difference is, the original float switch just had two black wires comming off of it. I know one of these black wires is combined with one from the pump, before they are both connected to the "boat side" of the connection and the other one was directly wired to a stand alone boat side connection. I assume its because this particular switch, was just basically a floating contact and it didn't matter which way you wired it (no concern for direction).

Now with this new float switch, I have two different colored wires along with a wiring diagram saying specifically what color should be connected to what, and the wiring diagram doesn't really match how my boar is wired. I believe my boat is actually wired like this:



At the end of the day, I have a 50/50 chance of getting it right, and I like your idea of using a wire nut first to verify all the connections work. I just hope there isn't some wierd diode or something internal to the float switch that may fry if the connection is reversed.

[Bergertime]

Your diagram looks correct to me.  Just use the color coding on your instructions to match the new pump and float schema.  The float sits between the battery and the pump and you are adding one more connection via a butt connector which is the power feed from the helm switch.  

Boiled down: Helm power butt connected to the float output and pump lead (pos wire) together. Float lead to battery.

Obviously I did not address the ground above, but that is straight forward.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk.

Bruce

[kobx]

Hells ya!! Got her wired up correctly first shot!!

Thanks for the help guys!

For those that came across this looking for help, my original connection schematic was wrong. The right side of the diagram (the boat side) should read

-blk
- brown (this one has pump + and the float + connected to it)
- brown/red

Now on to the thru hull......

[Bergertime]

I will prob be less help on the through-hull.. but have no fear, others here will know if you ask.  That great you got the bilge pump working.  I had to replace mine when I purchased my boat.  There is no telling how long the PO was driving her around with a non-working bilge pump.  What a #$%#$%^#!!!

B

[seabob4]

Good job, Ken.  And that simple drawing I made served it's purpose...

[kobx]

It sure did, Bob!

Whats scary is, I've been taking the boat out for the past 4-6months thinking the pump was fine. I had no idea the hose was clogged. When I was checking out the boat, I turn the switch on and heard the pump come on, so I thought it was fine. Wasn't untill last week when I did a curiosity check of the bilge, saw all the water, and realized that although the pump was coming on with the manual switch, it wasn't sucking in the water. Then I realized the float switch wasn't working. Ended up having to bail it out with my boys little sand pail. If the fam only knew how freaked out I was.

I triple checked everything. I filled the bilge with the hose and was all giddy when the float switch engaged, and I saw that nice steady stream coming out. Finished the job by the manual switch, and all is good now.

Got a buddy coming over tonight to help with the live well thru hull, which is also going to require me installing a 6" pie plate over it for access. I'll post an update sometime tomorrow.

Any bets on what size thru hull it actually is?