Washdown Pump Problem

[bobkat]

I installed a Johnson 5.2 washdown pump last season. It was working fine until the other day . It would work intermittently and now not at all. The first thing I did was to hook it up straight to the battery and it works that way. So I started to troubleshoot the connections one by one. They all were good but I redid them anyway. The hot wire coming from the console switch has power when the switch is turned on and no power when it is switched off. However, when I connect this wire to the red wire of the pump, the unit does not work, even though it has power. If I disconnect those wires and run the red pump wire directly to the battery, it works. By the way, this unit has an on demand feature this is, it will not run until the nozzle is turned on . I am baffled at this point and hope someone can shed some light on this mystery. I am using the pump by keeping it directly wired to the battery but would rather have it the way it used to be, with it working only after the console switch is turned on.

 

[Bryan 2530]

I am not familiar with that pump but it sounds like the pressure switch is bad or corroded, a common problem on water pumps.

Clean it or replace it after you find where it is, should be near the inlet/outlet connections.

EDIT:

If this is your pump, I would guess the switch is under the four scews on the bottom of the unit.

 

[bobkat]

Thanks so much for the reply. That is either the same pump or very close to it. I will remove the pump and do as you suggested. I am still baffled as to why the pump would work if I attach it to the battery directly as opposed to connecting it to the wire from the switch. Both are giving me the same voltage reading. Also, is there a gasket under those four screws you mentioned? I will let you know if doing what you have said to do solves the problem. Thanks once again
Bob

 

[Upstate65]

I had a similar problem with my boat a few years back. It turned out that there is a "plug" in the aft starboard battery well that was corroded. It is in the main group of wires that run from the helm to the rear of the boat. I cut the plug out and spliced the wires together with heat shrink coated but connectors. the problem was solved.I had power at the pump with a tester but when I would try to run the pump the corroded conection in the plug would fail due to the higher draw of the pump. Apperently my problem came from washing down the boat with the raw water wash down. The water would enter the battery box from under the gunwale and that is right where the plug was on my boat.(2000 2520) I hope this helps.

 

[TopShot25]

I second the above post. I had the exact same problem. This is an automotive type plug and should not be anywhere on a boat! You can just splice it for a quick repair, but I would plan on replacing the wiring in the future when you get the time and money.