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Fuse issues


chathamsolutions

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I took my Bu in a few months ago and had Cope look into my ballast tanks not filling correctly. I kept blowing a fuse on the port rear tank.

When I picked it up the port tank worked fine, but it started having a problem with the starboard rear tank, and since I'm goofy I really don't like that. Fortunately it hasn't affected the boarding wake at all, but for surfing I've just been bugged that I don't have ALL my weight correct. And as I'm just getting to the point where I can break the board loose and do floaters, I want that wake to be da bomb!

Cope is at least an hour from me, and I have to take the CFO's car for the day when I take it up north. As you know, it's a struggle to get the rig all set up and go just to take it to service (another reason why I think Pete's business is going to do very well - see my signature - gratuitous plug).

So the boats had this starboard ballast issue for a couple months now. And I've been waiting to take it into service. Yesterday we were on the water for about 7 hours - it was sweeeeeeeeeet. The whole family is sunburned. Great way to start the season :) A wacky thing happened though, I was still having the same issue with the starboard locker fuse. But while pulling a rider I lost all my gauges, except Perfect Pass. The fuse went out on those as well. I pushed the reset and they all came back. I didn't have a problem the rest of the day (at least another hour or two). It was just weird.

Also, at about 10:00pm that night we're unpacking the boat in the driveway and I turn on the interior lights to see. I accidently push a ballast drain button and start loosing water onto the driveway. So I push them all. All but one stop draining right away. They were all empty except one -the starboard locker. I turned all the other ballasts off except that one. And wacky enough, it didn't flip off. Normally it would stay on for maybe 3 seconds after I hit fuse resent button, then click right off. Whether I was filling of or draining, it would always flip the fuse. And I would play with it every time we go out, many times, trying to get it to fill. Apparently I'd gotten about a gallon or so in the tank. But that was it.

Now I know I can't be the only one that HATES, with a white hot intensity, intermittent problems. You take it to the dealer and the problem can't be repeated. You take it on the water and it's back. AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! I hate that.

So, what the heck is going on? Why would it do it on the water, but not on my driveway. I KNOW the dealer will hit it at their service center and go, 'Duh. It works fine. This guy's a dork!' Then I'll take it back on the water and it'll blow the breaker again.

Any recommendations?

Do any of you recommend I try Salinas Valley Marine instead? Or give Cope another try?

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Do you have 3 or 4 ballast switches? My '04 had a similar problem but it had only 3 switches. From what I can remember, mine was blowing fuses when the bilge pump would run at the same time I was either filling or draining (don't remember). When I was installing the 4 switch, I found that the factor had wired the hot lead for one of the pumps or bilge to the wrong place. This made it so that the right combination of things being turned on would blow the switch. I correct the wiring and never had a problem again.

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Thanks Larry.

I've got 4 switches for the ballasts. And my bilge rarely comes on. It apparently blows when nothing else is on, or when all the ballasts are on - but on the water? ? ?

I'll play with that again today though. Thanks.

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Are there any relays in your system for turning on the pumps? Relays take a lot of current to turn on even though their holding current is low. Your fuses could have a marginal rating compared to the load.

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Are there any relays in your system for turning on the pumps? Relays take a lot of current to turn on even though their holding current is low. Your fuses could have a marginal rating compared to the load.

How would I know this?

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Are there any relays in your system for turning on the pumps? Relays take a lot of current to turn on even though their holding current is low. Your fuses could have a marginal rating compared to the load.

How would I know this?

Well, if you installed your plumbing yourself, you would know if you used relays to power the pumps. If it's factory installed, I'd ask your dealer what the install looks like, and if he could dig up some information on the relays and specifically what the turn-on current is.

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I'm not positive but, I bet all the pumps are direct wired to the switches and then to the battery with no relays. A poor design. And, if someone, somewhere, tapped into one of the wires going to one of the pumps to run something else, that would explain the intermittent circuit breaker blowing.

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