Belly Tank wont fill or drain

[pablo]

I have an 06 210 and the belly pump just stopped working. It wont fill or drain. The light comes on just like port and starboard but it is not draining or filling. It sounds like it is on or working but maybe not quite as loud as the port or starboard pumps.

Any ideas of what could be wrong?

[Red57Bird]

I had an issue with my port side fill pump last weekend. Took the inflow hose off of the pump, removed the fill hose from the tank, and blew air backwards into the pump. We figured there was some debris that was causing the problem. For me, this fixed the problem.

[Latonkaboarder]

If they use the impellar style pumps on the 06's then it is probably the impellar. I have had to change one on my 07 and my 08. Sometimes the impellar appears to look fine but it will spin on the shaft and not work. When mine went bad on the 07 that was the case and the pump was not as loud as the other two. Call your dealer and see if they have the impellars in stock. It is easy to change. I keep an extra one in my glovebox now incase I have one fail. Mastercraft also uses the same impellars in their ballast now so you find one at a Mastercraft dealer if your dealer doesn't have one in stock.

[AuMDLST]

The light will come on even if the push button breaker is tripped - but since you can hear it -
I'm with Laton in that you probably have an impeller issue. Have they been changed out after the factory?

[Red57Bird]

I thought they kept the aerator pumps through 06 and changed to the impeller style in 07. If they are impeller pumps, then my guess is that the hub has spun on the impeller and needs to be replaced. They have had issues with the original yellow impellers and I believe the latest ones are green in color.

[pablo]

Thanks Red57. Do we have the same ballast pumps in our boats? I am thinking it probably is an impellar problem after Laton boarders response.

AumdlstI bought the boat used and I am not sure if the original owner had them changed since the factory. I have not changed the impellars since I bought the boat over a 18 months ago. How difficult is it to remove the pumps and change out the impellars? How long do these typically last for before they need to be replaced?

[WakeSlayer]

I was also under the impression that the 06's had the aerator style. In which case I would guess you have a bad pump. They still have impellers, but not like the ballast puppies. if you do have the Jabsco style pumps, then it will be your impeller which is a $20 5 minute repair. The originals had black impellers, which were poor and needed replacing all the time. The next ones were yellow, which have never failed on me, but they do go out. Now they have even better ones that are green.

good luck.

[AuMDLST]

2006 is the first year for the Jabsco. I have the green impellers - installed by dealer under fix for the continuous issue of tripping the push button breaker.
I would imagine it is as easy as Latonka says

[pablo]

I think the impeller was fine until i tore it up with a needle nose to get it out. I turned the pump on and it seemed to be spinning the impeller fine. What else could be the problem. Obviously now i need to put a new impeller on but i dont think anything was wrong with the old one.
Any ideas?

[crossfire190]

Not sure if this applies to your boat, but on my 2000 SAN i had spider nests in the vent lines which prevented my tanks from filling. Cleaned out the vent lines and I was good to go.

[pablo]

I think i might have the problem that you did Redbird. I am going to try and blow air through the hose and see if that takes care of this problem. I just put on a new impeller and the pump seems to be working fine but it is not sucking any water in at all. Could this be caused by an air pocket somewhere in the lines or debris?

How big of a pain is it to get the hoses off of the pump and the tank, any special tools required?

[pablo]

Still wont drain

I just tried blowing air through the hoses and it still wont fill up the tanks using a fake a lake. I j even tried filling the tank up with a hose through the top of tank. I then tried to drain the tank and nothing.

So it still wont drain or fill.

Anbody have any other ideas? I am thinking that maybe the pump itself is bad and just isnt putting out enough power to create suction. I guess my last resort will be to take it to the dealer.

[Red57Bird]

Sounds like you do have the impeller pumps on your ballast system. If you replaced the impellers and they seem to be working OK, then looks like the pump is not priming, or there is a blockage somewhere in the line between the pump and the thru-hull pickup.

Have you checked under the boat to see if something is blocking the pickup? Also, have you checked the ball valve for that line to make sure it is completely open? Only other thing I can think of is some type of blockage in the hose between the pickup and the pump.

[pablo]

Ya the pump just wont prime. I dont know if there is a blockage or not. I have checked under the boat and the ball valve is open.I put a shop vac to the fill hose and pulled out alot of water but no noticeable debris. Also put shop vac to the overflow vent and pulled out a ton of water but no debris.

I cant get the hoses off the actual pump because of the s... head at correct craft that mounted it in the worst possible place on the boat. Why wouldnt they just mount the belly pump by the starboard pump so you could actually get to it?

I think its got to be a bad pump, but i will probably have to pay the dealer to screw with it.

If the pump was in a better spot i could switch it with one of the working pumps to see if its a bad pump or something else.