Dual Power Pole Sportsman 2 Wiring

[eatmywake]

Hi Guys,

I was playing around with my boat last night and noticed that one power pole was not working (which I later found out was due to being out of fluid). During my problem solving, I removed the caps to the fuse holders and noticed both fuses were bubbled up and looked melted. When I pulled the first fuse, one of the male ends stayed in the fuse holder. when I pulled the other one it came out with no problems. One of the fuse holders is in good shape and the other looks melted. I then started to look at the wiring (which I did not install), and noticed the factory connectors were removed and replaced with male and female connectors. below is a picture of the wiring. The problem I noticed, if I put a fuse in one of the relays, both motors still operated and ended up blowing the fuse. But if I put a fuse in each of them, they operated and did not blow the fuse. Looking at my diagram below, is there anything wrong with the way they are wired?

thanks,

Nick

[GreatAvalon]

A couple things...why is your one out of fluid? Have you found the leak?

Where are your pumps in relation to the wiring diagram? Each should be wired separately until either the cutoff switch or the battery. Each should be independently fused. The power wires should never touch, all the way up until the ring terminals are connected to the positive battery terminal or the cutoff switch.

i'm not super familiar with the Sportsman wiring and any external components/relays. But based on the one blowing but not blowing when both fuses are in, it sounds like the pumps are being wired together at some point before they should be, and the 2 pumps are overloading the lines, causing the fuse to pop. This makes sense because when the one fuse is out, one pump should NOT be working. The fact that both work with one fuse in is the indicator that the 2 pumps' positive wires are being joined before they should have been, allowing both pumps to pull through one wire, popping fuses and overloading wire. If one looks like it's melted, it probably has melted due to heat...too much current being drawn.

Who did the install? Sounds like someone not very familiar with basic wiring. I'd probably undo everything that person did and redo the wiring how it should be done.

[eatmywake]

Here's how the leads go to the pumps. (updated drawing). I'm not sure how the pumps could be working with only one fuse in, does it transfer power back through the lines coming from the switch somehow?

[GreatAvalon]

Interesting, thanks for the updated drawing......the switch in the drawing is the wired dash switch, right? And the "Y" that connects the two relays into one wire run was a DIY solution, right?

[eatmywake]

Correct. The switch is actually two foot buttons on the bow but same idea. I think the mechanic decided that it would be easier to splice the two relay than use the dual wiring harness. My question is, does it make a difference or does the dual harness just allow you to connect the two relays without splicing the wires and in the end, do the exact same thing. Does that make sense?

[GreatAvalon]

Correct. The switch is actually two foot buttons on the bow but same idea. I think the mechanic decided that it would be easier to splice the two relay than use the dual wiring harness. My question is, does it make a difference or does the dual harness just allow you to connect the two relays without splicing the wires and in the end, do the exact same thing. Does that make sense?

Alright, here is what I think the problem is. PowerPole makes a Y adaptor for that purpose. I think that DIY Y adapter is the problem. The PP Y adapter is like $21 or something, and you have to call them to get it since I don't see it on their website. I would recommend calling them (great customer service) explain the situation and the custom Y adapter, and then make sure they agree that the DIY Y adapter is somehow allowing both pumps to get get through it. By getting their Y adapter, I bet it's designed to isolate the power to both the pumps.

Please update if you do that!

[eatmywake]

Will do. I am also going to pull the pumps and check the reservoirs for leaks. I had one run out of fluid last year and now the other did it over the winter. I also noticed one is slower than the other to come up so I want to check the screen in the tank for debris.

[eatmywake]

I just spoke to the tech at Power Pole and he said that the way mine is wired is perfectly fine. He said that the harness is essentially the same thing, just with the factory plugs attached.

[GreatAvalon]

Hmmm...shoot.

did he have any ideas of how the two pumps' power leads are somehow connected to?

[eatmywake]

no, that one stumped him. He was more worried about why my reservoir was empty. I'll pull both pumps tonight and check for cracks.

[GreatAvalon]

no, that one stumped him. He was more worried about why my reservoir was empty. I'll pull both pumps tonight and check for cracks.

Haha yea, that's a pretty big deal too

[eatmywake]

I found the leak. One of the compression fittings is leaking when deploying them. It almost looks like the fitting is getting sucked in, like it would if you were trying to release the hose.

[GreatAvalon]

I found the leak. One of the compression fittings is leaking when deploying them. It almost looks like the fitting is getting sucked in, like it would if you were trying to release the hose.

Glad you found it - sounds like the fix should be easy enough!

One thing figured out (hopefully at least), so now one more left!