bilge pump wiring 1990 charger 180vf

[Ptmccloud]

Just bought this boat and the wiring nightmare that came with it. The bilge pump has 3 wires. Red,Black, and brown. Red and black are wired directly to the 12volt crank battery. A brown wire is just hanging there. There is a also a float switch. The float switch is not directly wired to the pump at all (brown and a black wire going into a factory harness to wherever). I poured water in the back of the boat to see if the pump would kick on automatically. It did not. If take the brown wire to the positive post of the crank battery, the pump kicks on. Obviously I don't want the bilge pump to run all the time nor do I want to be hanging over the rear hatch holding the wire till the bilge is empty. Help!

[drhamm44]

I assume you have a rocker switch for the bilge. This switch has an automatic (float triggered) side and a manual side. My guess is the brown wire ties into the manual side of the switch.

[Ptmccloud]

I wish I could say yes to the bilge pump switch. There is one on the dash but nothing on the dash works except the ignition switch.I will continue to trace wires. Thanks anyway.