Freshwater pump stopped working

[WotEver]

6 minutes ago, hackenbush said:

I now have the issue that after re-wiring the switch doesn't do its job. Not quite sure how it connects up. The pump has a 2-core wire and the switch a 3-core wire 

The wiring goes...

• battery +ve to isolator
• isolator to fuseboard
• pump fuse to switch
• Switch to pump
• -ve wire from pump back to fuseboard common -ve

hopefully that helps.

Tony 

[hackenbush]

1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Check which ones you need with your multimeter resistance setting. 

ok

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

The wiring goes...

• battery +ve to isolator
• isolator to fuseboard
• pump fuse to switch
• Switch to pump
• -ve wire from pump back to fuseboard common -ve

hopefully that helps.

Tony 

thanks. remind me what -ve means again...

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, hackenbush said:

ok

thanks. remind me what -ve means again...

Negative 

[WotEver]

2 hours ago, hackenbush said:

ok

thanks. remind me what -ve means again...

+ve is Positive

-ve is Negative

+ve is often red

-ve is often black. 

[hackenbush]

15 hours ago, WotEver said:

The wiring goes...

• battery +ve to isolator
• isolator to fuseboard
• pump fuse to switch
• Switch to pump
• -ve wire from pump back to fuseboard common -ve

hopefully that helps.

Tony 

And this is the confusion.

it was wired in such a way that the switch was connected to the wires going to the fuse and the wires going to the pump all wrapped in insulation tape. When I undid the tape I also undid the way in which they connected.

does this make sense?

when I try and replicate it the pump remains on and the switch seems superfluous 

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, hackenbush said:

And this is the confusion.

it was wired in such a way that the switch was connected to the wires going to the fuse and the wires going to the pump all wrapped in insulation tape. When I undid the tape I also undid the way in which they connected.

does this make sense?

when I try and replicate it the pump remains on and the switch seems superfluous 

Have you tested the switch with your meter? It's possibly faulty. 

[WotEver]

28 minutes ago, hackenbush said:

And this is the confusion.

it was wired in such a way that the switch was connected to the wires going to the fuse and the wires going to the pump all wrapped in insulation tape. When I undid the tape I also undid the way in which they connected.

does this make sense?

when I try and replicate it the pump remains on and the switch seems superfluous 

Disconnect the wires. Using your multimeter one of them (and only one) should be +12V. That is the wire from the fuse. Connect it to one side of the switch. 

Using your multimeter check the other terminal on the switch. It should come on and off as you switch the switch. The wire to the pump connects to this terminal.  

[hackenbush]

On 4 April 2017 at 10:29, WotEver said:

Disconnect the wires. Using your multimeter one of them (and only one) should be +12V. That is the wire from the fuse. Connect it to one side of the switch. 

Using your multimeter check the other terminal on the switch. It should come on and off as you switch the switch. The wire to the pump connects to this terminal.  

Even though you wrote that for a dummy I still don't get it!

below are pics of what Im looking at. 

First are wires from switch, second are wires to pump (left) and wires to fuse (right)

 

 

[rusty69]

Cmon Wotever, tell the man where to stick his wires, he's bustin for a cuppa

[WotEver]

5 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Cmon Wotever, tell the man where to stick his wires, he's bustin for a cuppa

Geez...

Wires from fuseboard. Check with your multimeter on DC Voltage that RED to BLACK reads 12V. Then confirm that RED to the hull reads 12V. If that checks out we know that RED is the fused +ve and black is -ve. 

Wires from the switch. With the multimeter on resistance (or continuity) connect the probes to the RED and BLACK. Does it show the switch working as you operate it?

If all of the above works out then...

SWITCH RED to Fuseboard RED

SWITCH BLACK to Pump RED

PUMP BLACK to Fuseboard BLACK

Let us know

If you have a 2nd switch it gets more complicated but let's not go there right now. 

[hackenbush]

38 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Geez...

