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Danlt.
Got my Puma a little less than a month ago. Have to say this is the best fishing platform I have fished out of. Had an immediate Optimax problem and had to take the boat back twice until we finally diagnosed the problem (2007 Mercury coils). The bilge also quit working and my rail lights would not come on so figured I would also have the dealer (not Basscat dealer) take a look. Well they told me the rails did not light up (which they were wrong) and they fixed the bilge by cutting bilge wires from the A 10 and plugging them to a toggle switch they installed my dash (wasnt happy about having a new hole in my new boats dash). Anyway, I got the boat back and cleaned up the terminal block, tested the cut bilge wires from the A10 and I now had power on the bilge wires but the ACC still did not have power. I was thinking ACC on the A10 was faulty and since I could get power from the cut bilge wires. I took the orange (ACC) wire and put it on one of the cut bilge wire from the A10 to see if that would get the rail lights to work to try and verify if the A10 was in fact faulty. The rail lights now work on the A10 bilge switch, so Im thinking the A10 does need to be replaced. But now I can turn the rail lights on by the bilge button on the A10 without the master power being on. Did the bilge on the A10 always bypass the master power? Will I fry something by leaving it like this until I order a new A10? I must say those lighted handrails are way cool.
Thanks… I think I may of figured it out…A10 manual said if you put your bilge in auto, turn the main power off, auto bilge would still work…just thought it was weird… They did put a switch in the hole, but yea, I wasnt happy…thinking after getting the A10 replaced using the toggle as a disconnect for my power pole…nothing like having an extra switch in my dash that I really didnt need
Its hard to find good help anymore!
Danit, There are plenty of help topics under the FAQ section. We wont comment on actions by a tech which was trying to help is their own way. The A Ten should be hot all the time on the bilge and Auto will work without the master power. It is possible out have or had a connection issue on the AMP connection, though A Ten units can fail also. They are not prone to failure on a regular basis. There have been thousands of A Ten units now placed in operation since 2002 and obviously some will fail. If they were a continual problem the pages would be filled with user questions like yours. Obviously the ATen parts have proven to be reasonably reliable. It sounds like you have figured out the Acc switch should control your lighted rails. It could also be that the end connections or power supply line is broken loose. The light bars have a fundamental bullet or butt connection and the fine wires on LED lights can fail on the light bars. Good luck!BCB
BCB, when you mention AMP connection what are you referring too? The light rails now work on the bilge button on the A10. Thanks for your prompt reply on a Saturday morning, just another reason to buy a Basscat…
The AMP connector is on the rear of the A Ten unit. The only reason the Bilge switch operates the lighted rails is they messed with the wiring. It cant happen inside the A Ten unit itself. They crossed the wiring and thought the panel was bad hot wiring the bilges. Odds are the bilges are faulty and still work on a hot line without the same circuit protection. We would straighten out the wiring and test the A Ten on a good pump by using one of the aerators that is working. Same amperage parameters on these pumps and ou might try switching cartridges, though that does not change bad connections you could have. Everyone, Please check out the FAQ sections before jumping on fixing things. There is good information there and time spent there may save times like this.
Well, back to the drawing board. I guess thats one of the drawbacks in buying a used boat…definitely think at some point previous owner had an issue with the terminal block and it wasnt fixed correctly. Mine didnt look like one of the pics I found in the FAQ. Mine has no red wires and where I believe they should be doesnt seem right, as if the start of the block got fried.. I guess I need to visit a BCB dealer or get a wiring schematic to figure this mess out. Almost seems easier to start all over. Thanks all for trying to help. I wanna get this done right and it will be a learning experience that will help out down the road at some point.
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