left side balast not filling

[sully12980]

I have a 2010 LSV, last year first time out my front and goofy side bags would fill but not my port side. I was not sure what the issue was. I tore into the back of the boat to check impellar, it was fine then I poured water down that hose until I heard it run out of the bottom of the boat. So really I did nothing and it worked great the rest of the year. This year same thing happened, everything works except the port side. I have not worked on it yet but was wondering what is causing that and is there an easy fix? My dealor is 4 hours away so if there is something simple that I can do myself I want to do that first. This is my first v drive with sacks, I owned an I/O for 12 years before this one so I admit I have a little bit of a learning curve to go through.

[Dubwake21]

99% sure its your solenoid operated valve which can be replaced for 13 bucks anywhere that sells irrigation supplies (Lowes). Search the board for more details or PM me if you have questions. It is a cheap and easy 10 minute replacement.

[KSmith]

99% sure its your solenoid operated valve which can be replaced for 13 bucks anywhere that sells irrigation supplies (Lowes). Search the board for more details or PM me if you have questions. It is a cheap and easy 10 minute replacement.

2010+ do not have sprinkler valves, they are reversible impeller pumps, one per bag.

[Dubwake21]

Oops, sorry OP.

[KSmith]

Oops, sorry OP.

LOL No worries :-)

[KSmith]

As to the original question, my first guess is the pump is not priming and/or just sucking air.

In your driveway, disconnect the port bag, get a bottle of water, turn port ballast switch to drain and pour the water into the quick connect end of the hose. This should get the pump primed and push the water out the bottom. I'm thinking once the impeller gets wet it should work better once you launch next time. Turn off switch and reconnect ballast bag

When you do launch get up to about 20-25 and hit the port ballast switch to Fill. Hopefully it will draw the water in and fill the bag as expected.

Edit: The hose you are interested in is the lower 1" hose. not the upper drain hose

[sully12980]

Kraig,

Thanks so much, I feel as you do about it being a priming issue but I just wonder why the other two bags are working fine right off the bat and this one does not.

I will do as you say and I hope that is the simple trick that I am looking for. Thanks so much for your reply!

[KSmith]

Kraig,

Thanks so much, I feel as you do about it being a priming issue but I just wonder why the other two bags are working fine right off the bat and this one does not.

I will do as you say and I hope that is the simple trick that I am looking for. Thanks so much for your reply!


It is a good question I don't have an answer for. My center has been a weak link on mine, same issues as you have with it not priming easily and new for this year is it randomly not working. Sometimes it'll run (may or may not prime) other times it growls and quits then I get a two blink fault code, which eveidently means high amp draw which can mean any manner of things. Mine is acting like it has a flat spot on the windings. Did it to me again last night, so when I got home I hooked up my garden hose to an adapter I build to connect to the fill/drain line and turned on the garden hose. Then powered up the pump and is started working just fine. I guess the water pressure helped get the impeller spinning. Once it starts running it runs well, but the damn thing just won't start all the time. I think I'll have to pull the back locker panel and see what is going on with that pump...

[sully12980]

That sounds an awful lot like my issue just a different bag. I will most definately try pouring water in the lower hose. The pump runs and like I said has that 2 blink fault code. It makes perfect sense that I need to get water to the pump. I will know for sure on Saturday and I will be sure to let you know if it worked. Thanks so much.

S

[sully12980]

Just wanted you to know that I did what you recomended and worked like a charm. So I guess I know what I will need to do from now on when I am getting the boat out for the first time every year. Thanks for the reccomendation.

S

[loudsubz]

Some other tips:

1. While bringing the boat out of storage, take out the impellers, coat them and housing with petroleum jelly and re install. This will help lubricate them until they prime with water. This will also help with any damage that occur with a dry run.

2. Check all fittings for leaks or incomplete connections. I had an issue with the center bag filling up with air and having a hard time priming. Turns out the hose had a small crack and was sucking in air and filling up the bag with air bubbles. Took it to dealer and they "tried" to fix it by taking a piece of copper pipe and joint the 2 pieces of pipe together where the crack was. This made it worse because there were no barb fittings on the pipe and the seal allowed even more air to be sucked in. I replaced it with a 1" PVC barb fitting and its 100% sealed now.

3. Check your motor if your getting blink codes. If you check my other thread you can see that water entered the motor and really corroded everything. I was able to get it running by using my dremel to remove as much as I could but it still runs rough. Will be trying a Johnson pump to replace it. Not sure if it was a dealer issue or bad OEM design.

[sully12980]

Thanks man, will do! Thanks for the help