Troubleshooting Guides

Series 2-4-9.

Please use the + signs to navigate through the Troubleshooting Guide. They are intended to hide information that is not relevant to you.

Throughout this guide, we frequently suggest resetting power to the Arid Bilge System. In practice this may mean cutting power at the source by, e.g., going to the circuit breaker since the unit itself does not have an On/Off switch.

Note: If you own a Series 1, please navigate to the Troubleshooting Guide for Series 1.

I Hear An Alarm

Note: If you own a Series 4×4 with exactly 4 intakes, your system is not equipped with an audio alarm but will behave otherwise as written below. In lieu of the alarm on these systems, the intake valves will click on and off as zones light up on the faceplate.

If you immediately get a 90-second alarm with the pump running after powering on the unit or after doing a power reset: this means the collection chamber is full and the unit is unable to discharge the contents

Disconnect the discharge and put a bucket under the discharge elbow fitting.

If water comes out when the system is running, this indicates a problem outside of the unit

You should check the external discharge ball valve (e.g., during winterization, the valve was closed, and then not reopened in the springtime).

If no water comes out when the system is running, this indicates a problem inside the unit

To verify, open up the unit to look at the Direct05 processor (Series 2 requires removal of the back cover/mounting plate while Series 4 & 9 can be accessed by removing the front plate which is usually attached with Velcro). If the X4 light is lit, then please send the unit in for service.

If you get the 90-second alarm with the pump running after the unit has run a few cycles: your intakes are likely clogged. This could be due to 1 of 3 scenarios: a pickup is clogged (most likely), the tubing is clogged, or the intake valve is not opening. First, check the pickups

Visually check all your bilges to see if any of your pickups are sitting in water or another substance.

If only 1 pickup is in water and the rest are dry, then remove that pickup from the intake tubing and clean it. Reset power to restart the unit. Come back in an hour and recheck the pickup. If the water is gone or decreased and you no longer hear an alarm, then you’ve solved the problem. If you want to confirm that this pickup was the problem, reset power to restart the unit and listen for an alarm while the pickup is disconnected and the end of the tube is suspended in the air. If the system runs through all the zones without alarming, then that pickup was indeed the problem

Remove the pickup by depressing the ring around the brass fitting and pulling the tubing upwards. Clean the pickup by using degreaser on the sponge pad and back-flushing water through the brass fitting with a garden hose. You can also swap it out for one of your spare pickups or purchase a new pickup from us.

If any of the pickups are coated with another substance, e.g., slime or sawdust, clear the obstruction and clean the pickup

Clean the pickup by using degreaser on the sponge pad and back-flushing water through the brass fitting with a garden hose. You can also swap it out for one of your spare pickups or purchase a new pickup from us.

If the system is still alarming with pump running after you checked and cleaned the pickups, and bilge water levels remain the same, the intake tubing itself is the next most likely problem. To diagnose, follow one of the two methods below:

If you tested the problem zone by disconnecting the intake tube and did NOT hear an audible hiss from that zone, the intake valve is likely stuck in the Closed position. The unit should be sent in for service.

If your zones are labelled on the unit side, or you have some other visual cue to help you identify which tube goes to which pickup, disconnect the problem intake tube from the side of the unit

If you have brass fittings, pull the tubing out as you depress the ring around the brass fitting. Reset power to restart the unit. It will cycle through zones from top to bottom, and when it reaches the disconnected zone it should produce an audible hiss. This means the system is working correctly but the Polyethylene intake tubing is crushed, kinked, or clogged. Replace that full length of tubing.

If you have pinch valves instead of brass fittings, carefully slide the soft silicone tubing off of the harder Polyethylene tubing. Be very careful not to stretch the soft silicone tubing or pull it out of the side of the unit. Reset power to restart the unit. It will cycle through zones from top to bottom, and when it reaches the disconnected zone it should produce an audible hiss. This means the system is working correctly but the Polyethylene intake tubing is crushed, kinked, or clogged. Replace that full length of tubing.

If your zones are not labelled and you can’t figure out which tube goes to which pickup, please try some other method to match them up and then return to the previous section

You can make a quart of dyed water with food coloring and use this to identify any of the dry zones. By process of elimination and by labeling each tube at the unit side, you will eventually find the problem zone. You can try tracing the tubes that emerge from the unit to get a sense of direction (as long as the installer has not bundled too many tubes together).

If you hear the alarm but not the pump running at the same time, then the unit will likely need to be sent in for service. Please submit a repair request or give us a call to confirm.

I Do Not Hear An Alarm

As a first step, please confirm that there is power to the unit. To verify that there is power to the unit, reset power to restart the unit. You should hear the pump starting up a few seconds after power was reapplied.

If you don’t hear the pump, then check the indicator lights

Look at the indicator lights on the Direct05 processor inside the unit (Series 2 requires removal of the back cover/mounting plate to view the lights, while the lights in Series 4 & 9 units can generally be viewed without removing any cover). If the green “Power On” light is lit, then your unit has power. If you can’t easily locate the green “Power On” light, you can also look for the red X0 light (sometimes labeled “low vacuum”).

If no indicator lights are on, then check the the gray terminal blocks immediately below the processor inside the unit for power using a multimeter DC voltage scale

Locate the set of gray terminal blocks that are immediately below the Direct05 processor. Depending on your unit, you may have between 2 and 4 smaller gray terminal blocks lined up, followed by 1 large gray terminal block with a black inset.Using the multimeter DC voltage scale, probe a screwhead of any of the smaller terminal blocks with the negative probe while the unit is connected to its power source. Then place the positive probe on the screwhead on the right side of the black inset of the large gray terminal block (the side closest to the interior wall of the box). If that combination shows no power, then you are not providing power to the Arid Bilge System from the boat and should check wiring, fuses, breakers, etc.

If the right side of the large terminal is live, then move your positive probe over to the left side of the black inset. If this combination shows no power, then the fuse is blown. Replace the fuse. We typically use an Eaton Bussman GMA- 3- R fuse. Grab the locking tab on the black inset and lift up and out to change the fuse.

If the combination shows live, e.g., that the fuse is good, then the unit should be sent in for service because the processor likely needs to be replaced.

If you have a 4-zone, your system is not equipped with an audio alarm. Navigate to the section above titled “I Am Hearing the Pump and the Alarm Together.”Normally, your Arid Bilge System will run through every one of its zones and then shut off for 3 hours if the bilges are relatively dry. However, if you’re hearing the pump running for multiple cycles continuously for over an hour, then you could have a slow leak. Visually check all of your bilge pickups to see if there is a trail leading to the source of a slow leak. Consider fixing the leak ASAP.

Repair Request Form

If the troubleshooting guide instructed you to send your unit in for service, please click here.

Repair Request