Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

Hey Guys,

I am somewhat new to this forum- bought my first boat a 28 foot Chris Craft Amerosport 284 w/ twin 305s. The 305s are still on a point system and it does not have electric choke. However, the OMC Outdrives were completely re-built in 2005 and the shifter cables were adjusted properly.

A few questions for everyone.

The Bow Bilge pump has never worked and the owner never replaced it, What should I replace it with, How do I replace it LOL, and how do I get to it?

Second question is the gauges bounce all over the place on the boat and I think it's cause they are so old- Are there any type of gauges I can replace them with that won't make me go broke.. that are still good quality?

Last and final question, we were testing the Navigation Lights and found that the Anchor light and starboard light is out- My fiance decided to turn the cap that holds the fuse under the switch and now none of the lights work. We put the cap back in and turned it clockwise to tighten it and still no lights anymore... What did she do? LOL

Thanks guys!! I have more questions but I figured this was a good start- I have heard people can rebuild boats from the knowledge that is on iBoat!!!!

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

Well, sounds like you have some electrical issues!! The bilge pump you can get on iboats for like 15 bucks... gauges are generally around 20-30 each... I just installed a fuel gauge and sending unit and voltage gauage on my project. What gauges need replacing? Pics?

The bilge pump is a very easy fix. Mount it, ground it, run a + wire to a fuse, then to a switch, then to your battery.

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

Hey There,

Sounds good to me! I'll take a look on iBoat. I'll also get some pics when I go down to the club on Friday- It's gotta be cleaned up well though, previous owner kind of abused it as far as cleaning went but he took great care of the mechanical stuff.

Some of the gauges I am looking for are Fuel Pressure, Volt Meter, Oil Pressure, and Water Temp and of course I need two of each gauge for each engine.

Thanks!

Kyle

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

Yeah... I think eclipse makes a gauage set that might be niefor your purposes. Excuse my ignorance, but why do you need a fuel pressure gauge? I'm guessing it's a thing for 29' boats... not 18'... My OB (I know it's very simple) just has fuel and voltage gauges... not even a tach. What gauges do you have in tact? Also take a look for the bilge pump. SHould be easy to find...

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

check your ground first prior to spending money on gauges. if your gauges are jumping all around, you have a bad ground wire somewhere.

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

Scott Danforth said:

check your ground first prior to spending money on gauges. if your gauges are jumping all around, you have a bad ground wire somewhere.

Click to expand...

True, true. Check for corrosion --not just on the grounds, but any bad connections. SOrry, I read that your gauges were broken :facepalm:

Re: Bilge Pump and gauges/lights

LOL thanks guys for the responses!!

I'll check out the wires. For me, Fuel Pressure is nice because I can tell when the water/fuel separators are getting clogged up, generally you will see a drop in fuel pressure. Not to mention with having twin 305's with a 4 barrel carb, the last thing I want is water, lol

I'll definately get some pictures this weekend though, Is there a place I can introduce myself on the forum that I should post on with pics?

Also, quick update on the nav lights- turns out everything is fine except two blown bulbs, stern and starboard side-

I do have another question but I am going to post it on the boat building portion of the site, feel free to check it out!!

Thanks,

Kyle