www.iFourWinns.com

We had a brief high volume rain storm last weekend while out on Patoka Lake. Took on a lot of water. I noted that the bilge pump didn't kick on automatically, and then pushed the button on the dash and the light turned on the button but nothing else happened - no hum, no output of water from the opening on the side. When I pulled the boat out of the water and removed the plug, a garden hose sized stream of lake water shot out for, I dunno, 10 seconds. Being a neophyte DIY'er, I wanted some advice from you on how to troubleshoot and repair this scary problem. How/where to check fuse? What do I need to do to evaluate the problem? If the pump is needing replacement, is this something I should try or take to the shop? So far with this boat (due to various maladies and thanks to this forum for advice) I have managed to become rather expert at trailer wiring troubleshooting and repair, hub/bearing issues, speedometer/pitot tube occlusion, and various trailer cover problems.

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2005 Horizon 250

The fuse should be located on your battery switch box. Check it first...

After you have confirmed that fuse is good (or replaced) Try your dash switch again. If the pump works then get out your garden hose and fill the bilge until the automatic switch kicks in. Unfortunately Four Winns places covers over their switches so you can't just reach down and lift it.
Absolutely make sure both the systems work before trusting your boat in the water. If either system doesn't work then your into tearing out and replacing your pump and switch. You may as well go bigger to something like a 2000GPH...

I just did all this but didn't take pictures.
See this thread.
http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6295&hilit=220+Bilge+pump

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Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

There's one thread somewhere around here detailing how FW forgot to install a thru hull for the bilge pump. I'm sure that's not the case here, as you don't hear the pump making noise.

You can also rule out the automatic switch, as the overriding dash switch does not turn on the pump. Not that this shouldn't also be checked after you get the pump working as Milhaven suggests. Odds are you are looking at a new pump, and the stock pump is undoubtedly the Rule 500. A little awkward to reach, but replacement is very doable as a DYI project. Do check fuses and wiring prior to replacement. As to wiring, the first place I'd check would be the ground wire - start at the pump (under the engine) and follow the black wire to where it merges with the black/yellow ground wire from your Fireboy system, then follow that to where it mounts to the engine block. That could be the culprit and would be good to find as it would disable a feature on your Fireboy automatic engine compartment fire suppression system - not sure, but it may be the feature allowing it to disable the blower. Not good in any case.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

I'm an idiot, but happy. It does work, and work well. I guess there wasn't enough water in there before, and I guess I just couldn't hear it running before. With the boat on the trailer afew days ago, I opened the engine hatch and flipped the switch just to see what would happen, and I did hear the pump running. Then I turned it off, put the hose into the bottom center and began to fill. Lo and behold it kicked on and forcefully pumped. Both the manual and auto switches work. I am surprised how much water the boat takes on before the auto switch kicks on. The bilge pump was completely submerged before it started. Is this expected? Is it a problem?

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2005 Horizon 250

Where is your pump located? My bilge holds more water than I would like before the auto kicks on, but I would definitely not say the bilge is "completely submerged". Mine is located on the centerline of the bilge approximately 1/3rd the distance from the front of the motor with the auto switch located directly in front of it.

On a side note, my buddy keeps his 2002 H260 in the next stall of my "Toybox". It looks good having two FW 26 footers sitting side by side. We both pulled off the river a few weeks ago, and while backing his boat into the stall, I could here something running. We found his auto bilge was stuck on, but there was still a decent amount of water in the bilge. I crawled underneath and noticed the end of the hose connector on the pump had broken off, which seems to be a common probelm based on other post on this board. A few days later we dove into it, and discovered just the tip of he pump outlet was broken off and something had hung up the float on the auto switch. The auto switch was fairly easy in that I played with the test knob and shot water under the float and it worked. The broken pump outlet was another story. Two main factors appeared to contribute to this: 1) the hose clamp was connected at the very end of the pump outlet and 2) it appeared they the hose was about an inch too short causing excessive pressure on the pump outlet. Who knows how long it had been like this, which is somewhat scary. We were able to reconnect the hose by putting an elbow in and extending the length of the hose by ~4". Seems to be holding nicely, but my back and knees are still killing me. Elastic Man would have trouble working on these things.

The main point is his 2002 has an Attwood 1250 gpm pump. Based on this, I took a good look in my bilge to make sure everything was connected properly and noticed my pump is a Rule 500 gpm unit. That seems a little light duty for this size of boat. I'm hoping the Rule 1100 has an interchangeable base so I can simply pull the 500 gpm unit out and reinstall an 1100 gpm unit without having to drill anything. That would be virtually impossible in that location. I've also read about others installing a 2nd pump in a new location rather than replacing the original. If I do this, it appears my bilge will hold significantly more water before the auto kicks in. I'm curious, what does your 2005 H250 have for a bilge pump and where is it located?

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2005 FW Horizon 250
8.1L VP DP