I guess I'll have to go to West Marine and look at one of the pumps on the
shelf to see how to test it. It's self contained but I don't know where the
float is. Now that it's installed I can't see it. The pump sits under the
engine and I can't get a good look at it. It just fits under the engine and
I can't fit my head down in there - just my hand.
(I've got a 19' bowrider with a 3 liter Mercruiser I/O. The engine box is
just big enough for the engine.)

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...

Bill Andersen wrote:
How can I test the automatic function of my bilge pump/switch?
I installed a 750 GPM West Marine bilge pump conrolled by an
Automatic/Off/Manual switch.
The pump works in the Manual position. How can I check it in the
Automatic
position?
I didn't wire the Automatic function correctly the first time: I flooded
the
bilge at the wash rack (trailered boat) and the pump didn't work, even
though the switch was in Automatic. I selected Manual and it drained the
bilge quickly.
I really don't want to have to trailer it to the wash rack and flood the
bilge again if I don't have to.

I didn't see a mention of a float switch?

In order for the pump to work "automatically" it has to know that there
is a sufficient depth of water in the bilge that it should begin
running. Do you have a float switch? If so, just lift it up manually to
simulate rising water in the bilge and see if the pump turns on.

If this particular pump doesn't rely on a float switch (and by far and
away most do), there still has to be some type of sensor system. Trip
that sensor and observe whether the pumping begins.