2004 Nautique Air Nautique 216 TE

[mwkelly49]

I need some help with this boat I just bought. I'm trying to figure out the whole ballast system. I have 2 open/close vale controls below the steering wheel. I have two valves in the engine compartment. I have buttons on the controller module with port starboard and belly. I have 2 gauges under the throttle control.
How do I fill and empty them. the manual steps are not working

[Stevemo14]

I'm not 100% familiar with that boat, but it should be similar to mine. I believe you only have 2 tanks though, Port and Starboard.

The Valves in the engine bay are the shutoffs for the through hull. They are mandated by the coast guard, and can be used to shut off any water coming into the boat.

The Valves under the console control the live-well valves that are inline before the pumps, and are supposed to keep water from entering the tanks while you are driving the boat around, but don;t want the tanks to fill, but also don't want to use the valves in the engine bay. They are supposed to make it easier to shutoff the water in to the tanks, but always leak, and are pretty much worthless IMO.

The buttons on the keypad are to turn on the fill pumps / drain pumps. You will have one fill and one drain pump for each tank. to fill you push the button once and the dot should lit up solid. to drain you hold the button until the dot flashes. The belly tank button i don't believe applies to your boat.

To fill your tanks make sure all the valves are open, and push the button on the keypad for the tank you want to fill. hold the button to drain. Your ballast gauges may not be working as the senders can go bad over time, so i would try filling them until water comes out the vent, you will know they are full.

[mwkelly49]

Thanks for your help. I will try this when I go out next time. I ordered new parts due to the one of the open/close switches broke... lol