# rule bilge pump wiring



## duffyM

I have a rule 500gph fully automatic bilge pump with no wiring diagram it has 3 wires ,one black, one brown, and one brown with a white stripe, the brown goes to hot, the black goes to ground,doe''s anyone know where the other one go''s .thanks in advance....


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## Jeff_H

You should have a bilge pump switch that is marked automatic and manual. One of the wires on the pump is wired directly to the motor and the other runs through the float switch to the motor. These two wires are run back to the legs switch. and the switch wired either through its own breaker or fuse directly back to the battery or else run to a breaker on your panel. 

The switch typically includes a wiring diagram although I found that I had to sketch one for myself in order to keep the color coding straight as I snaked the wires around the boat.

Jeff


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## TSOJOURNER

i believe the other wire is meant to go to a manual on switch. if you put power to that one it will start the pump.
it is kind of redundant since if you turn the power off then on to the automatic side the pump will start anyway.
eric


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## duffyM

thank you for your replys you have been helpful.


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## TSOJOURNER

The third wire indeed goes to the manual/automatic switch. If you don''t have a switch, you can terminate this wire with a waterproof connector (keep it out of the water just in case though).

As a side note, you should run the power wire directly to your battery or the hot side of your battery switch. This is very important, as you want your pump to be operable when the battery is switched off. Don''t forget to include an inline fuse of the appropriate amperage as close to the battery as possible. The Rule 500 draws about 2 amps and should therefore have a 2.5 amp fuse. 

If you really want to get fancy, you should wire in a bilge pump cycle counter so that you know how many times your pump has turned on when your gone. This will tell you if the leaks in your boat (all boats leak) are getting worse. A seperate high water alarm is also nice to have.


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## TSOJOURNER

*It's Always Better to Check with the Manufacturer*

*Wiring a Computerized or Rule-Mate Bilge Pump *
Brown (Positive) wire will connect directly to the Automatic side of the panel switch or power supply, if the Brown wire is connected directly to power supply it needs to be properly fuse protected. The Black (Negative) wire will connect to the Negative battery terminal or Negative Buss bar." /><O></O>
Wire the Bilge pump directly to power supply, this will ensure the pump has power if the power system on boat has been isolated.<O></O>
<O></O> 
<O>You'll get a lot of expert advice here, but I would always check the manufacturer's web site in the future.</O>
<O></O> 
<O>Keith</O>
<O></O>


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## sailingdog

Brown-

You are responding to a post that is over SIX YEARS OLD... please don't do that. If he hasn't fixed the bilge pump by now, he's probably sunk and turned into a merman.


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