bilge switch help

[Rob Rondini]

it apears my old float switch on my aft bilge stopped working so i replaced it. after wiring the new one just as the old one it still does not work.
this pump is hard wired to the battery with a fuse.when i hit the toggle switch on the console the pump works, when i lift the float switch-nothing.
i am not real good at trouble shooting electrical components but the best i can tell is the line coming from the console is spliced to one from the pump and one from the float switch.the other line from the float switch goes to the battery with a fuse. the only issue i see is that this line goes to the negative terminal. the diagram that came with the pump shows this line going to the positive terminal, but when i go positive the fuse blows. max amp fuse recomended for switch is 14. the fuse installed has always been a 10 amp.
if anyone can see what i'm doing wrong please let me know. after this i would like to hard wire my forward bilge to the battery. thanks in advance.

[jazzrockskier]

Well if it's anything like mine, the panel switch has two positions Auto and Manual. In the auto position it sends 12VDC to the float switch so the pump will run when water gets in the boat. There are several possibilities 1. The panel switch is bad 2. The wire connection from the panel switch to the float switch is open. Broken connection broken wire. You will need a test lamp or Meter to troubleshoot the circuit. Test first to see if there is power at the float switch, then work backwards towards the panel switch. also lift the float switch and look for power at the pump. Also look at the pump manufactures website for help.

[Rob Rondini]

thanks jazz for the suggestions. i will give it a shot.