Weird problem with live well electrical

[firechildc]

First time posting to this forum, but I've followed this community for a while now. Hopefully you folks can help me.

I'm having problems installing a new pump/aerator for the live well. The old one was completely bad, but with the new one plugged in, I'm not getting any power. This is a used 1996 four winns I recently purchased, btw.

Using the multimeter, I found out I'm only getting about .3 volts going to the pump. I then checked the power going into the rocker switch. Reads fine. It wasn't till this point that I noticed something odd. The light on the rocker switch (that tells you the switch is active) glows even when the switch is off. The only way I can get the switch to turn off is by yanking the fuse.

I've checked the fuse, checked the wiring on the switch, and I've even tried a new switch? same problem. I thought maybe it would be a short, but that would blow the fuse, wouldn't it? So here I am, turning to the folks who are MUCH smarter than me in these matters.

What would cause me to get very low voltage back at the pump, and cause the rocker switch light to remain active?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'll post a few pics of what is going on when I get out of work this evening, if that would help.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

First time posting to this forum, but I've followed this community for a while now. Hopefully you folks can help me.

I'm having problems installing a new pump/aerator for the live well. The old one was completely bad, but with the new one plugged in, I'm not getting any power. This is a used 1996 four winns I recently purchased, btw.

Using the multimeter, I found out I'm only getting about .3 volts going to the pump. I then checked the power going into the rocker switch. Reads fine. It wasn't till this point that I noticed something odd. The light on the rocker switch (that tells you the switch is active) glows even when the switch is off. The only way I can get the switch to turn off is by yanking the fuse.

I've checked the fuse, checked the wiring on the switch, and I've even tried a new switch… same problem. I thought maybe it would be a short, but that would blow the fuse, wouldn't it? So here I am, turning to the folks who are MUCH smarter than me in these matters.

What would cause me to get very low voltage back at the pump, and cause the rocker switch light to remain active?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'll post a few pics of what is going on when I get out of work this evening, if that would help.

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,.... My guess is, ya ain't got a solid Ground for the pump,....

Use yer meter to meter the Ground, at the pump, 'n at the switch/ dash,...

My WAGuess is, there's no ground, 'n it's seekin' it's own ground, through that indicator light, hence the stray voltage,...

From yer statements, you've checked Only the power side of the equation,...

 

[Auger01]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

First time posting to this forum, but I've followed this community for a while now. Hopefully you folks can help me.

I'm having problems installing a new pump/aerator for the live well. The old one was completely bad, but with the new one plugged in, I'm not getting any power. This is a used 1996 four winns I recently purchased, btw.

Using the multimeter, I found out I'm only getting about .3 volts going to the pump. I then checked the power going into the rocker switch. Reads fine. It wasn't till this point that I noticed something odd. The light on the rocker switch (that tells you the switch is active) glows even when the switch is off. The only way I can get the switch to turn off is by yanking the fuse.

I've checked the fuse, checked the wiring on the switch, and I've even tried a new switch? same problem. I thought maybe it would be a short, but that would blow the fuse, wouldn't it? So here I am, turning to the folks who are MUCH smarter than me in these matters.

What would cause me to get very low voltage back at the pump, and cause the rocker switch light to remain active?

Thanks in advance for your help! I'll post a few pics of what is going on when I get out of work this evening, if that would help.

There should be three connections to the switch right? One goes to the battery, one goes to the pump and the other is a ground for the switch light ?

 

[firechildc]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Thanks for the tip! I'm stuck at the office for another hour, but I'm going straight into the boat soon as I get home.

Probably should have made this disclaimer in the first post: I'm what the kids today would call a "noob" when it comes to electrical. haha. I really only know the basics? so you are right, I only tested the power side of the equation. Any tips for measuring the ground wire at the pump?

I'm thinking the problem must be back at the pump and not at switch because the problem with the light coming on didn't start till after I crawled under to move wires around and disconnect the old pump. But, like I said, I'm a rookie with electrical.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Thanks for the tip! I'm stuck at the office for another hour, but I'm going straight into the boat soon as I get home.

