Griff,

Hmmmm.... I could have sworn the label on the engine shroud said 20w50, but I just looked at it, and... Nope. Not there. Oh well. I know I've read 20w50 for marine engines elsewhere (couldn't tell you where), my dad ran Valvoline 20w50 Racing in the blower motor we had when I was a kid, and, well... I've got two gal jugs and four qt bottles of AmsOil 20w50 sitting here, waiting to go in, so that's what she's getting, good, bad or otherwise.

Thanks. Brad.

Before



After

I’m a little disappointed as the vinyl shop forgot to include the carbon fiber shadow across the whole panel, but I’m too impatient. I wanted to get it back together.

Everything is back in and working, short of firing it up and checking actual function of gauges. They all react to the key and the backlights light up.

The wire for oil temp signal is connected and strung, but not hooked up to a sender yet, as I haven’t done the modifications to the oil filter mount yet. I will take care of that when my powered trailer dolly arrives, we get some decent weather to pull it out of the shop, fire it up and do an oil change.

Thanks. Brad.

Nice OEM Gaffrig Precision Instrument gauges

Guys,

So, I’ve noticed the bilge switch does not start the bilge pump. Honestly I can’t say it did just prior to starting this project, but I can say that the bilge pump has always worked whenever I’ve hit the switch. At least, whenever there was actually any water in the bilge, which has been very rare. I have no idea if there is a float switch down there or not. I do know there is no “auto” function on the switch; only on or off. So, my question is this: Is it common for a bilge to have a float switch, and only actually run the motor if there is water to pump out? Should I put any effort into trying root out a potential error in wiring during either tear-out or re-install during this project, or can I expect the pump to run with water in the bilge?

Thanks. Brad.

You definitely have a problem. If your bilge pump has a float switch, it will work independent of the dash switch. One should check to see if the float switch turns on the bilge pump annually. Debris can prevent the float switch from turning on.
Now you're going to have to find out if you have 12 volts to the dash switch and 12 volts to the pump.

Dave,

Dang. I was really hoping someone would tell me, “Sure. There’s a float switch that will only run the pump, even with the switch on, if there is water to pump out of the bilge.”

I’d bet a paycheck I’m going to find either another broken terminal connecter or a connecter on the wrong tab on the switch. I’ll have a look in the morning.

Thanks. Brad.

Dave,

So, I discovered the problem, and it was, once again, pretty simple. The bilge breaker at the transom had tripped. Not sure how, but, you know…

But….

The switch lights up now, but I don’t hear the pump running. Back to this question….. Is there a float switch that will trip in the presence of water, so that when “on”, it’s really in “auto” mode?

Thanks. Brad.

If it is wired correctly it should turn on with the float or manually flipping your switch. May be bad, you need to get to the pump and check voltage.

Ive seen these wired three different ways:
1. switch has On/Off/Auto so its running when you flip it on just to drain any liquid that may be there when ever you want to other wise its in the off position...then you flip it to Auto and it will run off the float switch. I never really liked these setups as if you forget to turn it to auto then the pump will never turn on!
2. bilge pump wired straight to switch with no float...only works when you turn it on....dont like this either as you have nothing saving you if you are not around.
Then there's hopefully the way you have it wired:
3. Switch is only a manual turn on for when you want it to run, but the pump will still work automatically off the float that's hard wired to the battery and will always work no matter what the batt switch is turned to.

If the pump doesn't turn on with the switch i would first check wiring on the switch is correct and not corroded...then look at the pump and the pumps ground wire. The float should be a separate issue assuming you have one.
If you find a float and lift it and the pump still doesn't turn on then either the pump has a bad ground or the pump itself is bad. (assuming the float has a good power source feeding it and it is also not broken internally)

Wally,

I know there is no “default” auto, as there have been a few times when I knew there was water in the bilge, and the pump didn’t kick on until I hit the switch. As for whether the pump will run in the presence of water (float switch) when I hit the switch now remains to be seen. We will be testing it imperially while we’ve got the garden hose out for the oil change. I’m hoping it’s just that I’ve never hit the switch while the boat was on the trailer before (no water in the bilge), and that I’m blaming this project for a change in behavior that hasn’t actually occurred. We’ll see.

Thanks. Brad.