Livewell fill problem

[rodnreel]

Had my boat out last night and was trying to get the livewells filled up, but whatever I tried I couldn't get it to happen. First, this is what I have:

Aeration switch: up is manual, middle is off, down is auto
Livewell control valve: pull to open, push to close
Timer: off - percent run time - fill

Next, my understanding of how to fill the wells. Push the livewell control valve to close. Turn timer to fill. Flip aeration switch to manual and fill wells to desired level. Once it is full, I can either turn aeration off or use the timer to set how often it aerates. This is the process I used last night, but when I flipped the switch to fill the wells I got no water coming in. The only way I was able to get any amount of water into the wells was to open the valve. This let in enough water to fill about 1/4 of the way full. I tested the control valve when I loaded onto the trailer and it will hold water in the closed position, then drain water out when opened. I can also hear the pumps running in both manual and automatic. So the only thing I can figure is I have a bad pump or something is clogged? Or is it some kind of rookie mistake on my part and I'm missing something obvious?

[Lea]

Sounds like pump is clogged or defective. Try putting a hose with strong water stream, into the intake hole at the bottom rear of the boat. Sometimes you can blow an obstruction out that way.

Your understanding of the operation is exactly correct regarding fill and aeration...The open/closed valve should only need to be opened when you are on trailer and want to empty the wells.

[rodnreel]

Thanks, Lea. I'll give that a try tonight and see what happens.

[rodnreel]

Well digging around the boat tonight I was able to figure out the problem. Everyone knows what happens when you assume....

Turns out the switches up front on the console don't control the right pump. When I flip the manual/auto aerate switch, it turned on the recirc pump! No wonder I wasn't getting any water into the wells. I don't understand why the previous owner had it wired this way, but I fixed it and it now controls the fresh water pump. My problem now is I have no way to turn on the recirc pump as there isn't a separate switch for this. Looks like I may have to install a new one in the near future....

[Lea]

When you say "recirc pump", do you mean to recycle water into and out of the lake? If so, when well is as full as you desire, flip the aerate switch to auto...it will recycle per timer setting...

Some boats also have another pump with a switch which says Hydro-Air. This pump simply bubbles the water in the well and does not sent water in and out of the lake. From your description, I am a bit confused about the wiring issue you describe.

What year and model boat do you have?

[Tx Champ]

Better yet, a picture is worth a 1000 words.

[rodnreel]

I have a 1995 186 single console. Here is exactly how mine is setup, a pic from the Flow-Rite interactive builder:



The way it was wired, the switches controlled the pump at the back of the livewell, so no lake water was being pumped in. I switched the wiring to correct this, but now I don't have a switch to control the pump on the back of the livewell.

[Lea]

You should have a switch labeled Hydro Air, as well as the Aerator switch. The pump on the back of the well is the hydro air pump which bubbles the water in your well.

[rodnreel]

I only have the aerate switch, no hydro air. That makes me wonder if the switches are original or if at some point a previous owner decided they wanted to put in their own. I'll have to check out the brochure tonight when I get off work. Thanks for the help, Lea

[Lea]

Do you have a pump-out? Just curious....

[rodnreel]

Hmm...I'll have to double check, but I'm pretty sure there is no pump out.

[Lea]

If I remember correctly the Hydro-Air was a standard feature of the Elites and an option in the Tournament series. I'll have to check my brochure. I just find it bizarre that your aerator switch was connected to the pump on the back of the livewell, which I am pretty sure is the Hydro pump.

TXChamp will know better than I.

[Tx Champ]

I don't know unless the Manual position was to control the Aerate (fill) and the Auto to control the Hydro (recirc). Mine is a 93 and has two switches and the timer controls which ever is turned on. The control shown to the right of the livewell control is a valve control that is present if the boat is factory equiped with pumpout. There is a similar valve control below to open and close the livewell drain.

[rodnreel]

I'd say one of the 2 previous owners made changes to this, then. There is no hydro switch, only the aerate. I'll take a pic of my console tonight and post. The good news is the wiring changes I made worked on the lake last night. The aerate switch and timer now work together like they're supposed to.

[Lea]

Does your paperwork indicate whether Elite or Tournament edition?