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I had a scary experience at Busco this weekend when I was swimming along at a good clip and stopped as soon as my front tires hit dirt. My wake caught up to me and splash a good bit of water through the engine compartment vents in the back. This caused my back end to drop really, really low, and I found it difficult to swim the rest of the way out.
So, I decided to finally install a bilge pump. I decided to go automatic for instances just like that, choosing the Johnson Ultima "field effect" in a 500gph size (smallest they make). I wired it to a three-position rocker switch with automatic, off, and manual override settings. It is made specifically for bilge pumps and has a fuse integrated into the panel.
I wanted to put the pump in the rear, but it wouldn't fit in the chain channel with the position of the rear chains. It fit just fine in the front (there is much more chain clearance than the photo shows), since the front sprockets are offset more than the rear. I put it on the driver's side, since that side tends to sit lower unless I scoot way over to the right. I think that's because the drive pulley and clutch are on that side, but anyway, that's been my experience with my Max.
There was no room on the dash to put the switch, so I installed it on the side of the tub. I shielded all of the wires in plastic loom, making the whole thing look factory installed.
I did have to cut all of the mounting tabs off the plastic body of the pump to get it to fit. I couldn't use any of them anyway and just zip-tied it around the pump body and to the frame.
I ran the discharge hose under the frame and out the slot for the brake pedal. There is just enough room for a 3/4" hose without having to do any cutting. The discharge is to the left of the driver's side headlight, allowing me to see that the pump is doing its job. It also let me mount the discharge port very high without needing a lot of extra hose to allow the AATV body to be opened.
It took much longer that I thought it would, but I think I could do it again in 45 minutes now that I have everything figured out. However, I would either use a manual-only bilge pump or one with a standard float. I can't get the field effect switch to work with my finger, as it is supposed to, and I haven't had a chance to fill it with water to see if that worked. It still works just fine in manual override mode, though.
So, I decided to finally install a bilge pump. I decided to go automatic for instances just like that, choosing the Johnson Ultima "field effect" in a 500gph size (smallest they make). I wired it to a three-position rocker switch with automatic, off, and manual override settings. It is made specifically for bilge pumps and has a fuse integrated into the panel.
I wanted to put the pump in the rear, but it wouldn't fit in the chain channel with the position of the rear chains. It fit just fine in the front (there is much more chain clearance than the photo shows), since the front sprockets are offset more than the rear. I put it on the driver's side, since that side tends to sit lower unless I scoot way over to the right. I think that's because the drive pulley and clutch are on that side, but anyway, that's been my experience with my Max.
There was no room on the dash to put the switch, so I installed it on the side of the tub. I shielded all of the wires in plastic loom, making the whole thing look factory installed.
I did have to cut all of the mounting tabs off the plastic body of the pump to get it to fit. I couldn't use any of them anyway and just zip-tied it around the pump body and to the frame.
I ran the discharge hose under the frame and out the slot for the brake pedal. There is just enough room for a 3/4" hose without having to do any cutting. The discharge is to the left of the driver's side headlight, allowing me to see that the pump is doing its job. It also let me mount the discharge port very high without needing a lot of extra hose to allow the AATV body to be opened.
It took much longer that I thought it would, but I think I could do it again in 45 minutes now that I have everything figured out. However, I would either use a manual-only bilge pump or one with a standard float. I can't get the field effect switch to work with my finger, as it is supposed to, and I haven't had a chance to fill it with water to see if that worked. It still works just fine in manual override mode, though.
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