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Johnson Pumps Blowing Fuses


newbie1000

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I have had problems with my johnson pumps blowing fuses. Initially the wakemakers guys told me to increase the capacity of the fuses from 20amps to 30amps. I didn't have too many fuses blown last season after the change. I was just finishing my make ready for the summer and tried my pumps. Both of them blew fuses without starting. I went through 10 fuses and wasn't able to get either pump to operate. The pumps are controlled by two dash switches which are connected to 4 spdt relays. I didn't have the time to disassemble the system and just test the pumps but they were in working order last season. Any ideas for me? Should I go to 40amps?

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Shawn what kind of lube should I use?

The run from the relays to the johnsons is so short I just used the leads from the johnsons 14awg I believe. Run from the dash to the relays is long though (length of the boat basically)

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We have been using 25 amp fuse and have blown one so far this year. Never had a problem with them last year. I am also interested in the type of lube to use. I was thinking Vaseline would work?

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I had this same problem with a few of my pumps. They were getting stuck and not turning causing the fuse to blow. I could take the pump out of the housing and turn the impeller by hand, which was really hard, and the pumps would start working. I finally just replaced the pumps since they were probably on the way out. Not sure how you can lube them since the motor itself is sealed.

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I have had multiple johnson pumps on different boats and I use them all the time. Occasionally I will blow a fuse, I have extras and it's a 30 second swap out. I think the pumps surge occasionally at start up. If you are constantly blowing them then I would be more concerned. Other than cleaning them put not sure there is much more you can do. I would be surprised if you found anything in then but it could be possible. Lubing them seems pointless to me, how long will it actually stay on the impeller??

Edited by Fman
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What gauge wire are you running and how long are the runs?

I think tjklein hit the nail on the head. Fuses are blowing for a reason. Check terminations and use a quality crimp tool... Better yet change to 10ga stranded copper. Is your engine running when the fuses blow?

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This is pretty frustrating as the pumps have so few cycles on them (maybe 30 fill/empties in their service life). This will be the third season and they have been a real headache (first pump was DOA and replaced all my relays at the start of last season). The fuses are blowing with or without the engine running. I will try opening them up and lubing the impellers. I don't know how to change to a larger gauge wire since I am using the leads from the pumps themselves. Presumably Johnson thought that would be sufficient. Not sure what to do from there.

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Shawn what kind of lube should I use?

The run from the relays to the johnsons is so short I just used the leads from the johnsons 14awg I believe. Run from the dash to the relays is long though (length of the boat basically)

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

why the relays? And how is it wired? Is the blowing fuse on the control side or load side of the relay?

Increasing fuse size to prevent a fuse from doing its job can be bad news.

Edited by MLA
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I have only seen relays used on those pumps when more than one is wired to one switch. The switch that comes with them is adequate to control the pump and typically much simpler to wire vs. SPDT relays to make them reversible.

Definitly don't keep upping the fuse size. The fuse is there to protect the wiring. A larger fuse could get you some burnt carpet, vinyl , or maybe a whole boat if your not careful.

If your blowing a 30 amp fuse, something isn't right.

There's a reason mine or n resettable circuit breakers. All I have to do is push a button should something happen, but never has yet.

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Mine tripped a breaker for the first time Sunday. I used the unused SPDT switches in the dash. Changed the wiring to 10 gage. Upgraded the 5 amp breaker to 15. Last year the same one was acting funny sometimes. When I got the boat out to summarize it the pump wouldn't work. I contacted Johnson and they said send them a copy of the receipt and they will send a new one. I didn't even have to send the old one back. Unfortunately, when I was trouble shooting I was messing with the wring on the SPDT switch and I reversed it at the other pump switch. Got to fix that. :(

Edited by teamerickson
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Mine tripped a breaker for the first time Sunday. I used the unused SPDT switches in the dash. Changed the wiring to 10 gage. Upgraded the 5 amp breaker to 15. Last year the same one was acting funny sometimes. When I got the boat out to summarize it the pump wouldn't work. I contacted Johnson and they said send them a copy of the receipt and they will send a new one. I didn't even have to send the old one back. Unfortunately, when I was trouble shooting I was messing with the wring on the SPDT switch and I reversed it at the other pump switch. Got to fix that. :(

Just flip the switch upside down or reverse the power and ground to the switch. Super easy fix.

