Highfield FCT console bilge pump constantly activating.

[Irish Rover]

I bought a new Highfield CL340 rib with FCT console and 20 HP Honda outboard in Croatia a few months ago when I was taking delivery of my new to me boat. It spends most of it's time hanging in the davit and I've not really used it much or spend much time exploring it - too many other new to me things to occupy me. From day 1 I've noticed the bilge pump activates momentarily about once every minute or two as it hangs there dry as a bone. I'm assuming this is not normal but before I go messing around with the wiring does anyone else have an FCT console and is the same thing happening.

 

[vas]

I dont, but maybe you can fill in some info, as pumps and their operation is pretty much universal!

what float switch does it have?
at a guess mechanical typical floater, can you tie a weight or something and make sure it doesn't move with the waves/wake in the marina and observe it's behaviour?
for sure it's a nice way to empty the rib battery!

so option 1 is that as it moves, the way it hangs from the davits activates the float switch (which imho is too far fetched!)
option 2 is that the float switch is electronic and there's an issue with the powersupply to the bilge pump subcircuit and it gives current to the system in an intermittent manner. In that case, each time there's current to the circuit, el.switch activates the pump for a few secs and arms itself so to speak.
cannot think of option 3 tbh...

 

[Irish Rover]

I dont, but maybe you can fill in some info, as pumps and their operation is pretty much universal!

what float switch does it have?
at a guess mechanical typical floater, can you tie a weight or something and make sure it doesn't move with the waves/wake in the marina and observe it's behaviour?
for sure it's a nice way to empty the rib battery!

so option 1 is that as it moves, the way it hangs from the davits activates the float switch (which imho is too far fetched!)
option 2 is that the float switch is electronic and there's an issue with the powersupply to the bilge pump subcircuit and it gives current to the system in an intermittent manner. In that case, each time there's current to the circuit, el.switch activates the pump for a few secs and arms itself so to speak.
cannot think of option 3 tbh...

Thanks. I don't know how I missed seeing your post until now .
I'm on the boat this morning and had a closer look at this pump. I looked it up on the seaflow website and apparently it's supposed to be doing what it's doing. Seems a daft system for a tender that sometimes sits on the davits for months on end without use.
SEAFLO 12v auto bilge pump 600 GPH marine pump

SEAFLO electronic sensing series bilge pumps turn the pump impeller every 2-1/2 minutes for approximately 0.5 second. If water is present, the pump will sense resistance and will continue to run until all water is removed

 

[vas]

blimey, never seen something like that, would put it in the v.daft ideas folder and would avoid at all costs...
sorry my reply was useless
guess you have two options:
remove and replace with a "normal" bilge pump (probably with integrated float switch which would set you back to 30-40euro judging from the prices I heard last week when I bought a manual one of the same brand)
leave as is, find if the tender has a breaker for the supply to this thing and turn it off when on davits and only remember to turn it back on when in the water (ie. forget it for ever off and be done with )

V.

 

[Irish Rover]

Yes. Totally daft. There's a push button switch on the console to manually operate the bilge pump, and a switch for the nav lights, all of which are disabled, along with the ignition, by a battery isolator switch. The bilge pump + sensor appear to be wired directly to the battery.
My son who does most of my electric/electronic stuff also favours replacing to pump so we'll probably do that when he visits next month.