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2011 Malibu VLX Rear Ballast Pumps- PLEASE HELP!!


JMaddogT

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Good afternoon, I had the boat on the water for the first time this season and went to fill the rear ballast, nothing happened.  I could not get the rear L or R ballast to fill or show that it was filling on the Screen.  I know I will need to check if the pumps are getting power but is there a fuse that runs the rear pumps separately??  Also if I need to replace these pumps does anyone have a part number and instructions to install?? Sorry I'm kinda new but very mechanically inclined. Any help is much apricated. 

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@JMaddogTThere are fuses under the dash, in covered boxes. They should be labeled, so you know which fuse.  5 amp blade style fuses.

The fuses trip when the pumps seize. Seemed to be an annual spring item for me. Sometimes you can take the pump out and get it spinning again by hand, sometimes you need a replacement pump cartridge. I kept a couple spare pumps around so it was pretty quick and simple to replace.

Rear fill pumps are in the bilge near the v-drive. The drain pumps are the buggers to replace!  

Edited by asnowman
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3 hours ago, asnowman said:

@JMaddogTThere are fuses under the dash, in covered boxes. They should be labeled, so you know which fuse.  5 amp blade style fuses.

The fuses trip when the pumps seize. Seemed to be an annual spring item for me. Sometimes you can take the pump out and get it spinning again by hand, sometimes you need a replacement pump cartridge. I kept a couple spare pumps around so it was pretty quick and simple to replace.

Rear fill pumps are in the bilge near the v-drive. The drain pumps are the buggers to replace!  

Thanks so much where did you find the replacement pump cartage and how much were they? Right now its just a fill pump problem lol, once they are filled hopefully its not an drain pump problem. 

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On 6/2/2021 at 6:26 PM, JMaddogT said:

Thanks so much where did you find the replacement pump cartage and how much were they? Right now its just a fill pump problem lol, once they are filled hopefully its not an drain pump problem. 

Wakemakers us always a good starting point:

https://www.wakemakers.com/shurflo-piranha-replacement-pump-motor-cartridge.html

But they are available lots of other places as well.

ALSO, test your drain pumps before the tanks are full, even on the trailer, with everything else off, flip those switches on, you should hear the pump hum if it's working.

Edited by asnowman
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/2/2021 at 2:52 PM, asnowman said:

@JMaddogTThere are fuses under the dash, in covered boxes. They should be labeled, so you know which fuse.  5 amp blade style fuses.

The fuses trip when the pumps seize. Seemed to be an annual spring item for me. Sometimes you can take the pump out and get it spinning again by hand, sometimes you need a replacement pump cartridge. I kept a couple spare pumps around so it was pretty quick and simple to replace.

Rear fill pumps are in the bilge near the v-drive. The drain pumps are the buggers to replace!  

Looks like my fill pumps work but my left rear drain pump will not drain. Probably needs to be replaced. What’s the process, is there a step by step I can follow anywhere? Parts? 

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15 hours ago, JMaddogT said:

Looks like my fill pumps work but my left rear drain pump will not drain. Probably needs to be replaced. What’s the process, is there a step by step I can follow anywhere? Parts? 

bakes online, wakemakers or google, your buying a  pirana pump cartridge that is both 850 snd 1100 gph, it is stupid easy unless its for center or front ballast. remove rear raised floor plates in rear of lickers, unscrew retaining screw and then turn blue ring , mess with the old one first as some corrosion spray overnight after cleaning may do wonders, you can also check your electrical plug connection 

i do regular maintenance to mine by wet vacing the  side thru hull openings to remove water snd trash from pump cartridge and the tank

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16 hours ago, JMaddogT said:

Looks like my fill pumps work but my left rear drain pump will not drain. Probably needs to be replaced. What’s the process, is there a step by step I can follow anywhere? Parts? 

The rear pumps are at the very back of the rear ballast tanks. The tanks are under the floor, should be a small raised box against the transom.  Should be 2 or 3 screws holding the top cover on that little box, might be hard to find in the carpet. Pull the screws, loosen the screw on the blue retainer tab, and unscrew the cartridge of the pump. Probably going to need to pull pretty hard to get the cartridge out once the retaining ring is unscrewed.  

Shouldn't be too bad, for me the worst part was to empty the lockers and get in the lockers of our vtx to do the job.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a boat with piggyback ballast bags. I’m trying to understand which pumps fill and drain the hard tanks and ballast bags. I want to replace the fill pumps with Piranha 1,100 gah. I have the following setup:

1. Pumps under back hatch:

2. Pumps next to transmission:

3. Pumps under back seats: I know these pumps drain the bags and maybe the factory tanks(?)

Thank you

 

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The pumps fill the hard tanks first and then “overflow” into the bags with filling. Draining is the opposite. The pumps drain the hard tanks and the bags drain into the hard tanks. 
 

the pumps on either side of the v-drive are the rear tank fill pumps, the drain tanks are under the little hatch at the very back of the lockers 

Edited by Pilotguy
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi I am replacing the cartridge on the fill tank by v-drive. Looking at the part online I see it comes with bare end wires. 
is there a connector part I need to order as well and a tool to crimp it or do you cut and splice the current wire with connector to the new wires of the cartridge?  Thanks for any suggestions. 

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You could get a Delphi weather pack connector kit and crimper tool if you want, I've ordered them from Amazon.  If there is nothing wrong with the plug on your old pump motor, then it may be easier to cut and splice it into your new pump wiring.  If you use good marine heat shrink with the glue inside of it the connections should still be fairly watertight.

You can get pump motors with the connector from a Malibu dealer.

Edited by csleaver
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Hey thanks for the help!  I ended up just getting one from my Malibu dealer with the plug on it for ease. $55 for cartridge. 
 

also a tip I read from another post. Liber ate the motor of the old pump to get it running. I used Caig DeoxIT D5 sprayed it where connections made under cap and spun blades by hand to help work the lube into the motor housing. I hooked it up and it started working again. I am keeping the old one on boat as a backup and installing the new one. 

https://www.parts-express.com/CAIG-D5S-6-LMH-DeoxIT-Spray-5-oz.-Original-Can-349-230

 

 

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