2023 A24 - Rear Ballast issue - Electronic valve. Please help

[kelvinmasur]

I noticed my port side rear ballast tank is not filling with water.  The pump is running and was just replaced.  I removed the hose that feeds the hard tank water and no water was coming out.  I sucked on that hose and it is air tight.  There is a electronic valve in-between the tank and the water pump.  I believe that electronic valve is not functioning.  Is it on a fuse?  If so, where is that fuse at?  Any other recommendations for a quick fix.

[CaptainMorgan]

hm. i've never heard of a valve between the ballast pump and the tanks (certainly don't see them on my older A24).  just to rule out simple things......is the ball valve beneath the pump closed?  i could see a technician closing that valve as they were replacing the pump and simply not opening it again.

if boat is on a trailer, can you unscrew the pump cartridge and run some hose water down the hole to be sure it comes out the bottom thru-hull?  maybe there's a blockage

[Ronnie]

From @csleaver when I had a friend with this issue;

On the 2023 Malibu boats and some 2022 models, there is an inline electrically actuated ball valve attached to the inlet of the ballast tank instead of having a vented loop between the fill pump and the tank like they used to use.  The valve is actuated when fill is selected and it takes about 4 seconds to open.  It closes automatically when the fill pump is turned off.  The electric actuator has a small indicator window with a red line.  When the red indicator line is parallel with the hose and tank inlet the valve is open.  When the indicator line is perpendicular to the hose and tank inlet it is closed.

In one case where the valve would not open to fill the tank, I disconnected and reconnected the electrical connector for the fill pump and the valve and then it started working normally again.  Not really sure why, it only happened on one boat so far.

Image of valve.

[CaptainMorgan]

32 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

From @csleaver when I had a friend with this issue;

On the 2023 Malibu boats and some 2022 models, there is an inline electrically actuated ball valve attached to the inlet of the ballast tank instead of having a vented loop between the fill pump and the tank like they used to use.  The valve is actuated when fill is selected and it takes about 4 seconds to open.  It closes automatically when the fill pump is turned off.  The electric actuator has a small indicator window with a red line.  When the red indicator line is parallel with the hose and tank inlet the valve is open.  When the indicator line is perpendicular to the hose and tank inlet it is closed.

In one case where the valve would not open to fill the tank, I disconnected and reconnected the electrical connector for the fill pump and the valve and then it started working normally again.  Not really sure why, it only happened on one boat so far.

Image of valve.

interesting, i learned something today.  the vented loops are certainly susceptible to movement which can cause them to stop functioning properly.  Hopefully your actuator just needs the csleaver unplug/plug treatment...

Edited August 10, 2023 by CaptainMorgan

[csleaver]

Another boat with a stuck electric fill valve on the bow tank required some lube to get it unstuck.  The hose to it was removed, silicone lubrication was sprayed into it, and then the fill icon was turned on and off in 10 second increments while lubricating the valve to get it to start moving again.

The small gauge wiring going to the valves is easy to damage if not secured properly, so check for that too.

[teamerickson]

Really?!?! They had to add something else to the ballast system that can fail? 

[CDAWake]

Your A24 has rear hard tanks? Did you mean the pnp bags? Either way good to know about this valve…

[Ronnie]

25 minutes ago, teamerickson said:

Really?!?! They had to add something else to the ballast system that can fail? 

Complain about that or complain about your ballast bags emptying on their own...