ballast pump blows breaker

[Malibu Family Man]

2006 VLX left rear ballast tank discharge pump is not working and blows a breaker. where is it located? please don't tell me under the floor board, that looks difficult to remove. any sugestions for a quick fix?

[SCOTTDOMINE]

2006 VLX left rear ballast tank discharge pump is not working and blows a breaker. where is it located? please don't tell me under the floor board, that looks difficult to remove. any sugestions for a quick fix?

Perhaps something caught in the impeller inside the pump

[DUKENO1]

Sounds like you just have a failed pump.....happened to me on my 06 as well. The impeller inside the pump was frozen solid....could not spin it at all by hand and it would trip the breaker. Should be replaceable under warranty. I am not sure if they are under the floor on your boat or not. Mine luckily were not. If you can get to it they are not that hard to replace. Basically you just unscrew the cap off of the pump and pull out the cartridge and cut the two wires. Replace with new cartridge and splice the new wires. I had my dealer just give me the new cartridge and did the work myself so that I wouldn't have to tow my boat there and leave it for an extended period. Here is a picture of how they look disassembled.....

http://www.bakesonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=993

2006 VLX left rear ballast tank discharge pump is not working and blows a breaker. where is it located? please don't tell me under the floor board, that looks difficult to remove. any sugestions for a quick fix?

[Dan P]

I just had the same thing happen to one of my pumps. The cool thing about the Piranha pumps is that you can take out the pump/motor assembly without disconnecting the pump housing from the hoses. I was able to free mine and reinstall it, but I bought a replacement "cartridge" as they call it just in case I have another problem with any of the pumps. It cost me $35 shipped from boatersworld.com. Just make sure you get the 800 gph because there is also a smaller 600 gph.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Dan P

[WakeGirl]

2006 VLX left rear ballast tank discharge pump is not working and blows a breaker. where is it located? please don't tell me under the floor board, that looks difficult to remove. any sugestions for a quick fix?

Perhaps something caught in the impeller inside the pump

Yup, happened to us. Pop the top off & see if there's anything blocking it up.

[dalt1]

Just had one go out on my 06 VLX and Dealer sent me a new one. (Warranty) Got it in 3 days after contact via USPS. Thanks Pirates Cove and Charlie. That is great service as it should be. It is easy to replace the cartridge just remove 1 lock screw and unscrew the cap to pull out the motor impeller unit. Slide the new one in, tighten cap, put in lock screw and reconnect the wires. About 10 minutes to repair this one.

Edited June 8, 2008 by dalt1

[dalt1]

Oh yes, you will have to remove the floor panel to get to the drain pump. Mine was a fill pump and accessible without removing floor. I have read that there are screws to the inboard side of floor but not outboard (hull side) side. Remove screws and lift floor for drain pump access.