Sea Ray 175 Sport, Automatic Bilge Pump?

K

Kilian

New Member
Jul 18, 2021
3
Boat Info
Sea Ray 175 Sport
Engines
Mercruiser
I own a Sea Ray 175 (I think 2009). The bilge pump works fine when I activate it with the dashboard switch but it does not start when there is water in the boat (even when it is several inches from the floor).
I have two questions:
1) Could it be that my boat doesn’t have an automatic bilge pump? Not sure if back then this was an optional add-on or not (I bought it used).
2) Any idea how I can fix this?

Yesterday I lowered my phone below the engine to take a picture of the pump (attached). There doesn’t seem to be a float switch next to it (as the manual indicates), but could it be that the float switch is inside the pump?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
 

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I could be wrong but i never seen a bilge pump with an internal float switch. You may a separate float switch.
My GUESS why you may not have one from factory? That size boat is not normally kept in a slip where it needs an auto monitoring switch.
If you are not leaving in water for the week when you gone, i wouldnt bother installing one.
 
Same as our 19' boat. Just the dash switch. And every boat we have owned that was smaller, only had the dash switch. It's not even wired for the float switch.

I also have not seen a pump with internal float switch.
 
My 2007 175 doesn’t have a float switch, but I bought mine used as well
 
This was one of those things that Sea Ray wavered on with their smallest boats (installing a float). Some of the years before your general year range and many of the years after there was a float switch. But in your general year range there was no float. What you pictured is a simple bilge pump. If you'd like to install one, you certainly could, though.

How does water get "several inches from the floor"? Generally speaking, this is not a good thing.
 
Thanks for all your responses. So I think where I went wrong is that I put the boat in a slip this summer (assuming it had an automatic bilge pump). Lately it has been raining a lot, so I couldn’t use the boat and it started to fill with rain water.
 
Kilian said:
Thanks for all your responses. So I think where I went wrong is that I put the boat in a slip this summer (assuming it had an automatic bilge pump). Lately it has been raining a lot, so I couldn’t use the boat and it started to fill with rain water.
Click to expand...
You don't use a cover? That will keep out 99% of the water. A cover also protects the interior from UV damage.
 
You need a float switch. You did not make a mistake keeping in a slip, we all do regardless of size. It allows you the freedom to boat whenever you want without being seen on a trailer ramp video on YouTube. Adding a float switch is easy, and great thing about being in a slip is most your slip neighbors will be glad to help you out. Pier folks look out for others on their pier. Its a tribal thing. Now see those guys over there on the other pier? Fk em! Kidding but only a little.
 
CARVER Flex-Fit™ PRO Boat Cover V-Hull Runabout, 17' - 19' | West Marine

Great covers. Went through the ice storms, snow, high winds and the rains of the PNW. And for less than $200. Get some of the suction cups that you can put on the hull and bingo, covered up.

Got the exact one for ours. Just be sure to get the poles and vent it. No rain or water gets in but the mold sure took hold over the winter.
 
You owners manual shows the pump directly wired to the battery for auto as well as the switch. You can check the fuse down near the battery, and make sure that the wire from the battery is getting power to the unit. Sometimes the floats get a hole in them and they don’t activate.
 
Thanks everybody, your responses are super helpful. I think I know what I’ll have to do now: I’ll invest in a cover, install a float switch, and will keep the boat in the slip. :)
 
SeaFlo sells a few pumps with built in float switches and ton of no name Chinese versions on Amazon too. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my boat in the water unattended without a backup bilge pump. These small pumps are all pretty failure prone and especially the float switches since they stopped using mercury in them. I installed 3 new Johnson bilge pumps with the ultima switches in my 270 over the winter I really like them so far. The smaller Johnson pumps use a motor cartridge you can change out tool free other than splicing the wires.
 
Quality bilge pumps do indeed come with internal float switches. Looking at your pic, I would suggest a whole new integral unit rather than an add-on. Not you may also need a new 3 position switch - on, off and auto.
 
For the record, I have an 08 175 Sport and there is no automatic bilge pump float switch. Only a dash operated switch that works fine.

I too believe Sea Ray did not expect their smaller boats to be left in a slip. Daily launchers
 
Interesting, the wiring diagram shows a three way switch on/off/auto. SR could have just eliminated the off position so that owners didn’t inadvertently turn them off?
 
Daniel1980 said:
For the record, I have an 08 175 Sport and there is no automatic bilge pump float switch. Only a dash operated switch that works fine.

I too believe Sea Ray did not expect their smaller boats to be left in a slip. Daily launchers
Click to expand...
We go to a number of smaller lakes that have several marinas. Typically, no boats over 20 feet, and a lot of the older style 17 or 18 SeaRays with 3.0 I/Os. Back in the day trailers were optional, so my guess would be that SeaRay expected their boats would be used in a variety of ways, or maybe they never considered anything.

Bilge pumps come plain (like the OP's pic above), with an integral float, and plain with an accessory float. My Whaler and my SeaRay have the integral variety. The former has an off-on-auto switch and the latter has an auto-on switch. My guess here is that the type of switch varied with the era, the design engineer and the lowest cost bidder.
 
Killian, if you want to install a float switch, it can be easy as getting a simple mechanical float switch and wiring it direct from the battery. Run one of it's wires to the battery and the other wire gets tied into the pump's power wire. Done.
 
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