Electrical Question (Rule Pump Cartridge)

[plusone876]

I have been without a freshwater wash down for a while (old rule pump cartridge crapped out a few years ago) and just recently purchased a new cartridge. Put the new cartridge in connected the wires via heat shrink connections and nada. Disconnected and checked the wires running from the power and they checked out. I figured that the pump cartridge was bad and sent it back. Once I received the new pump cartridge, I hooked up up, and nada. I direct connected the pump cartridge to the battery and the pump is fine. I'm no electrical expert so can anyone provide suggestions to try? Thanks beforehand.

[Capt Chuck]

More likely you have a grounding condition. You need to make sure you have no corrosion at the ground wire or attached wire butt connectors. Tracing 12V issues on a vessel is challenging

[plusone876]

Thanks for the quick response. I sanded the existing wires to get rid of any corrosion, reconnected the wires, and boom, it worked.

Thanks again.

[Capt Chuck]

If the wire you sanded had any black discolor at all, you need to replace it with some Tinned type like Ancor brand

[mikeyk]

You say you "checked the wires running from the power and they checked out." Did you use a meter or test light? You're obviously getting voltage but that does not mean there are adequate amps to operate the pump. A test light should illuminate with a bright white light, otherwise a dull orange light indicates a problem. I'd suggest looking at your fuse system for corrosion on the fuse terminals. To test the negative (ground) try connecting the pump ground with a jumper wire to a known good ground source.