Electrical Mystery

[PNW_Grady]

At the start of the summer, my freshwater pump wasn’t working and my kicker ignition wouldn’t go. I assumed it was a fuse but after a summer of troubleshooting I can’t resolve…

I just spent this evening working through the in-line fuses and fuse panels which all seem to be in working order. I then tested the connections to the freshwater pump and sure enough, no electricity even when dash switched flipped.

So I’m stumped. What am I missing?

 

[Halfhitch]

Is there power to the switch and power out of the switch when it is turned on? If there is power leaving the switch when turned on and there is no power at the pump then the wire run is compromised. Check to see if the wire color you see leaving the switch is the same color you see arriving at the pump. If it is different, it indicates someone has done some reworking. Regardless of wire color there is an opening in the wire run. Incidentally, when you check for power at the pump with your tester are you using the ground wire to the pump for the ground of your tester? If you are then a "no power" reading can be an open ground wire as well as an open hot wire. Run a wire direct to the battery negative terminal to use for your tester if in doubt.

 

[seasick]

Halfhitch is right on. You need to confirm that ground circuits are good. One way to do that is to use a test lamp ( not a multimeter) with one lead connected to the positive battery terminal and then use the other ( usually a test lamp has a pointed spike) and probe the ground splices. If the ground is good, the light will shine.

Another possibility is a bad fuse block but I am curious what in-line fuses you checked. There should be no inclines serving the kicker ignition or the water pump.

 

[Chessie246G]

Switches go bad all the time. You need to test power from the fuse block both sides of the fuse, circuit breaker, switch, then at pump. If all checks good, then start testing ground circuit.

 

[seasick]

After reading this again I wonder why the kicker ignition and fresh water pump would share the same feed. They might share the same ground I suppose.
What exactly is the kicker ignition you are referring to?
Did yu disconnect and/or remove your batteries for the off season?
What else doesn't work ( including things like horn, nav lights, electronics, other pumps like bilge etc)

 

[PNW_Grady]

After reading this again I wonder why the kicker ignition and fresh water pump would share the same feed. They might share the same ground I suppose.
What exactly is the kicker ignition you are referring to?
Did yu disconnect and/or remove your batteries for the off season?
What else doesn't work ( including things like horn, nav lights, electronics, other pumps like bilge etc)

Hi there. Currently the water pressure switch and also the live well (intermittent, sometimes yes sometimes no).

I will head back to the boat with a multimeter and see what I can do re test. Pretty newbie on electrical stuff, tested the fuses hoping for an easy fix. I did find one in line glass fuse that had fried but, oddly, replacing it didn’t seem to solve anything.

 

[seasick]

Note what I said about using a 12 volt test lamp. It is a better tool than a multimeter to find bad connections. You can pick up a cheap one for a couple of dollars at Harbor Freight