Caution Auto Bulge

[ahopkins22LSV]

Just a thought... have you turned your bilge pump on when this warning comes up? If I leave mine on it will flash the same message on the screen. 

[The Hulk]

Make sure to drain it out when up on a lift or before covering on a trailer.. 1 or 2 days and any water down there under a cover with any sun will quickly mold up and give you a horrible sewage smell. If u have water I recommend getting a gallon of mold sanitizer liquid "non bleach" and pour it in there drive around a bit to let it roll around in there and hit all areas. And then drain it and dry/air it out. Or u will have the "poopy diaper smell" I swore a poop diaper must have fallen somewhere in my previous boat come to find out it was only about a half gallon of water or so that was staying underneath the gas tank so when I was on my lift it was hiding underneath there but when I got some bow rise with somebody else driving I noticed a little bit of water was rushing around and I would always catch a hint of that smell. So I threw a gallon of the mold stuff down there let it slash around a little bit and reposition my boat lift bunks so that the water would run to the middle drain plug which is generally lower position than the back when the boat is level. A lot of the Boat Lifts around here are sinking in the back and the drain plugs are about worthless if you have a gallon or two of water in your boat especially since a lot of them are a few inches off center so a gallon or two of water won't even come out of the boat depending on the boat you have and its position.  Another good way is if you have one of those tube push/pull water guns for your kids you can just suck it up out of the bottom and squirt it out. 

[mrnate450r]

I used to put Dawn dish soap in my bilge to get any grease from oil changes and such out of there. 

[BrianRingDurhamCA]

I have the same boat (just bought it used) - 2016 LSV23.  "Caution - Automatic Bilge Pump Is On" alert comes on, on the screen, when the boat is in the garage and no water is in it? I replaced the bilge...still happening?  

Any suggestions??

Thanks!

Brian

[BarliBear]

On 8/19/2016 at 12:02 PM, Bumgardner said:

I have a brand new 22 VLX and the Caution Auto Bulge keeps popping up on my screen. Does anyone know why this keeps popping up ? Does my boat have a leak ? Please forgive my ignorance but this is my first malibu ....

I get it intermittently on our ‘22 as well even when there is no bilge water to be pumped. Check for water and if there is none, clear the warning and you should be just fine. 

 

I’ve never gotten enough water in the transom for the bilge pump to activate even with my co-pilot in my avatar carrying a half gallon of water with him every time he gets back up from the swim deck. 

 

@The Hulkis correct about those squirt guns. Best bilge pumps there are. Always take your plugs out and leave your hatches open when up on dry storage 

Edited August 29, 2022 by BarliBear

[604wakesurf]

I get the warning all the time but I have a leak on my center tank. Took a bit to find it and a lot of patience. And I have no idea on how the dealer is going to fix it, zero room.

[DUKENO1]

Not sure if the new boats all have dripless shaft seals (assuming they probably do) but if not the water dripping will eventually cause the bilge pump to run.  On my ancient '06 I pull my plug (trailer boat) when leaving the lake and I always have some water that drains out on the way home. 

[ORsurfer]

This is one that’s been on my mind. I have a ‘21 axis that keeps a pretty dry bilge, but every once (three times this summer) in a while as I’m getting on plane it kicks on (normal with kids in an out of boat, cooler draining etc) - but doesn’t kick off. I had to climb back in the engine compartment and find the pump (on starboard side, not port as noted in manual) and just tap the float switch that was activating the pump. May check this winter to make sure it’s moving freely (if it can get stuck up it could get stuck down and our boat lives on the water) - curious if anyone else has come across this?

[Kfry]

We had major problems with this and it turned out to be the shower connection up behind the bag which was not easily seen and only dripped while boat was running.   Make sure conx is tight and TURN OFF shower head every time after use.   Sorry if this is repetitive but it happened to us