SA ballast pumps suddenly not working

[eder10986]

So we have a new to us 2017 Supra SA 400. We’ve been out three times this year with zero issues, however, today I could not get the ballast to fill no matter how hard we tried. We were just out 5 days ago and they filled and emptied fine. We have not had a freeze or anything of the sort since. Boat screen reads as if they were filling but there was no water movement in or out. This is what I did to troubleshoot to no avail

1 - turned boat off and back on and tried again
2 - tried to Fill while on plane and switched manual switches on and off several times
3 - let an entire cycle of filling and emptying occur although no water was moving
4 - turned perko to off for several minutes and tried again
5 - looked under dash and didn’t see any obvious fuses blown
6 - same as above under observers seat
7 - engine and music off with acc on to see if the pumps were turning on. Pumps never turned on or off regardless of whether it was the screen or the manual switches.
8 - checked thru hull for any damage or clogging after we left and it was clean
9 - checked all hoses for leaks or kinks and found none.

All of ideas friends. Any help would be amazing.

To be honest, I don’t even know where the pumps are or if there are other breakers or fuses I didn’t find.

It wasn’t like one turned on and others didn’t. Literally no pumps ran today. Frustrating and disappointing.

One last note to see if anyone has a fix - my water temp sensor seems to be off too. Continues to read - 50 when water temps are well above 65 here now.

Thanks in advance.


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[larry_arizona]

Did you try the breakers in the helm cubby?

If they all stopped running, it’s likely a breaker.

Check your manual for pump breaker location.

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[eder10986]

Thanks Larry. Will check tomorrow on this. Hoping it’s a simple of a fix.


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[eder10986]

Forgive me for asking... what exactly is the helm locker?

And what am I looking for? As I mentioned above I looked under the dash for any obvious signs of disconnected wires or blown fuses but looks like I cold have missed something


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[larry_arizona]

It’s actually the storage area under the observers seat, same area your amps are located.


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[eder10986]

Found the culprit. Fml.

Two main breakers. One under dash and one under observers seat. All good.

One ballast breaker hidden in engine compartment under this ledge I removed for access. It was tripped.

Even drained a couple hundred lbs of water in driveway I didn’t know we’re in the bags.

Learning this boat daily. Thanks for the help. Now that I know where the breaker is I won’t need to remove compartment to reach it.

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[eder10986]

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[larry_arizona]

Glad you found it, now would be a good time to figure out the condition of your ballast pump impellers.

Do you know when they were last replaced?


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[eder10986]

Good thought. I was told at 300 hrs. Bought at 325 and I’m at like 340. No documentation from dealer though. So not a bad time for sure.

Maybe another stupid question, but where are they located [emoji38]

I know what they look like just don’t know where they are.


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[larry_arizona]

Good thought. I was told at 300 hrs. Bought at 325 and I’m at like 340. No documentation from dealer though. So not a bad time for sure.

Maybe another stupid question, but where are they located [emoji38]

I know what they look like just don’t know where they are.


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Not sure on a 2017, Supra seems to move them frequently. You have 3 pumps, try and look in the floor access to the center drain plug for the front one. Rears might be visible through trans hatch.

I will say on the 21SA all 6 pumps are up front and accessible through the center drain plug access and by removing the in floor cooler.


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[Dank]

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....Had that exact same issue on a 2018 Max once.. but to make matters even worse, when I reached in there to flip/reset the switch, I flipped it the wrong way and broke the plastic housing...(broke it right off) -- so I was pretty much stuck on the lake with a boat full of ballast and no way to drain it. :mad:

pretty much thought I was screwed.. but then phoned a friend while I was on the lake who said to just jump the two together, bypass the fuse for now.. .and that's what we did and it worked. Saved the day of surfing, and then when we got off the lake ordered a new fuse /switch of amazon, installed it and we were good to go. Bought an extra to keep in the boat too..

ugh!


That being said - if that was ever the case in the future, is there a way to safely (manually)? drain your ballast in such a situation? or?

I was glad to have fixed it.. but never thought about what if it didn't work while we were out on the lake?

[schwan]

I guess you could just open a fitting and let the bilge pump do the work...

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