Livewell is blowing fuses

[24-7Fishing]

Anyone know what the problem might be or where I should start??

[Albe]

Sounds like your livewell pump may be plugged up or the motor has shorted out. Most pumps can be opened up to check the impeller and remove any obstructions, if there are any. Most pumps you can also just remove the motor by turning the motor housing and lifting it off of the impeller housing. If you can do that with yours, turn on the pump when it is removed to see if it will run without blowing the fuse. If it does, the impeller is stuck tight.

[Burr]

X2 - it's most often an obstruction, or debris that has built up around the pump impellor of shaft. Take it apart, clean it, turn it on prior to reinstalling. Check shaft bearings, assure the motor or wires are not shorted. Replace if needed, but it's typical that replacement is not needed.

Sometimes pumps get stiff after storage. They just have to run for a while to loosen up again. Make sure your fuse is sized properly. At times I've used a bigger fuse to mimimize nuisance blown fuses.

[TomP.]

Had a freinds boat that was having the same issue boat shop could not find the problem I tracked it down to a bad rocker switch controlling the livewell.

[codeblue]

Definitely check the pump cartridge----just changed mine out as the motor filled with water for some reason----this could easily cause a short

[REW]

24-7

The problem is likely to be a bad pump, obstruction in the pump, or similar issue.

Since many livewell pumps are difficult to access, you might try putting a good powerful shop vacuum on your livewell inlet. If you do have an obstruction in your livewell, it may be possible to suck it back out of the livewell inlet.

A very common problem for livewell pumps, if you do not have a screen over the inlet is to suck in floating leaves or other vegetation.

If you do not suck anything out of the pump, and you still have the blowing fuse problem, you need to remove the pump and check it out.

On pumps that do not have removable cartridges, you will have to remove the livewell hose. To make the job easier, and to minimize breaking the livewell pump - use a heat gun to soften the livewell hose and make it easier to slip off of the pump. Just loosen the clamp and slide it back up the hose Then, use the heat gun to gradually heat the hose and make it more flexible. Test from time to time as you heat and when the hose is soft and pliable - pull it off.

If you try to pull it off without heating the hose, you run a very big risk of breaking part of the pump housing.

REW

[ffishman]

More than likley its the pump. Some of the older ones were one piece and you had to replace the whole thing. If your is like that, now is the time to put a new pump in, with a replaceable cartridge. That way in the future, if the problem ever occurs again, you can replace the cartridge easily.