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Hi All: Second last day on the water for this season. Trying to diagnose an issue with my water pump on my 288. It runs for a few seconds every minute or so. I tried to prime the system according to the manual and no success. All connections seem secure and all taps are off and I don't have a puddle of water anywhere I can determine. Also refilled, so tank is full.
Any ideas before I let my dealer loose on the issue?
Regards,
Mike

It'll only run if there's water coming out of the system. Find the leak, there is one. Either that or the pump is malfunctioning. You might want to call the pump manufacturer and talk to their support folks. To find the leak you may want to do something like put down some paper towels or something like baby powder (don't use flour) as a trick to spot moisture. It could be something like the toilet. Water leaking there wouldn't go into the bilge, just the the waste tank. Put some paper in the bowl (when it's dry) to detect if it's leaking. That and keep an 'ear out' to listen for the shower sump running. If you have a sink that's leaking it'll go into the shower sump, not the bilge. That and make sure the shower mixer isn't leaking (ours did).

But basically unless the pump itself is malfunctioning there's got to be a leak somewhere.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Thanks Bill for the advice. I thought something was screwed up with my pump. I started checking all the connections and found the hot water braided hose to a t-joint loose. I thought I saw some watering coming from it, gave it a wiggle, and the thing blew off spraying water until I could get my wife to shut the pump off. At least I am able to give the dealer something to focus on.
Sad day today--cleaned up the boat and put it away for the season.
Too many conflicts during fall to get much boating done.
Regards,
Mike

Glad you found the leak! Sorry to hear about the scheduling issues.

If it's out of warranty (or you just don't want to hassle with the dealer) this is VERY easy to fix.

The braided line is just regular 1/2" plumbing material. And the quick-connect plumbing fixtures are easy to work with too. You just press the collar inward to the connection and the hose will slide right out of them. Connecting them is just a matter of pushing the hose into the connection until you feel it 'click'. For the water heater connections you'd need two crescent wrenches and some plumber's teflon tape. Wrap the male threads on the connections. If it's like my 348 then you'll only have to deal with the male threads on the adapter. Pull three wraps of tape tightly around the threads. Then just snug them up. It has to be past 'finger tight' of course, but don't overtighten as you'd just strip the plastic thread. Make sure you don't let the hose twist while tightening it, as that would cause it to kink inside the braid.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

My 258 Vista does that when I am showering on board. If I leave the shower on, but turn the water flow off on the shower head, the pump cycles every 3-4 seconds.

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1997 Four Winns Vista 278
T - 4.3l EFI
Kohler 4esz Genset
379 hours as of 8/8/21