Probably should have made this disclaimer in the first post: I'm what the kids today would call a "noob" when it comes to electrical. haha. I really only know the basics… so you are right, I only tested the power side of the equation. Any tips for measuring the ground wire at the pump?

I'm thinking the problem must be back at the pump and not at switch because the problem with the light coming on didn't start till after I crawled under to move wires around and disconnect the old pump. But, like I said, I'm a rookie with electrical.

Ayuh,.... Bein' a Noobie, hit the stickies at the top of this forum for a very basic education,....

For Testin' anything, anywhere, yer meter needs to reach a (+), 'n a (-),...

If ya have a small spool of wire, for fixin' things, a couple alligator clips can be stuffed onto the ends of yer spool, 'n ya got a jumper wire, that reach the battery, the bottom baseline, Heart of the system,...

 

[firechildc]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Auger?. yes, there are three wires on the switch. I checked when I noticed the light on continuously?. but that problem didn't pop up till sometime after I disconnected the old pump. If the switch was mis wired, the light would have been on all along, no?

 

[firechildc]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Ayuh,.... Bein' a Noobie, hit the stickies at the top of this forum for a very basic education,....

For Testin' anything, anywhere, yer meter needs to reach a (+), 'n a (-),...

If ya have a small spool of wire, for fixin' things, a couple alligator clips can be stuffed onto the ends of yer spool, 'n ya got a jumper wire, that reach the battery, the bottom baseline, Heart of the system,...

Right on. That makes total sense. I've read through a few of the stickies on the forum, but I haven't quite gotten through all of them. I've been around boats my entire life. My grandpa owned a shop and I was pretty much raised there. Learned a lot on the mechanical side, but being a dumb kid, I didn't pay much attention when electrical came up.

Anyway, I'll test out that ground wire soon as I get home and post the meter reading I get.

By the way, I'm loving the dialect your using for your posts. Right on.

 

[Auger01]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Auger…. yes, there are three wires on the switch. I checked when I noticed the light on continuously…. but that problem didn't pop up till sometime after I disconnected the old pump. If the switch was mis wired, the light would have been on all along, no?

The only way the switch light can be "on" with the switch "off" is either the switch is miswired or it is defective.

If you switch the battery and pump wires on the switch, that should turn the light off when the switch is off.

Any corrosion on the wires at the pump end? Check resisitance (with the switch off) at the switch terminal for the pump to a good ground. It should read only a few ohms. Post the results.

 

[firechildc]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

What just happened is so unreal, I've got to post everything step by step, so bear with me here.

As soon as I got home I grabbed my multimeter and climbed in the boat.. When I quit work for the night last night, I unplugged the fuse so I wouldn't leave a constant drain on the battery. Today, I couldn't find that fuse, so I just slapped a new one in (remember the fuse from yesterday was also new). Without touching ANYTHING else, I climbed down to where the pump is. I wanted to first check the ground wire, as Bondo suggested. Touching the positive lead to the battery and the negative to the ground wire... 11.6 volts.

Okay... so then I decide, might as well flip the switch on and check the voltage coming from the wire just as I did yesterday.... folks. The problem apparently fixed itself. I went to flip the switch on and noticed the light was off. Clicked it... light came on. Turned it off... light went out. Flipped it back on and checked the pump connection with the multimeter... 11.6 volts. Everything is working properly now. Sound to anyone else like Auger is right and I have a faulty switch? I would blame that fuse I used last night because I can totally see a bad fuse giving me no power down at the pump... but to cause the indicator light to stay on?

Still thinking maybe I had a wire grounding out somewhere, I plugged the meter back in and monitored the reading while I gave the wire a few gentle pulls and wiggles all the way down the line. Voltage didn't fluctuate one bit. If it's a bad switch then it means I stupidly mis-wired the second switch I tested last night... in which case I'll feel like a real dumbass. haha.

 

[joed]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Sounds to me like you had a faulty fuse or fuse connection within the holder.

 

[firechildc]

Re: Weird problem with live well electrical

Sounds to me like you had a faulty fuse or fuse connection within the holder.

You're probably right. I'm going to go ahead and move the line to a different spot on the panel and see what happens. Thanks a bunch to everyone who helped me out on this! If the problem pops back up again, I'll be sure to drop in with an update.