Jabsco water puppy not working?

[Ian_Edwards]

I have a Jabsco water puppy 23680-4003, which has stopped running,
It has a new impeller, the shaft turns freely and plenty of 12v power.
These seem like very simple pumps, anything further that I should check?

 

[Bodach na mara]

I had that problem earlier this year after I had been sorting out the after effects of the freshwater system freezing. The pump seemed sluggish and was not delivering much flow (cause later traced to leaks where push-fit couplings had pushed out) so I took it to bits, cleaned up the valves and diaphragm and reassembled it. When connected into the system it wouldn't rotate, then after switching on and off a few times again it would rotate but only slowly. I dismantled it again but in the process managed to drop one of the long screws into the battery compartment between the batteries. While I was moving it to get the cover off the battery compartment the other 2 screws went the same way. Despite removing the batteries I never did find the screws. In the interests of getting the boat ready for the season I bought a new pump from the chandlery.

The lesson learned from this (not for the first time) is to not try to fix something that isn't broken, especially if you don't really know how. I will be interested in answers to this problem so that I can see if I can do anything with the pump in my shed. Good looking but missing 3 long screws.

 

[Supertramp]

I have a very old jabsco pump emptying a small grey water tank. Operated via a relay. It was the relay that had failed. I have a small 12v battery I keep for testing and that allowed the motor to run when connected directly. No screws dropped as directly above the deepest part of the bilge.

Is there a fuse or relay anywhere and do they work?

Does it run with a direct wired 12v supply (if you have one)?

Does it run with the impeller removed and empty?

Is the impeller correctly fitted (clockwise rotation)?

Why did you fit a new impeller?

If its properly dead then check the motor connections.

Agree with Bodach na mara not to mess with things not yet broken!

 

[VicS]

I have a Jabsco water puppy 23680-4003, which has stopped running,
It has a new impeller, the shaft turns freely and plenty of 12v power.
These seem like very simple pumps, anything further that I should check?

How have you determined that there is "plenty of 12 volt power"?

If you have just checked with a digital multimeter be aware that a digital volt meter takes so little current that you can easily get a normal reading through bad connections. A test lamp is a better way of checking for good power supplies ........ or even better a lamp and voltmeter in parallel.

The DC motor will have brushes and a commutator. Maybe the brushes are worn or the commutator dirty. No parts are listed for the motor though and even the whole motor is out of staock according to the Jabscoshop website.

The motor could have burnt out of course!

 

[Ian_Edwards]

It's an impeller pump, so no valves.
I changed the impeller because it stopped working, I thought that the impeller might be damaged, it wasn't, but it was worn.
With no impeller on the shaft, I can rotate the shaft by hand.
To test it, I connected it directly to a 5kW hour LiFePo4 battery bank, via a new fuse. I didn't check the current drawn. I now have the pump at home, I can check the current with an old Mk 8 AVO analogue multimeter. That's virtually indestructible, if it's a short circuit, the fuse will simply pop up.
The pump is old, and has been very reliable, it lives in the bilge, but has never been submerged. It look in good condition for it's age.
I use it as a roving bilge pump, with a long inlet hose, which will reach all parts of the boat.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have a jabsco gear motor where one of the coils has burned out and depends where it stops sometimes will not restart but if I turn the motor a little it will restart

 

[Boater Sam]

It's an impeller pump, so no valves.
I changed the impeller because it stopped working, I thought that the impeller might be damaged, it wasn't, but it was worn.
With no impeller on the shaft, I can rotate the shaft by hand.
To test it, I connected it directly to a 5kW hour LiFePo4 battery bank, via a new fuse. I didn't check the current drawn. I now have the pump at home, I can check the current with an old Mk 8 AVO analogue multimeter. That's virtually indestructible, if it's a short circuit, the fuse will simply pop up.
The pump is old, and has been very reliable, it lives in the bilge, but has never been submerged. It look in good condition for it's age.
I use it as a roving bilge pump, with a long inlet hose, which will reach all parts of the boat.

Wrong impeller fitted?