live well pump...no water!

[dfv87]

My livewell was not working so I replaced the pump and now it runs but no water runs to my livewell?? I am at a loss. I took the whole thing off again last night and cannot figure it out. It must be something stupid I am doing... any thoughts?

[TiredOfWorking]

When I had thie same problem, it turned out that the line to the livewell was plugged with sand. Try blowing it out from the livewell.

[Ole1855]

I actually did this myself on my old boat, please don't laugh!!! It was on my bilge pump, after replacing it, it would pump any water. I scratched my head and blew out the line and still nothing, until I took the pump out and watched the impeller rotate BACKWARDS!!! I had wired it backwards!!! Changed the wires around and it worked just fine, I don't know if this could be the problem, but it's worth a quick check. Good Luck.

Ole

[BDR]

Are you trying to test at home? It is very hard to get the needed pressure in the pump out of a bucket. I installed one 2 weeks ago and same as you describe runs but dont suck. I brought it to the lake and when it completly filled it work just as it should.

------------------
Brian Rogers

Iceleaders
JR's Tackle
Catch-N Tackle and Bio-Bait

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[cd3]

if you do all this and it still doesnt pump water.check the end of the line inside the livewell.if its like most you can unscrew the airaetor end piece, and clean it good,, even a small piece of grass in there can plug it, it did on mine,, now i put a piece of screen on the intake end and secured with plastic tie to keep the junk out,works fine,,worth a look..

[dfv87]

good ideas guys thanks. hopefully it is the water pressure thing and it will work in the lake. Maybe I should check the wiring again also... not that I could have wired it backward???

anyway thanks for the ideas!

[klbowe]

Don't feel bad if it is wired backwards most of the pumps are color coded brown and black and they are easily swapped if working in tight dark quarters.

Is it a Rule or Mayfair pump ?

One more thing to check.
Make sure that there is a screen cap screwed over the water intake pipe or your live well will suck in weeds like mine did.

[BD110]

dfv87,
I read thru the posts real quick and one thing I did not read that you could try. While on the lake slip your motor into reverse and then turn on the pump. This will blow out your line and give you a little extra boost of water to the intake of the pump. This seemed to work for me very well.

Good luck, Tom (BD110)