live well pump

[special k]

while on an awesome fluke trip yesterday my pump for the live well quit while operating.
after clean-up and filleting of 20 thick flatties i was too tired to try to track down the problem. wondering where to start my trouble shooting. 2002 28 te.
will first check fuse at helm control switch, after that not sure.... test wires at the pump? other fuse locations?
i have never had a pump just quit while running.

[Pitou]

The same thing happened to me last season and I ended up needing to replace the pump cartridge. For trouble shooting I started at the switch end with the fuse, then unscrewed the pump cartridge (after closing the seacock) to see if it had sucked something up and had become bound, then checked electrical connections at the pump, put a test light where the harness connected to the pump and had power. I then replaced the pump and all was right!

[JC78]

Mine quit earlier this year. The cause ended up being a loose connection at the switch on the dashboard panel.

[special k]

thanks all!
i'll check fuse, switch connections, power at pump, then i bet i change the pump cartridge.

[Yearwood]

I replaced the pump once with the same type and after that quit put in a real bellows type in place of the cheap centrifugal.

[erice]

i've got a similar problem with a wash down pump on my boat. it's used to clean the anchor & chain. used it the first time about 2 weeks ago, worked great. tried it next week, not a drop. checked power & grounds, ok, seacock open, etc. tried it again 4 days later, pumped like a champ for 3 seconds, then just stopped. it's got power to the switch area, but no power coming out. i'll try checking for debris first, i guess.

[furball]

My problem came from a bad pressure switch. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Replaced the switch and no more problem.
John

[special k]

not familiar with the pressure switch. located on the pump?

[DougSea]

not familiar with the pressure switch. located on the pump?

I don't think your live well pump is likely to have a pressure switch, but your saltwater wash down and freshwater pumps do. It is located on the pump at the "water" end between the inlet and outlet fittings. On a common Jabsco pump it has a blue platic cover.

[special k]

thanks all!

[special k]

fuse at the switch was blown. replaced it and still no go. power at the pump so i removed the cartridge spun the impeller, removed some debris particles and it now works fine. i had already purchased a replacement cartridge so i'll keep it as a spare.

[Serenity]

I had the same problem on my bait well pump. I replaced the pump with the same manufacturer and the pump worked for the first several times then it quit. On the jkohnson type pumps you can twist off the pump body and let the water run from the thru hull and then twist the body back on. It appears that the pump was air bound or clogged with all of the slime in Great South Bay. I also had baby eels in the water line.

Serenity
28 TE