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Hello all,

 

when it comes to relays, my mind doesn’t work. 
 

I have a reversible pump installed with a relay to switch polarity. There is a manual switch to turn on power, then the factor mls switch set for either fill, or drain (which I’m guessing is what changes the polarity).  
 

well with the power switch on, and the mls set to drain, the pump drains the bag. When I flip it to fill nothing happens. I left it on to try and diagnose it and one of the wires started melting near the relay. 
 

Any suggestions on a quick fix?

 

this is a just purchased boat so I’m not sure how it was wired.

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Yep, sounds like this is an aftermarket installation and maybe they missed a fuse or c/b.

 

16 hours ago, ThinBuLine said:

I left it on to try and diagnose it and one of the wires started melting near the relay. 

Which wire was it?  You should have:

  • The positive power wire from the dash that controls the relay
  • The positive power wire going from the relay to the pump
  • The positive power wire going from the power source to the relay
  • And the (black) ground wire

 

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If the pump is reversible there are going to be more pump wires or poles on the relay.  I have never put one of these in so making assumptions.  

On the fuse issue.  Before you do anything else you need to follow this wire back to where it gets power at the battery or some bus and put in a fuse.  if the wire was melting near the relay then the wire all the way from the power source to the relay could be melted in spots making it bare and subject to shorting again on its own and starting a fire.  The spot you see may be the only melted spot, the worst, or something in-between.

The fuse should be sized to protect the wire.  There is no way if properly installed what you describe could happen.  

I had a DVD player installed by an audio shop as part of the purchase package on a new Sequoia almost 20 years ago.  Dealer picked the shop, paid for the install, supposed to know what they were doing.  The un-fused  melted wire was in a bundle and melted the insulation off of other wires in the bundle.  Say hello to intermittent electrical problems as nothing was complexity shorted but 4 wires were proximate and no longer had insulation.  

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35 minutes ago, Surf4FamFun said:

If the pump is reversible there are going to be more pump wires or poles on the relay.

Indeed...I should have specified these wires are for the "fill" side of the circuits.  You'll also have the same for the "empty" circuit.

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1 hour ago, formulaben said:

Yep, sounds like this is an aftermarket installation and maybe they missed a fuse or c/b.

 

Which wire was it?  You should have:

  • The positive power wire from the dash that controls the relay
  • The positive power wire going from the relay to the pump
  • The positive power wire going from the power source to the relay
  • And the (black) ground wire

 

Thank you for this. There are 2 relays next to a fuse bus. On clicks (drain side) and one doesn’t and the one that doesn’t, is the one that melted the wire. There are only 2 wires coming off of the pump and to the relays. 
 

what size fuse should be used? It’s 12ga wire but obviously something isn’t right here. 

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might want to find a double pole double throw rocker switch and wire like this...

https://www.instructables.com/HOW-TO:-Wire-a-DPDT-rocker-switch-for-reversing-po/

I can't imagine that the pump needs more than 3-5 amps.  The 12 gauge wire should be sufficient no relays needed.

This switch is rated at 20 Amps....

https://www.amazon.com/Carling-Technologies-Lighted-Connections-Actuator/dp/B07LGMRZCF

Edited by MoonDawg
  • Like 1
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3 hours ago, MoonDawg said:

might want to find a double pole double throw rocker switch and wire like this...

https://www.instructables.com/HOW-TO:-Wire-a-DPDT-rocker-switch-for-reversing-po/

I can't imagine that the pump needs more than 3-5 amps.  The 12 gauge wire should be sufficient no relays needed.

This switch is rated at 20 Amps....

https://www.amazon.com/Carling-Technologies-Lighted-Connections-Actuator/dp/B07LGMRZCF

This is what I will end up doing this weekend. The way it’s wired right now is silly. 
 

with reversible pumps, is there still a vent/overflow needed? I don’t want to pop the bags and is that even a possibility or do the pumps not have enough power?

 

they are jabaco pumps. 

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1 hour ago, OLDGUY said:

They have enough power to pop bag. Almost found out the hard way.

Good to know. I guess I’ll just have to keep an eye on them then. 

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