Automatic bilge pump switch upgrade.

[DesertAlbin736]

I had this West Marine ON- OFF-AUTO bilge pump switch laying around the shop & finally decided to put it to use after servicing my two bilge pumps, one PAR/Jabsco belt driven diaphragm pump and the other a manual Whale Gusher Mk 2 pump.

The fused panel switch is mounted on the dash console to the right of the steering wheel & just below the shift/throttle lever (click on photo to rotate).

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I used a Model 101 Water Witch Submersible Electronic Bilge Pump Sensor from Defender Marine that fit nicely down into the bilge sump. I attached it to a piece of 1/16 X 1 inch aluminum strap such that it can be easily pulled out for cleaning.

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The pump (inherited from PO's) is mounted under the rear floorboard & up against the bulkhead that separates that space from the aft cabin. Look closely at bottom right and you can see where the strap that the sensor is attached to is bolted to the wood frame. It was fun routing the cable up through the starboard bench seat compartment where the batteries are & along the underside of the cabin side trim & up to the switch & make connections on the distribution panel in the head. I coated the exposed metal of the 3 way wire connectors with liquid electrical tape goo.

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This is the wiring diagram

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Now if we have a need to leave the boat in a wet slip unattended for a few days at a time I can put the bilge pump on automatic whereas before I would have to be there to lift the floorboard to check the water level in the bilge and if necessary pump it out using a simple on/off switch.

Next up is to move the power supply/switch for the windshield wiper from the auxiliary panel below & to the left of the helm where it is now (and not very convenient to reach) over to the position on the main switch panel that used to control the bilge pump. That existing wiper switch can be seen at far left of the photo below to the left of the big AC shore power breaker panel.

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Update:The auto bilge pump switch & sensor worked great. But now the leak in my fresh water tank leak has reared it's ugly head again & gotten worse. Bouncing over 4,800 miles of rough interstate & secondary roads on our recent east coast trip hasn't helped