seaera integral head starts pumping then stops

[kingofcary]

Hi Folks .. issue with my seaera integral electric head on my catalina 350. Been working well until yesterday. Symptom is that I push the button for electric flush and normal flushing starts, however after approximately 4-5 seconds it quickly goes to a stop. If I try it again right away I get no action. If I wait a hour or so it tends to repeat same symptoms. It 'sounds' like a full normal flushing then degrades to a stop. Is this a symptom of pump motor issues ?
Thanks in advance for any advice. Boat is an '07 and likely original head but can't tell for sure.

Thanks again ... Dennis

[JPA Cate]

Back pressure on the way to the tank? [even a plugged vent line]

Pulling the battery down too far?

A.

[rslifkin]

Could be the motor dying, but could also be low battery or bad wiring. When it dies, check the voltage as close to the motor as you can (while pushing the button) and see what you get.

[kingofcary]

Hi Folks ... I have attached a pic of my Seaera Integral head. Note I detached all hoses including joker valve housing. As suggested I checked voltage at the motor where you can see it is connected via crimping. Checked it with all the hoses detached. Voltage is 12 as it should be. The motor runs 'extremely' slow like one rev per second watching the macerator blades. I thought by removing hoses this would exclude there being a venting issue. Does this imply motor bad ? I plan to disassemble remaining components since I have the thing apart ... thanks in advance ... Dennis

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by kingofcary

The motor runs 'extremely' slow like one rev per second

I'd assume so. It's an electric motor on a boat.

[peghall]

Give Raritan tech support a call. Unlike most "tech support" today, when you call Raritan and select the extension for tech support, you actually get a trained tech. If they're uber-busy, they may have to call you back, but they actually will if you leave your name and phone number. 800-352-5630


--Peggie

[kingofcary]

Esteemed Head people ...



Took a while to wrap things up on my end but Peggy and the forum in general were very helpful so I wanted to close the loop on the successful repair of my electric Sea Era Integral Pump head on my Catalina 350. To recap, the motor failed and being an integral pump this means I had no in or out flow. I disassembled the entire system and disconnected the motor. I ordered a new one from Defender. As is not uncommon, there was a bit of a “design change” in the motor since mine was installed probably in 2007. They moved the power wires from underneath the motor to the macerator end of the motor. The rationale was that this is more protected from moisture to prevent corrosion, etc. While inconvenient for me I suspect a good change in general. Based on Defender recommendation I drilled a hole in the existing pump housing to create access that way for the wire. New pumps have the hole thus avoiding user drilling. I reassembled the components and all is now good and have been operating a few months as normal. Included a pic below showing old and new motors. In general, a very doable 1st time head project. Thanks again to all … Dennis

[JPA Cate]

Thanks for letting everybody know, Dennis. Always nice to hear a project going well.

Ann