live well questions and problems 93" 379T Javelin

[weston]

I have two live wells that are interconnected with an opening between them.

I have one pump that has a label on the pump "aerator" and goes into the rear of the live well about half way up. It turns on and runs from either the front and the consul switches marked “re-circulate”.

There is a similar pump on the bottom of the bilge, also with a label on the pump itself that says “re-circulate”, and following the rubber hose it looks like it should pump water from the lake into the top of the live wells.

Coming out of the bottom of the live well is a hose that is connected to a valve. Out of the other side of the valve the hose continues out of the boat at bilge level. The valve has a wire actuator (not an electrical wire) running forward out of sight. The aft end of the wire is connected to a small plastic arm on the valve that I can move manually from 4 o’clock on the horizontal to 2 o’clock. Moving the wire opens and closes the valve.

I cannot find where to open and close the valve either electrically or manually except by sticking my arm deep in the bilge and moving the plastic arm.

Also I cannot turn on the pump that seems to be for pumping water into the live wells.

At the consul there is a switch labeled Master Aerator with positions Fish and Run and a Recirculate switch with on and off which turns on the pump mid-way up the rear wall of the well. Moving the Master Aerator switch between Fish and Run doesn’t seem to do anything.

At the bow there three sets of switches: the top switch is labeled Freshwater, the middle is labeled Recirculate, and the bottom is labeled Timer Select.

Freshwater has three positions: (from left to right) Time, Off, and Manual.

Recirculate has On and Off and operates like the similar switch on the consul.

Time Select has 2,4,and 6 as positions.

Only the "recirculate" switch seems to do anything.

I would think recirculate would move water from the lake to the well and aerate would make bubbles to oxygenate the water when you could not recirculate, like on plane. But the recirculate switches operate what looks like an aerator to me and nothing operates what looks like a recirculate pump (even thought it is labeled on its side “aerator”.)

I would think the timer stuff should automatically turn on either the recirculator or the aerator every 2,4, or 6 minutes.

Anyone with the patience to coach me? Or maybe just explain how to turn on what I think is a pump to get water into the wells and to operate the valve without busting my butt? And how did you guys learn to do it since the manual I found is as obtuse as my last son? Maybe I should fish off the bank.

[Terryfd42]

Ok, I have a 96 379te that is set up exactly. for starters you should have either
1 or 2 pumps mounted to the back of your livewell which you can see when you open the rear to expose the batteries. also there should be either 1 or 2 pumps
mounted at the bilge area in the rear of the hull.

the pump or pumps that are mounted on the back of the livewell are your recirculating pumps. the switch at the console is the master for the recirculate. it has to be on for the recir. switch on the bow to work.

the pumps you described that ran from the bilge area to the top of livewell should
come up via hose to an elbow at the top-back of livewell. those are the aerators.
again. the switch at the dash labeled master areater has to be on for the bow switch to work, the 2-4-6 is a timer adjustment for the time alotted between kick ons for the aerator pump or pumps.

the little valve you described should be hooked between your hull and the aerator at the bilge. it is cable operated and when you sitting in your drivers seat, if it is
set up in same location as mine, look over your right shoulder and you'll see a little round, black lever turn toward front of boat, it's closed, toward rear it's open.
if it is closed it will not allow water in livewell until you turn on the aerator. if it is
open then water will go into livewell as soon as your boat hits the water. it allows you to close it with a livewell full of fish and water, and while you wait to weigh in you can run your recirculating valves to keep the water producing oxygen to the fish.

you pump water into livewell with the aerator, not the re-circulate,
the timer only works for aerator, not recirculatier

the easiest i've found is just set the bow to the off position, and work off the main
console, until you can get the hang of it. now you can turn on the master aerator,
and then work the manual, or flip to the timer position from the bow, but you have to have the master aerator on for this to work. I hope this has helped you and if not please feel free to email me. by the way, you've got a great boat, i should know i love mine.

[Javelin389]

My 389 is setup the same way. I usually leave my bow switches turned on, and set the bow freshwater pump to the time position (and select either 2,4,6 minute delay). Then at the console, I can control my recirculator and freshwater pump. The freshwater has two positions at the console, one for fish and one for run. When you're fishing, put it on fish. And when your running down the lake, put it on run. Leaving these pumps on while running could burn the pump out because most likely it will not pump any water while on plane.

[weston]

Well I feel a little stupid now, but its a feeling I have learned to manage over the years. Thanks, both you, I really appreciate you wading through my verbose posting. I might have never found the valve positioner. I thought it was a vent of some kind, the thought reinforced by a disconnected wire accuator in the bilge that I don't understand.

I guess if the aerator does not come on in either run or fish position with the master power it is probably burned out. I understand the timer stuff only works with the aerator.

Do you know why the bilge pump switch is marked "Automatic" and "Dual" and only comes on in "Dual"? Maybe the automatic works when there is water in the bilge, but why is the other position labeled "Dual"?

Is there any opening below the bilge? I assumed not since the thru hull transponders are in the bilge, but the drain plug drains something below the bilge.

I really love the boat and motor, a '94 150 Evinrude, but I only have an old Ranger inboard/outboard to compare with and it was a barge. I probably overpaid for this rig at $6,600, but it was immaculate, with a dual wheel trailer, and the engine had a good compression test. It will be hard to pay $40k or $50k for a replacement unless the replacement has wires to my genitals (and they work.) 60 mph in this boat still gives me a tingle and I am an old navy pilot.

Thanks again.


Modified by weston at 10:47 AM 10/21/2006

[Terryfd42]

I think you did ok on the price, but if you're not sure, just go to http://www.nadaguide.com and get the value. My 96 had a value of 7500.00-8600.00
and i got the guy down to 6000.00 . So you can check there just to put your mind at ease. they're great rigs. good luck

[Javelin389]

You should have 2 bilge pumps, one that is automatic and one that is manual. My boat's switches aren't set up like yours, but the automatic setting should allow the auto pump to run whenever enough water accumulates in the bilge area to raise a float and turn the pump on. You can test it by installing the drain plug and let it fill up with some water. It'll probably take several gallons to turn it on. The Dual setting probably turns on both pumps, the auto and manual pump. This will pump out any water twice as fast.