Areator Pumps and Blown Fuses

[Charles Summers]

The areator in my 700LX keeps blowing fuses. I called the dealer to get it repaired, but haven't taken it yet. They mentioned that I probably had some debris in the pump that just needed cleaning, so I thought I'd save us all some time by opening it up and cleanign it myself. All of that was easy enough, but there wasn't anything inside there that made me think it was debris. The impellor turns and runs. The motor runs and pumps, but every now and then, the fuse will still pop.



Only thing I can think is that I may have driven home one day after a tournament with the thing running dry. Would this have hurt the pump? According to the Rule ads in the Bass Pro Shops catelog, it says running it dry won't hurt it. The things still under warrenty, so eventually I'll get it to the dealer, but if I could fix it myself... I'd rather do it that way. So... is the pump shot? Or, is this something common?



Thanks guys and gals!

 

[Bob G.]

Charles,



I have not had an aerator or bilge pump fail yet but I would look at the following based on what I know about electical stuff.



- Verify fuse is correct size. If it has been working ok for the last year, fuse is probably correct size.



- Verify all electrical connections are good electrically and mechanically. DC circuits are prone to a green corrosion that makes for an inefficient current path. Don't forget the switch.



- Check for any cuts, nicks or pinch points in the wires for the circuit that may cause an electrical path to ground. Probably rare on a fiberglass boat, but the + circuit is usually run next to the ground wire.



- If everything looks ok, the aerator pump may be bad internally.



Hope this helps. Intermittant electrical problems can be tough to solve.



Bob G.

 

[James D.]

I have the lx700 in a 98' version which I bought used. fish fins in the impeller were causing my problem. After I got the fins cleaned out, the pump would work for a while and then quit. after a couple of trips I replaced the pump and havn't had any further problems. Like Bob G says, check out your wiring and look for corrosion as these wires are located in the bilge area. You might consider buying an extra pump anyways after you get it back from the dealer just to have an extra on hand. intermittent problems are no fun and I can almost gaurantee that the day that you take it in to get it fixed, it will work just fine :^) (at least that is how it happens for me a lot of times) if the problem comes back, you can put the new pump in and see if the problem goes away.



jd

 

[Greg Meyer]

If you can, replace the pump with a Mayfair brand (or another cartridge style) so that when you need to replace the pump the next time you will only have to replace the "insides"... a new cartridge.