My first short circuit with smoke !

[Ken Heyman]

Last week (after the boat was on the hard)I was going about the winterizing chores including getting all of the water out of the bilge and then dumping a bit of antifreeze into it. I moved (jarred) my bilge pump and switch to get better access with a sponge. As I hadn't looked at the bilge in a while, and I knew I had disturbed the wiring while messing around , I manually activated the pump by raising the float switch. Much to my chagrin the wires connecting the switch to the pump started to smoke. Once the switch was disengaged (lowered) the burning stopped. I disconnected the float switch from the bilge pump and brought the switch home for autopsy. The bilge pump still worked fine without incident when activated by the switch on the electrical panel in the cabin. The problem is obviously somewhere in the circuit between the switch and the pump.---a bit of a scary reminder of the whimsical nature of electrical circuits.

Ken

[Indian Falls]

Hey Ken,

The only thing that makes a length of wire heat up and smoke is when more current is flowing than the conductor is rated for.  Now if only the connection is smoking you only have a high resistance connection under the electrical tape or in a wire nut like I'd found in my boat.  This may heat the wire back from this connection point an inch or two but not the whole wire.  There are a bunch of members whom have an electrical aptitude, lets see what they all say.

[Ken Heyman]

I absolutely agree. In this case however, I suspect a dead short across the circuit. I use the pump frequently albeit in the manual mode and would have noticed or smelled the smoke if this had happened previously which might have suggested current overload. In any case, I should fuse the switch in the new and improved installation.

Ken

[Indian Falls]

Hi Ken

You've got my curiosity up...   since I service industrial machine tools for a living I feel like this is electrical 101, it seems that there is a piece of your puzzle missing.  Since it's not a car or a machine and there is no ground anywhere except the 12volt return, what would you be dead shorted to?  Does the 12v go to the pump first, then the switch and then back to the battery?  Since this is a series circuit I'm not sure you can have a dead short unless the pump is the dead short, a dc motor that is not turning IS a dead short until it begins to rotate, and since you wrote it works fine.... I love puzzles!

[Ken Heyman]

I'm an electrical novice so I will certainly defer to you. My guess is that  the two wires leading from the switch to the pump and to "ground" respectively have been damaged and have come into contact with each other. Couldn't this have produced the symptoms ? The question is why the wires are damaged in the first place and my guess is years of rubbing against something in the bilge coupled with my disturbing them last week.. I'll let you know.---might not be until next spring however. Thanks for the interest

Ken

[Ron Hill]

Ken : While everyone is figuring out the puzzle, get youself a Rule "Super Switch" (float) and wire it in.

I've had some trouble with the cheaper models.  The Super Switch has not failed me and got good marks from Practical Sailor.  A thought

[lazybone]

After everthing is fixed, don't forget to add some smoke back to the system.

[mainesail]

After everthing is fixed, don't forget to add some smoke back to the system.

Just don't use Lucas smoke, it is quite unreliable....

[Ken Heyman]

In any case my c34 will have to give up smoking----maybe a nicotine patch on the float switch.

thanks all---Ron, I do have a "Rule" but I don't think it is "The Super Switch"

Ken

[Stu Jackson]

The easiest way to stop smoking is to move your boat to Berkeley, California!

[Ken Heyman]

great idea !

Ken