Auto bilge??? I'm a jackass...

[BigAbe75]

When I purchased my 192 the dealer said to always keep the switch on. Don't believe I ever turned it off. The pump will turn on when needed.

Same on my ‘11 SX210. That boat wasn’t as “smart”, I guess. But, it didn’t have an “always on” either. To force it to run, I would have to turn it off and back on again.

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

So, if you launched and retrieved all within a couple minutes you easily could have done that between cycles... resulting in no pump action. Switch on, means it is actually running... if running dry because there’s no water, that’s bad.

I believe that was the case as for the duration. Guess I'll get the hose in there and see what happens and how much is require to set it off.

 

[Dixie Highway]

Well, all I can say is that when I put the switch to “on” in the driveway, 0 water in the bilge, the red light on the switch is on steady and the pump runs and runs. I let it go about 5-10 minutes then switched it off. On the water, same thing. Switch on the light was red the whole time, no water out the bilge outlet. That’s when I emailed the dealer, and got that response. Once I get the boat home and fill up the bilge with water I’ll know for sure. I’m sure someone on this thread will update with the results.

 

[Dixie Highway]

It seems that all of us with 210 FSH’s are experiencing the same issue, where switch on it runs all the time, switch off seems to be the “auto” setting. This setup really makes more sense to me, as why would you ever want the bilge pump completely off unless the house battery is off? And a manual on setting would help in the event the auto sensing feature stops working on the water.

 

[John McLaughlin]

Only 2011 even though on a lift I keep both the battery and the bilge pump switch in the on position. It only runs when there is water in the bilge which is quite often these days because of all of the rain.

 

[Julian]

Everyone needs to keep in mind that at some point Yamaha DID begin putting in non back pressure sensing bilge pumps!!!! Finally! Seems that possibly all the 210 FSHs have them. So members should not assume that the switch must be "on" for the pump to work. If the pump runs when you turn it on, that may well be the factory setup. Float switch pumps have an arm on the side that you can lift up to test the float, other solid state pumps have different sensors. So post up some close up photos of your pumps and we can tell you what you have and how it works!

 

[Zeusmotorworks]

May be the weekend before I get a chance depending on the work week and weather.

 

[MidnightRider]

This whole "how does the bilge pump work" has always confused me. To make matters worse different years of boats seem to act differently, so the combination of most owners not fully understanding how it works and different year boats doing different things, you get a thousand different stories from everyone.

So far, from what I can tell, my 2017 212X has 3 modes on the connext control of the bilge pump:

1. OFF, the bilge indicator on the Connext is GRAY colored
2. ON, the bilge indicator on the Connext is GREEN colored - bilge is on continuously.
3. AUTO, the bilge indicator on the Connext is BLUE colored - bilge cycles every 3-5 min and sense if there is a higher amperage draw on the pump indicating that there is water being pumped, if so, continues to pump til the water is out - if not, turns back off and waits another 3-5 min.

Now, that I have said all this, to make things more confusing - it does not seem that it matters what mode the bilge Connext indicator is on when I shut down the boat completely but leave the house battery on - it appears that it is ALWAYS in AUTO mode in this case.

Am I 100% sure that the above is accurate? No, maybe 95% sure. Its what I've gleaned from others, the manual, and observation. But again this is the 2017 212X and it is pretty apparent to me following bilge threads on this forum that different boat models and years act differently.


Edit: Forgot to add, when both battery switches are off, the bilge pump does NOT operate.

 

[Dean P]

This whole "how does the bilge pump work" has always confused me. To make matters worse different years of boats seem to act differently, so the combination of most owners not fully understanding how it works and different year boats doing different things, you get a thousand different stories from everyone.

So far, from what I can tell, my 2017 212X has 3 modes on the connext control of the bilge pump:

1. OFF, the bilge indicator on the Connext is GRAY colored
2. ON, the bilge indicator on the Connext is GREEN colored - bilge is on continuously.
3. AUTO, the bilge indicator on the Connext is BLUE colored - bilge cycles every 3-5 min and sense if there is a higher amperage draw on the pump indicating that there is water being pumped, if so, continues to pump til the water is out - if not, turns back off and waits another 3-5 min.

Now, that I have said all this, to make things more confusing - it does not seem that it matters what mode the bilge Connext indicator is on when I shut down the boat completely but leave the house battery on - it appears that it is ALWAYS in AUTO mode in this case.

Am I 100% sure that the above is accurate? No, maybe 95% sure. Its what I've gleaned from others, the manual, and observation. But again this is the 2017 212X and it is pretty apparent to me following bilge threads on this forum that different boat models and years act differently.


Edit: Forgot to add, when both battery switches are off, the bilge pump does NOT operate.

Are there any options in the Connect config system that could help?

 

[MidnightRider]

Are there any options in the Connect config system that could help?

