AC Not Working Properly After Winter

[Janice Jackson]

Hi all, wondering if anyone has any feedback they could share. We stored our 2005 Four Winns 268 boat at a different Marine shop this past winter as we were getting a bit of work done (electrical being looked at as some “gremlins”, but not on AC. Prior to taking the boat out AC/Heat working fine, actually we have always been amazed at how well the AC/Heat works. We have gotten boat back, and the a/c is not fully working. AC turns on, air blows but does not get cold, and no water coming out of boat. Shop came took a look and said pump needs to be replaced. they said strainer was missing and maybe that’s what impacted motor. This is first we have heard of this, prior to delivery/launch we were told all was checked and working, We were super excited to finally get boat back in water and working well. But alas no, of course it’s super hot and will be for next bit and AC not working

So I can gain some, knowledge/perspective, few questions for folks on this forum. What if anything should be done to this pump/system when winterized and then summarized? As we had this done by the shop. Should the strainer have been noticed as missing, would it have been removed during winterizing /summarizing and potentially not reinstalled? Or perhaps would not have been something that would be noticed and was just a matter of time before pump broke, we have had the boat for 4 yrs and literally the AC/Heat and fridge (super cold) have been the best most reliable things on the boat

Also any suggestions on other items to check/do before just replace pump, as we have no idea how long this could take and want to see if anything we can check/do to see if we can do (or ask shop if they did) to get it running ie maybe not pump. As it’s super hot and our dogs can not come on the boat with us so looking at anything further to check/do to confirm pump toast and nothing we can do but wait till replaced. We also are hoping to have some knowledge/background when speaking with shop.

Thanks folks, appreciate any feedback.

 

[alldodge]

It's possible the the pump has gone bad, the impeller may also be a little stuck. Not all manufactures install a strainer. If your in fresh water many times it's a good thing to have but not needed.

If you can hear the pump run but there is just no water being moved. Take a shop vac and put the hose on the exit port. This way your trying to suck water thru the system.

 

[Janice Jackson]

It's possible the the pump has gone bad, the impeller may also be a little stuck. Not all manufactures install a strainer. If your in fresh water many times it's a good thing to have but not needed.

If you can hear the pump run but there is just no water being moved. Take a shop vac and put the hose on the exit port. This way you’re trying to suck water thru the system.

Thank you! We will head down today and give it a try. And yes we are in fresh water.

 

[Janice Jackson]

The water goes to pump, comes out of the pump, but it is not forceful, like a 1/2 inch stream, drinking fountain speed. Would this be normal or should it be a faster stream?

 

[alldodge]

So long as water is moving the AC should work unless there is something wrong with the AC. Doesn't need to be forceful but can be

 

[Janice Jackson]

So long as water is moving the AC should work unless there is something wrong with the AC. Doesn't need to be forceful but can be

Tks you

 

[Grub54891]

usually, it's a pretty good steam coming out. I've seen people put tape over water pickups to keep critters out while in storage. Yup, haul out and remove tape. In your case it could be debris in the fitting or before the pump. You can remove the intake hose while in the water, it should have a gush of water coming in. Try backflushing with a hose attached to the intake hose at the pump. Yeah, it gets wet while you do this. just work quickly, besides there should be a ball valve in that thru-hull fitting, if not the boat would sink if you have a problem with the hose. With the ball valve off or partially shut you won't get water flow.

 

[dubs283]

You can remove the intake hose while in the water, it should have a gush of water coming in.

I like this idea but would recommend removing the cover on the sea strainer housing prior to removing any hoses

Hopefully there's a seacock in place so OP can prevent any unnecessary bilge water collection.

The A/C cooling pump is most likely alternating current electric powered (shore power/genset/inverter) and has a ceramic impeller that I've never seen fail.

The flow of water overboard should resemble a 500 gph bilge pump flowing full when the compressor is running