Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

MLS pump popping fuse


Recommended Posts

When I was out this weekend I noticed that the bow MLS switch is popping the fuse in the fill position. Drain position works fine. I reset it several times with no avail and I checked the connections behind the switch. Everything looks good. Where do I go from here?

Link to comment

Take out your pump and check the impeller to see if it is spinning freely. If it turns freely, carefully turn the power on when it is out of the housing to see if it spins. Chances are good that the motor has frozen up or there is a foreign object (trash sucked in from the lake) lodged in the impeller causing it to lock up. If your boat is less than 2 years old your dealer should replace the pump under warranty.

Link to comment
Take out your pump and check the impeller to see if it is spinning freely. If it turns freely, carefully turn the power on when it is out of the housing to see if it spins. Chances are good that the motor has frozen up or there is a foreign object (trash sucked in from the lake) lodged in the impeller causing it to lock up. If your boat is less than 2 years old your dealer should replace the pump under warranty.

You could even just unhook the wire from the fill pump & turn on the switch, if it doesn't pop the fuse, it's the pump, if it still does, it's the wiring.

Link to comment

I had the same problem except with the middle tank. Its going to the dealer for a check in the morn. I also had a problem with the computer, it seemed to lock up while in cruise at the rpm pull point? I couldnt get it to change to any other mode from there, anyone else experience anything like this?

Link to comment
  • 3 years later...
Take out your pump and check the impeller to see if it is spinning freely. If it turns freely, carefully turn the power on when it is out of the housing to see if it spins. Chances are good that the motor has frozen up or there is a foreign object (trash sucked in from the lake) lodged in the impeller causing it to lock up. If your boat is less than 2 years old your dealer should replace the pump under warranty.

I'm having the same issue as the original poster. I tried turning the switch on while holding the pump. No buzzing or vibration at all. The red light on the switch is coming on, so I think it's getting power. So, assuming it's getting power, if there was a foreign object locking up the impeller, wouldn't I feel the motor buzz or vibrate slightly? If so I guess the pump is just completely dead.

So, next question, does anyone have the specs for the factory fill pump for the ski-locker tank on an '04 Malibu? (I didn't pull the pump when I left the lake. There are no good supply stores by my lake [believe it or not]. So I'm just trying to avoid driving to the lake to pull the pump, then driving back up to the city to buy a new one, then driving back to the lake to install.) This way I can just buy a replacement here in town.

Thanks!

Mike

Link to comment

You can feel nothing on those pumps when they have something stuck in the impeller, so pull it apart to check.

But either way, I'd buy a spare anyway, one of them are bound to die sometime.

-Chris

Link to comment

In my old VLX, you could see both the fill and drain pump in the ski locker. In my '04 VLX, I can only see one pump in the ski locker, attached to the tank. Where is the fill pump for the center tank located on the '04 VLX? I only saw two pumps under the engine, which I assume are for the rear tanks.

Edited by MadDogMike
Link to comment

These Piranha pumps are absolute garbage, I've replaced every single pump in the boat at least once, some twice. I believe it is because the pumps themselves are not sealed properly so moisture gets into the motor casing and causes enough resistance to blow the breaker.

I'm sick of dealing with it, so next time around I'm going to be replacing all my dead pumps with Attwood Tsunami pumps and calling it a day...

MadDogMike, if you can't find the fill pump for the center tank, then you can crawl under the boat and find it that way. There should be one water intake with a grate on it, and then three intakes that are your ballast pumps.

Edited by DRAGON88
Link to comment

OK, just found & replaced the pump. FYI, in case anyone else has a late '04 VLX, there is NOT a through-hull fitting for each pump. There are just 2 through-hull fittings, one on either side of the V-drive. One has a "T" with two pumps attached to it. Those are for the aft tanks. The other has a single pump which is the fill pump for the ski-locker tank. I was surprised that they were all in the back of the boat, which is a change from my old VLX.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...