Axis Wakeboard Boat Forum

I had manual ball valves (photo 3) on the drain hose for both rear tanks to allow me to fill my 750's all the way. I kept them closed at all times until it was time to drain my sacks. It worked great thanks to Eds advice, but I wanted to make it a hands free operation. So I decided to change out the manual valves with electronic valves (photo 2), connecting them to my ballast rocker switches so that I never have to turn a valve again.

Cost: Approx $80

2 12v electronic brass valves 3/4", set at NORMALLY CLOSED (they only open when they have power to them)......delivered = $68 (photo 1)
1 50' section of 16g "lamp cord", low voltage wiring, at home depot = $8 (photo 6)
4 female electric connectors 12-10 guage = $4 (photo 4)

Everything else I already had. If your replacing manual valves, it is a lot faster, if starting from scratch, you will need more materials.

1. Replace/install valves anywhere on drain hose (preferably behind that carpeted cover with the LED on it in each locker)
2. Connect lamp cord to the electronic pumps (mine used wire butt connections x2 each pump)
3. Run lamp cord across back of seats to starboard side locker, attach cords to the electrical harness that runs up to the dash. You can fish the wires to the front of the boat easily by using the access hole over the cup holder/speaker pocket, then again in the ipod cubby under the throttle. Finally there is a real big hole in the fiberglass behind the dash where all the wiring from the whole boat seem to exit.
4. Locate ballast switch 8 pin connector housings from behind the dash (photo 5). Rear-Left ballast connector housing is the 3rd from the right. Rear-Right ballast connector housing is the 4th from the right (in the picture, this housing has been removed so all you can see is the back of the rocker switch and its 7 flat pin male connectors.)
5. Remove one ballast connector by pinching the housing with a finger on top and your thumb on the bottom. You will need to squeeze hard to release the clip on the thumb side of the housing. The housing has 8 slots (photo 9). Top right= 2 black wires, grounds for both fill and empty pumps. Left top = 1 brown wire, the power wire to the EMPTY pump. Below that is 1 red/orange power wire. Bottom left = 1 brown wire, the power wire to the FILL pump.
* same for the rear-left connection except my power wire was green. (I used a voltmeter to find the hot wire and pump power wires)
6. From the front of the housing, slide a very thin flat head screwdriver or something similar in between the FLAT SIDE of metal connector and the plastic housing. This will push the metal tab from the connector flat so that you can pull the connector out the back of the housing. (Look at PHOTO 4, if you look closely at the top connector, you may see the flat side of the connector is up and there is a small tab bent up.) Pull out the ground connector with the 2 ground wires, and the top connector with the brown wire.
7. Cut and strip these 3 wires. Strip your valve wires. Take one female flat connector and strip the plastic insulation off (photo 4 you will see 3 female connectors, top is original, middle is new connector, bottom is a new connector with insulation stripped). Put 2 pump grounds and 1 valve wire into connector and pinch it so its secure (photo 7). Do this with the brown "drain"pump wire and the other valve wire.
8. Put connectors back into the housing as you found them. (photo 11)
9. Connect housing back onto the rocker pins, it will 'click' into place. The 2 new connectors in the housing DO NOT HAVE the metal tab that holds the connector in, so you WILL HAVE TO push the connectors on all the way from the back of the housing. Just push them in by grabbing the wires.
10. Now toggle your rocker to "drain" or "empty" and you should hear a "pop" sound of the solenoid opening the valve AND your drain pump turning. If not, make sure your new connections are on correctly. check to see that your "fill" pump turns on as well.
11. Repeat this with the other side, then use zip ties to organize your 4 new wires.
12. go shred....

pics continued

pics continued

last one

this is great, 1st on my list for next year!! Thank you!!

But what about this....

don't you think you can just tap into the empty pumps +,- wires in the back??

seems like the same thing without fishing all that wire and messing with your rocker. that pump is just under the rear tank plastic and the wires run down the right side. you could tap into them behind that LED pannel just under the empty port.

what you think?

absolutely. That would be easier and faster. I thought of going that way until I saw the wiring on my pumps. they are all shrink wrapped and sealed so well that I did not want to mess with it, especially so close to where water can go. I then thought of just splicing into the wire higher up where it would be out of the water for sure, but I honestly know very little about electrical/wiring and did not know what kind of draw I would get/need from those valves. I wanted to have separate wiring with bigger than needed guage wires.

On my friends 09 A22, he has problems with the rear pnp, when the 750 get about 50 full the water begins to pour from the drain ports on the side of the boat and never seems to fill the 750's to the point of it dumping water out through the vent tube on the 750.

I am guessing this is why you went with a manual, now electronic ball valve system on the drain hoses.

Does the weight of that much water in each corner force its way through the pump housing even though the drain pump is off?

Thanks,
Wayne

yes, this is exactly what happened to me. I knew it was going to happen before I got my boat because my buddy Ed (ELC on here) had that happen to him when he tries to completely fill his 400's in the rear. He is the one who came up with the ball valves. I followed suit, then took it to the next level and added the electronic ones. He and I still have a date to install the electronic ones on his boat, as soon as he invites me up to havasu

The pressure of the weight of the water in the sacks above the hard tanks causes the incoming water from the fill pump to go to the path of least resistance which amazingly is through the drain pump (even though it is off) and up and out of the drain hole.

When filling my 750 rear sacs I notice the water coming out the drain as well BUT the 750's still fill and hold water. I'm sure if I did the same ball valve mod the 750's would fill much faster.

AJ, are you filling the 750 sack first and letting it gravity feed into the hard tank?

I am filling the hard tank and overflowing into the bottom of the 750 sack, and this is how Ed does it too.