Automatic Bilge (always on auto)

[Liamfm]

2003 206 - working through all the bits and bobs that need to be fixed:

Switch under the throttle is 3-position:
down = bilge pumps (turns pumps on all the time)
Center = "all off" except my pumps still cycle to check for water
Up = Boat on (pumps still cycle to check for water)

Button on the keypad puts the pumps on all the time as well.

So the question is, shouldn't the center position of the switch shut the auto-bilge feature off? And shouldn't the "down" position of the switch put it into auto-sensing? And if its not working that way, should I be looking at the bilge pump wires, the switch wires, or something else?

There is no battery cutoff on this boat, so I'm kind of in a pickle in that it would eventually wear out the battery.

Thanks in advance!

[Liamfm]

The pumps are your standard Rule 1100 GPH auto sensing pumps. One line is fused directly to the battery. The other is a switched line, and then a ground. So this seems like the way Rule would suggest it is done. But then the only way to stop them from auto sensing is to pull the fuse when not using the boat. Kind of silly in my opinion.

Is there a better way? (other than installing a battery cutoff for the entire boat)? It seems that perhaps the boat was designed to have float switched pumps in which case it would only draw down the battery if/when the float kicked on?

[MN Ryan]

They definitely should not run at all when you're in the middle/all-off position. In the "bilge only" position, they should auto-sense--i.e. turn on briefly every couple of minutes. They should do the same in the all-on position. Something is wrong.

[Liamfm]

I agree! So that begs the question, where should the 12v wire that is currently connected to the battery terminal be connected? What breaker is hot when in the "bilge" switch position and off in the "all off"? I can just re-run the wire to that breaker.

I'd almost guess they should have put a 2-wire auto sensing bilge in these, wired to the original wiring, and skipping the direct to battery connection, or in an effort to make this work as is, I can see if the switched wire on the boat is providing 12v, or just providing a ground, and if 12v, running the current "always hot" wire that's on the battery to the switched wire, and negate using the