Wires from fuseboard. Check with your multimeter on DC Voltage that RED to BLACK reads 12V. Then confirm that RED to the hull reads 12V. If that checks out we know that RED is the fused +ve and black is -ve. 

Wires from the switch. With the multimeter on resistance (or continuity) connect the probes to the RED and BLACK. Does it show the switch working as you operate it?

If all of the above works out then...

SWITCH RED to Fuseboard RED

SWITCH BLACK to Pump RED

PUMP BLACK to Fuseboard BLACK

Let us know

If you have a 2nd switch it gets more complicated but let's not go there right now. 

Ok, perhaps all of the confusion was that on the switch the white cable is the one that completes the circuit.

all tests done and once everything is connected the pump turns on but the state of the switch changes nothing - it remains on.

the resistance test on switch worked white to black but not red to black if that's significant 

[hackenbush]

Possible anomaly: when I check resistance on switch it starts with a reading of 0.00 then quickly moves to another higher reading of 8.27. This is regardless of the switch state on or off

Edited April 5, 2017 by hackenbush

[Tony Brooks]

The pump should only need two wires, a positive and a negative. The fact you seem to have four suggests that two are redundant but more likely control something else or maybe are a feed from another switch (one in bathroom., one in galley?).

If one pair of red and black wires run to the pump then I would suggest that the white wire is redundant (but I suspect its part of a two switch set up - look at domestic landing light circuits for how to wire such things).

If it is not a two switch system then the red from the fuse and the ed to the pump are connected to the switch and the two blacks are joined together.

[WotEver]

32 minutes ago, hackenbush said:

... the resistance test on switch worked white to black but not red to black if that's significant 

Then wire it as I said above but for the switch use WHITE instead of RED. Just ignore the red one for now. 

Tony

1 hour ago, WotEver said:

SWITCH RED to Fuseboard RED

Becomes SWITCH WHITE to Fuseboard RED

[hackenbush]

44 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

The pump should only need two wires, a positive and a negative. The fact you seem to have four suggests that two are redundant but more likely control something else or maybe are a feed from another switch (one in bathroom., one in galley?).

If one pair of red and black wires run to the pump then I would suggest that the white wire is redundant (but I suspect its part of a two switch set up - look at domestic landing light circuits for how to wire such things).

If it is not a two switch system then the red from the fuse and the ed to the pump are connected to the switch and the two blacks are joined together.

 

41 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Then wire it as I said above but for the switch use WHITE instead of RED. Just ignore the red one for now. 

Tony

Becomes SWITCH WHITE to Fuseboard RED

I'm guessing the switch is faulty. It works when I bypass it and either does constantly or not at all when I go through it

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, hackenbush said:

the resistance test on switch worked white to black but not red to black if that's significant 

 

1 hour ago, hackenbush said:

when I check resistance on switch it starts with a reading of 0.00 then quickly moves to another higher reading of 8.27. This is regardless of the switch state on or off

 

37 minutes ago, hackenbush said:

I'm guessing the switch is faulty.

All of the above cannot be correct. 

Pull the switch off the wall and take a look at the back of it. Which wires are connected?

[hackenbush]

Ok, replaced the switch, connected wires as above and all works.

however... When water switch is on I could hear what sounded like water spraying in bathroom. Turned it off sound stopped. But there is a flood in there which now needs major investigation. At least the pump issue is resolved!

Edited April 6, 2017 by hackenbush

[rusty69]

1 minute ago, hackenbush said:

Ok, replaced the switch, connected wires as above and all works.

however... When water switch is on I could hear what sounded like water spraying in bathroom. Turned it off sound stopped. But there is a flood in there which now needs major investigation

Oh dear. The joys of boat ownership eh! 

[hackenbush]

1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Oh dear. The joys of boat ownership eh! 

Absolutely!

[WotEver]

Result! 

Sort of...

[hackenbush]

23 hours ago, WotEver said:

Result! 

Sort of...

Definite result but discovered a pipe had come loose from a join for some bizarre reason