[C320-list] Bilge Float Pump Switch

[Chris Willems]

This thread is right on time!  We came back to the
boat after being away for a week and our latest
failure is the bilge pump switch... great timing, eh? 
I don't even have my (repaired, hopefully) autopilot
back from Raymarine and another electronic device has
crapped the bed!

Chris - can you give us specifics on the replacement
switches you used ?  I'd like to do this right... the
first time.

(BTW:  I intend to find where that last 0.19 V of
electricity in the rail is coming from, and will use
some plastic to isolate the (assumed) chafed wire
below the amidships port stanchion.  Does Catalina
thread the stanchion bolts into a tapped plate?  If
so, what do I do when it appears the plate has
stripped?)

Thanks again - this list is invaluable - and see you
in Annapolis next week!

Chris Willems, Chrysalis #828

*****

There is definitely no in-line fuse on #867 (nor will
there be).

The OEM float switches are generally considered to be
inferior to
 electronic
switches and prone to failure by those working with
them regularly. The
consensus seems to be that it is best to replace them
with an
 electronic
switch and add an old-style float switch a few inches
higher up in
 normally
dry territory of the bilge on a bypass circuit as a
fail safe.

I did replace mine with an electronic switch when it
failed, but have
 yet to
add the bypass switch. I slid clear tubing up the
wiring, made my
connections with Ancor heat shrink crimps and covered
with heat shrink
tubing. I then slid the clear tubing over the
connections and pumped
 the
ends full of silicone sealant. As the connections are
in the bilge, an
environmental equivalent of a urinal...I don't think
that is overkill.

I intend to add a second switch higher up connected to
a second pump in
 the
future as I don't care to trust this important safety
feature to one
 system.