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Ballast Pump Relay


Wake My Day

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I am picking up two ballast pump switchs from Wakemakers and I had a quick question. These switchs are SPDT( single pole double throw). I was a little worried that my new Johnson pumps draw too much power for my 12 gauge wire run( wire from battery through to drivers helm, into the switchs and all the way down the drivers side to the rear where my pumps are installed), so I thought about putting a relay. Little did I know that there are spdt relay's. I cant find a wiring diagram to help me wire this up. Has anyone installed this type of relay before. I have attached a picture of the switch wiring. Thanks for the help.

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Edited by Wake My Day
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I am picking up two ballast pump switchs from Wakemakers and I had a quick question. These switchs are SPDT( single pole double throw). I was a little worried that my new Johnson pumps draw too much power for my 12 gauge wire run( wire from battery through to drivers helm, into the switchs and all the way down the drivers side to the rear where my pumps are installed), so I thought about putting a relay. Little did I know that there are spdt relay's. I cant find a wiring diagram to help me wire this up. Has anyone installed this type of relay before. I have attached a picture of the switch wiring. Thanks for the help.

I just wired a couple last week. I am a little confused about why you would need a "relay", are you refering to an in-line fuse? I ran my hot wires off the "common" perko pole, with an inline 15 amp fuse for each pump. If you go this route, the pumps will not come on if the batteries are in the off position. I used 12 gauge wiring for the entire project, and it seems to be working fine. Wakemakers did "pre-wire" the switches exactly how your wiring diagram is with 10 gauge wiring. But everything else is 12 gauge.

Hopefully this answered your question or gets you going in the right direction.

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Hey Fman: I had a look at the owners manual for the pumps and I was quite concerned about wire length of my 12 gauge going from my batteries or perko and all the way over to the switch and then all the way down to the rear right and left pumps. The wiring diagram says I can only run 4.4meters or 14 feet. It also states that I have to add the return length as well. I have attached a picture of the manual for you. The relay would allow me to run the heavy gauge wires down the port side and terminate them right at the pumps and relay. Then run the smaller diameter wires from there all the way around and to the switch. Have a look at the info and please let me know what you think.

Thanks

I just had another read of the manual and it states that we should be using a 25 amp fuse. Wow that seems big!!!

post-15091-018336300 1304572210_thumb.jp

Edited by Wake My Day
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Hey Fman: I had a look at the owners manual for the pumps and I was quite concerned about wire length of my 12 gauge going from my batteries or perko and all the way over to the switch and then all the way down to the rear right and left pumps. The wiring diagram says I can only run 4.4meters or 14 feet. It also states that I have to add the return length as well. I have attached a picture of the manual for you. The relay would allow me to run the heavy gauge wires down the port side and terminate them right at the pumps and relay. Then run the smaller diameter wires from there all the way around and to the switch. Have a look at the info and please let me know what you think.

Thanks

I just had another read of the manual and it states that we should be using a 25 amp fuse. Wow that seems big!!!

From the perko to where I mounted my switches was about 12-14 feet, and from the switch to the pump was about a 10-12 feet run. You could always go with 10 gauge wiring if you were concerned about overloading. I went off what wakemakers recommended. I went with a 15 amp fuse because the pumps draw 9 amps at normal capacity, and 12 amps at startup. I wanted to blow a fuse sooner than later if something went wrong (ie: overloading the pump, or running dry). I personally would not recommend a 25 amp fuse, probably 20 would be the largest I would run.

What did wakemakers recommend? I am no expert, but I dont think its necessary to run a relay switch for this setup. I have seen a few different write-ups on JABSCO/Johnson pump installs and nobody was using relays. This setup was recommended by wakemakers.

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From the perko to where I mounted my switches was about 12-14 feet, and from the switch to the pump was about a 10-12 feet run. You could always go with 10 gauge wiring if you were concerned about overloading. I went off what wakemakers recommended. I went with a 15 amp fuse because the pumps draw 9 amps at normal capacity, and 12 amps at startup. I wanted to blow a fuse sooner than later if something went wrong (ie: overloading the pump, or running dry). I personally would not recommend a 25 amp fuse, probably 20 would be the largest I would run.

What did wakemakers recommend? I am no expert, but I dont think its necessary to run a relay switch for this setup. I have seen a few different write-ups on JABSCO/Johnson pump installs and nobody was using relays. This setup was recommended by wakemakers.

dumb follow up question, but why not just use a spare 15 amp slot on the house breaker panel?

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fman: Thanks for the followup, I will give Jason a call and have a chat with him on how this pump install has gone for his customers.

Shawn: All questions are good in my opinion!! I don't have any open fuse spots left on my fuse panel. Because of this I have to run back to the battery area creating a long wire run.

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fman: Thanks for the followup, I will give Jason a call and have a chat with him on how this pump install has gone for his customers.

Shawn: All questions are good in my opinion!! I don't have any open fuse spots left on my fuse panel. Because of this I have to run back to the battery area creating a long wire run.

Ha you guys and your "fancy" boats! I've got at least 5 open slots on mine. Err, had. Used one for the heater and another to hardwire in a blower to inflate the tube. :crazy:

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