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This is pretty frustrating as the pumps have so few cycles on them (maybe 30 fill/empties in their service life). This will be the third season and they have been a real headache (first pump was DOA and replaced all my relays at the start of last season). The fuses are blowing with or without the engine running. I will try opening them up and lubing the impellers. I don't know how to change to a larger gauge wire since I am using the leads from the pumps themselves. Presumably Johnson thought that would be sufficient. Not sure what to do from there.

If the fuse blows when starting... It still sounds like low voltage.

If the fuse blows after running... It sounds like a terminal is heating up. Those automotive type Sta-Kon lugs are not the best terminals for these motor loads. All you can do is use a good crimper and be sure they fit as tight as possible.

Really need more information. Pump location, battery location, new install?, switch type, replacement for aerator pump?, factory wiring?, pictures will help. It sounds like it is now happened to several pumps so something is not right.

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I think now all the Johnson pumps come standard with orange impeller. Not sure how comparable they are to green.

you are so right, i screwed up and did not scroll down the page far enough to get to the Johnson pumps. the green is a Jabsco ballast puppy impeller.

The orange impeller is the new standard for Johnson pumps.

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I have 3 Johnson pumps. I have mine wired to the factory breakers instead of fuses. Honestly, I'd never use fuses for a pump. Things can get sucked in/jammed into them and will pop a breaker, where just hitting the reverse will clear the obstruction. I'd hate to have to replace a fuse for something like that, though I'm not exactly a fan of dealing with fuses.

A 10amp breaker has proven more than sufficient for mine.

Relay is a pointless complication / failure point. These switches are rated for more current than the pumps draw.

Now it is time to do some troubleshooting:

- Unwire from all of your factory wiring so it is just the pump leads

- Run directly to a good battery, see if it runs (you can put a fuse in-line just for peace of mind)

- If the pump doesn't run doing this, try reversing the leads to see if it runs

- If it doesn't run in either direction, pull impeller and inspect

- If DOES run this way, then you have a wiring/voltage issue.

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I went out to the boat to work on this issuse this morning. The impellers were STUCK. It took a lot of elbow grease to get them out but once I replaced with green impellers they worked great with 20amp fuses.

To answer the question on the relays, I need to them because I am using rotary spdt switches. I wanted switches that would fit in the dash of my 2000 lsv and they do not make rotary dpdt switches like the typical rockers. A necessary evil for aesthetics.

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if you want to clean the pump, you could always pump vinegar through the pump on a circuit. I actually did that a week or so ago with my xover pump. I hooked each side of the pump to hoses coming out of where the knock sensors go and then filled the block with vinegar. Wakemakers confirmed that it's not a prob to run vinegar through the pumps... and for a pump with lots of scale or deposits, might help to clean out the pump (my pump is brand new, just doing the vinegar flush for the block).

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I am installing a new Johnson pump. I noticed when reading the manual that they recommend changing the impeller every year and using Johnson impeller lubricant ( which they say is just glycerin ). So I am thinking that if you don't change the impeller yearly you should at least take them out and lube with glycerin.

Probably wouldn't hurt to take them out over the winter instead of letting them sit and dry out with some of the vanes bent over.

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I've done nothing with mine. Installed in early 2012, used all 2012 and 2013 without issues and I tested them this year - still working. I think I did run coolant through them at the end of 2012 to winterize them but didn't bother for 2013.

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I used a bilge heater this year (pumps in the engine compartment). I presume that contributed to the sticking of the impellers. May not be a common problem. Hoping the green impellers are less susceptible to sticking.

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I lube the impellers w Super Lube, kinda like silicone lube but lasts long time, has PTFE Teflon stuff in the lube. Stuff is fantastic on a lot of moveable joints, bushings ect... Also spray the housings with 303 and have rarely had impellers stick or burn out motors ect... All part of my fall storage regiment and spring tune up list of stuff to do. Helps scale and hard water deposits not to stick to anything. Has worked great so far, 3yrs.

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