Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

[LiquidAssets]

So over the weekend, I installed a new float switch along with a 3 way toggle switch at the dash. It was working fine, and I thought everything was wired correctly. So I left the switch on Auto, like it would be when I leave it sitting in the marina. I checked last night and the battery was drained.

Wiring:

Float switch has two black wires. One is hooked up to the "auto" part of the toggle at the dash. The other is tapped into the power going to the bilge pump. The bilge pump has two wires, a black and a brown. The brown, I assumed was the power and the black is grounded. Somehow, this obviously isn't right because the battery drained.


Any help would be appreciated, supposed to launch on Saturday!!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

this obviously isn't right because the battery drained.

Ayuh,... Sounds about Right to me...

It's been rainin' 3 days straight...

Is the boat leakin',..??
Is it covered,..??
Is the cover leakin',..??

I'd suggest gettin' more, or bigger batteries...

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

I actually have a brand-new custom canvas Sunbrella on the boat.....YEs it has been raining, but I don't think too much water is getting in. I will have to take a better look today, the sun actually decided to show its face!

So another battery huh.....

This whole situation makes me a bit concerned....I will be away from the boat for days at a time, and if the float fails....no bueno!

 

[bekosh]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

I would think that you will probably want to add a battery charger and plug into the marina's shore power. Then you won't have to worry about draining your battery.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

one battery should be fine for a covered boat and rainwater, even if it leaks some.
Under unusual circumstances, my bilge pump ran 12 hours or more, constant, when the boat was launched with the plug out, before the battery gave out.

I assume that when you left the boat, you checked and the pump was not running dry.
I also assume you did not find the float switch hung up on something. It may have kicked on and then got stuck on. I prefer the switches that are contained in a box for that reason.
I also assume you don't have a battery cut-off switch to isolate the pump?

Charge your battery and use a circuit tester to see if power is running through your system--sounds like you have a loop set up in there somewhere. There are wiring diagrams around here to check against.
If your wiring checks out, I suspect something else got you--a bow light left on, etc. Easy to happen. Or there is another power drain. Good reason to have a battery cut-off switch.
You can try disconnecting the battery next time, but leave the pump switch hooked up (and not running) to see if it is the pump.

I'm not going to try to trouble-shoot the wiring, but I seem to recall that you don't run the float switch wire to the dash. Effectively, "auto" is "off" and "manual" is "on" for the pump, and the float switch wiring is independent. But check out a diagram b/c I may be wrong.

The more I think about it, you probably have another drain somewhere, since you wouldn't have left the boat with the pump running. Or your boat took on excessive water somehow--a much bigger problem.

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

The switch is stable, it did not fall over or anything.

The pump was not running dry when I left the boat.

When I left the boat, keep in mind it's still on the trailer in my driveway....I left the switch on "auto", to replicate me leaving the boat at the slip.

I have power running to the dash from the battery, and the fuses, etc are all up there. This is how the boat was wired when I got it.

So somehow, the pump is pulling power from the battery when it's not running. What could be causing this?

No battery cut-off.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

You can run a voltage drain test by disconnecting the negative battery connection and running a voltage meter to see the voltage use with the pump in the inactive stage. If there is power usage of 12 volts, then you need to start opening circuit breakers to find just which circuit is draining the battery. THEN, you can correct just what is draining the power. It may not be the pump!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

dumb question...... you didn't leave the key turned on did you? Or a light of some sort?...

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

WBC 1957 this.....is what I have to do. Thank you for the tips.

Key was not left in, and no lights or other switches were left on. Although I've done stupider things, this was the first thing I checked. I'll take a peak tonight after work, and get the multi-meter out.

 

[wbc1957]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

WBC 1957 this.....is what I have to do. Thank you for the tips.

Key was not left in, and no lights or other switches were left on. Although I've done stupider things, this was the first thing I checked. I'll take a peak tonight after work, and get the multi-meter out.

Let us know how it turns out....

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Will do, working on it this evening after work.

 

[zenwriter]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Just to be sure on the wiring, here's a diagram of how it should look:

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/14.htm

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

if this happened while it was on the trailer, I assume the plug was out, so there would not be enough water from rain to trip the float switch.

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Yes, exactly. Plug was out, float switch never actually went off. But somehow it's still pulling enough power to drain the battery. The battery sat all winter and maintained full charge, so I can rule that out.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Yes, exactly. Plug was out, float switch never actually went off. But somehow it's still pulling enough power to drain the battery. The battery sat all winter and maintained full charge, so I can rule that out.

Your wiring is correct (although I prefer a slightly different setup). Therefore, I am virtually positive the bilge pump isn't the problem. Start by charging the battery and getting it load-tested.

 

[LiquidAssets]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Boy do I feel like an idiot.....but I do appreciate the help.

Wiring was fine. My Nav lights switch was left on by accident, which must've drained the battery.

On the bright side, I found out that the old battery was shot, because it would not hold charge. Put it on a battery charger last night, took it off this morning. Grabbed my volt meter and just watched the AC trickle down from 12.36 to under 4.00.

Got a new battery from Sears today and we're ready to go! Glad this whole situation happened in the driveway and not on the water.

Cheers.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

that's one reason I have a battery cut-off switch. you might want to look into it. I also carry jumper cables in the boats.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

don't feel dumb.... it happens.... that's why I asked ;D

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Newly installed Float Switch Drained my Battery!! HELP

Me too: "If your wiring checks out, I suspect something else got you--a bow light left on, etc. Easy to happen."

Let's hope the mods don't add insult to injury by moving this to SHT!