I have not seen anything in there. I actually don't really mind how it works. I plan on installing a back up bilge that is hardwired to the battery with a float switch. I'll also be adding an alarm to the float switch so if the back up pump comes on I know that something went wrong.

 

[tek4fun]

Starting with MY18, all boat models have the automatic float of the bilge pump wired directly to the battery. You no longer have to leave the house battery switch in the on position for the bilge to run automatically when it senses water with the float. While the boats are in running mode, they have another automatic mode that is controlled by the Connext and SPU. It will turn on for a couple seconds every 2 minutes, if it detects water then it will stay on until the water is pumped out. This can be very confusing at times especially since it has changed over the years. You can test the bilge pump without running water into the engine compartment by pressing the soft button(see picture) on the end of it for 5 seconds. It will come on briefly.

 

[the MfM]

All boats should have a second bilge pump with a float switch wired direct to the battery. (With an in-line fuse.)

It may just keep you boat from being sunk while you pull out your manual and try to figure out how to make your factory “auto” pump turn on.

 

[Julian]

It may just keep you boat from being sunk while you pull out your manual and try to figure out how to make your factory “auto” pump turn on.

I would suggest that before you install a 2nd pump, that you make it a priority to understand how your current pump operates

 

[the MfM]

I would suggest that before you install a 2nd pump, that you make it a priority to understand how your current pump operates

Easier said than done based on the multiple threads and owners manuals with conflicting info.

But it sounds like OP’s pump might have been on but in between its auto sensing automatic check cycle. You know what would have worked quicker? A float switch... which apparently some boats come with now but may or may not be mentioned in the manual.

 

[MidnightRider]

Yeah I've found the manual to be inaccurate on a number of things for my boat. Love my boat, but Yamaha sucks at quality control on it's boats from A to Z - that includes the manual.

 

[Julian]

Easier said than done based on the multiple threads and owners manuals with conflicting info.

But it sounds like OP’s pump might have been on but in between its auto sensing automatic check cycle. You know what would have worked quicker? A float switch... which apparently some boats come with now but may or may not be mentioned in the manual.

Agree, all I'm saying is that the bilge pump is too important of an item to not FULLY understand how it operates. If the manual is unclear, then ask the dealer, if they don't know, then figure it out yourself or call Yamaha corporate. But don't just wing it and hope.......hope is not a strategy. Your point I guess is...if you can't figure it out, install your own and know how it works!

Bottom line is that bilge operation isn't hard to figure out. It might take 10 minutes of trial and error to see what does and does not work....perhaps a little longer if you have a back pressure sensing bilge as you have to wait for it to cycle. Also, you need quiet to be able to hear it.

 

[the MfM]

Agree, all I'm saying is that the bilge pump is too important of an item to not FULLY understand how it operates. If the manual is unclear, then ask the dealer, if they don't know, then figure it out yourself or call Yamaha corporate. But don't just wing it and hope.......hope is not a strategy. Your point I guess is...if you can't figure it out, install your own and know how it works!

Bottom line is that bilge operation isn't hard to figure out. It might take 10 minutes of trial and error to see what does and does not work....perhaps a little longer if you have a back pressure sensing bilge as you have to wait for it to cycle. Also, you need quiet to be able to hear it.

True, you need to know how it works... but I still believe a second direct wired pump with a float switch is a worthy mod. Ecspecially for those of us that leave the boat on a dock or mooring.

If @tek4fun is right then Yamaha took it step in the right direction with my18 boats.

But I’d still rather have two pumps then one.

 

[Frank Marshall]

I have not had an issue with a pump, other than a dirty screen, even on my 18 year old LS2000. Has it really been a failure issue for anyone and if so, were there significant losses involved?

 

[MidnightRider]

I think the more important thing than a backup bilge pump is a bilge alarm. All the stories I've read of boats swamping have been a result of the engine pumping water into the boat in some failure or another, and no bilge pump would have been able to keep up. If however, they had early warning and caught it in time (ie cut the engine) it could have been avoided or at least less drastic. For me installing an alarm is first priority, the extra pump is more of a "as long as I'm in here, I might as well" type of thing - will put it on the same float as the alarm.

Edit: I'm speaking from a midwest lake boating perspective. A costal and/or Bimini boater may very well have a different perspective on number of bilge pumps and reasons for them.

 

[the MfM]

I have not had an issue with a pump, other than a dirty screen, even on my 18 year old LS2000. Has it really been a failure issue for anyone and if so, were there significant losses involved?

For any of the boats with only an auto sensing pump (no float switch) you had to leave the boat with the pump in auto mode. So the concern is that the pump comes on every two minutes when it’s nots needed to check for water and drains the battery over a few days or week. And then when it’s needed or you return to and try to start the boat the batteries are dead.

Easiest way for peace of mind is a float switch. Though it’s probably not really needed for a trailer boat.