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Went to the boat the other day and the bilge had water in it. Turns out the wiring that goes through the float switch had blown a fuse. I replaced the butt connectors in the bilge and put a new fuse it and it seemed fine. I was there today fixing up some other bits and bobs and noticed that when the bilge pump is operated manually, it pumps just fine but when it operates via the float switch, it doesn't seem to be able to pump properly - turns but doesn't really pump anything out and likely was the same after my "fix" previously.
Basically looks like when it is running via the float switch the pump is not able to draw enough current.
It's an old Rule float switch in there, mercury job from what I can tell. Also, when you run the pump for a while via the float switch, the wire from the switch starts to heat up so clearly there is some resistance in the circuit. Is the float switch on the way out and starting to cause problems? When I tested it previously it had almost no resistance when engaged. Alternatively, is it likely a wire has suddenly started to degrade?
Should I just replace the switch?
Basically looks like when it is running via the float switch the pump is not able to draw enough current.
It's an old Rule float switch in there, mercury job from what I can tell. Also, when you run the pump for a while via the float switch, the wire from the switch starts to heat up so clearly there is some resistance in the circuit. Is the float switch on the way out and starting to cause problems? When I tested it previously it had almost no resistance when engaged. Alternatively, is it likely a wire has suddenly started to degrade?
Should I just replace the switch?