Need the help of some electrical wizards

[Ya Dude]

could have a drain on skimmer cup with a hose to an overflow bucket.Have the shut off sensor in that.No need for wire disconnects just a small union for your hose to overflow

thats if you dont wanna deal with them wires anymore

[StirCrazy]

some float switches have an adjust ment for the range. a good picture of the switch would help.

Steve

[mike31154]

I rather doubt that where the float switch actuates has anything to do with your problem. Bottom line is, it does actuate so your pump should turn ON/OFF accordingly. Could be a bad crimp or connection as you suspect after having worked on the wiring. Get yourself a cheap multimeter and you should be able to troubleshoot the wiring to find out where the problem is. Pretty difficult to troubleshoot something like this online without seeing exactly how the thing is wired up.

And Ya Dude's advice about a drain and collection container is pretty good. That's what I use.

Also, not sure here, but if you're not using a relay and low voltage (12 VDC) switching to wire this up, you should. Switching 110 VAC through a float switch can be hazardous. I suspect you're ok, since you mentioned using a cell phone charger power supply to do some testing already.

[sphelps]

Did you take the actual float off the float switch? In which case you likely put it back on the wrong way. If not get a new float switch, they're like $2.

[Canadian]

Ok here's what I have:

When I said "cutting down the reed" I was referring to the black tube that extends the wires down to the float switch in the cup.

[banditpowdercoat]

Ya everything looks ok, like said earlier, make sure float os opn right and ya double check all connections.

[sphelps]

When you cut the reed or moved the switch did you take the float drum off the stick? My guess is still that the floating drum is upside down.

[mike31154]

After seeing the photo and re-reading your original post, I can only assume that you are switching 110VAC directly with that little float switch. Not a good idea. I would rethink/redesign the whole shebang using a low voltage switching circuit through a relay.

What's in the yellow box besides the receptacles and a fuse?

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by sphelps

When you cut the reed or moved the switch did you take the float drum off the stick? My guess is still that the floating drum is upside down.

that makes sence.. if it is a magnet on one end of the float and it is upside down it will operate in the middle instead of at the bottom.

Steve

[Canadian]

Originally Posted by sphelps

When you cut the reed or moved the switch did you take the float drum off the stick? My guess is still that the floating drum is upside down.

Originally Posted by StirCrazy

that makes sence.. if it is a magnet on one end of the float and it is upside down it will operate in the middle instead of at the bottom.

Steve

Ok now that all the dust has settled here's how things turned out after re-wiring things tonight: I re-spliced, soldered and crimped all the connections I had made. I plugged the cell phone charger back in and DAMN IT same problem. WTF!? Now, I don't recall ever removing the floating drum, in fact I know I didn't, but given there are two notches for the little stopper below the drum on the reed I moved it up and voila - fixed. It's running the skimmer perfectly again.

So thanks guys! You were right but about 30 minutes too late.

Originally Posted by mike31154

After seeing the photo and re-reading your original post, I can only assume that you are switching 110VAC directly with that little float switch. Not a good idea. I would rethink/redesign the whole shebang using a low voltage switching circuit through a relay.

What's in the yellow box besides the receptacles and a fuse?

That yellow box is the relay. It's not switching 110VAC directly. The whole float switch thing is a Coralvue low wattage float switch and is designed to run any number of low wattage devices. My BK Mini 160 is only rated at 18W. Here's a link to the high wattage model: http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=2573