Sportster floor drain

[cordale]

Just took possession of a 2005 Sportster.

The floor drain next to the captains chair wasn't draining, so I got a soft cable to run down through the hole and it seemed as if something was blocking the flow, so that freed and the water drained. My question is, does anyone know if there is a check valve in that line somewhere, since the discharge is underwater most of the time I'm guessing??

 

[devonte007]

There should be no valve in that hose other than the ball supper valve in the jet pump tunnel on the outside of the boat. Have you checked that valve to make sure it is clean and that the ball moves freely within the cage? There should not be any other type of valve in that line, just at the end.

In my boat (2004) the drain line you are investigating is a simple plastic flex hose and it is mostly visible in the engine compartment. If you feel it is blocked it probably shouldn't be too difficult to detach one of the ends to flush or blow it out. Your boat may be a bit different. If you are pushing a pipe cleaner through from the passenger compartment you are going to need to remove the scupper valve in order to flush out the garbage, if not it will just get trapped there.

 

[cordale]

Interesting...I actually took that scrupper valve off, and didn't see the ball and the plastic piece was completely open.

I did a quick search, non sure why it came up on walmart's site, but:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/SeaChoic...75035&wl11=online&wl12=32739186&wl13=&veh=sem

$13 part...that's a no brainer.

 

[jeffrt]

Another question on the scupper valve...
When I'm on the water with my Sportster, I always end up with water on the floor, coming in from the drain. Is that normal, or is my valve shot?

 

[devonte007]

cordale: I think you may have found part of your problem, now just need to clear the hose if it is still stopped up. These scupper valves are universal and inexpensive, just make sure you get the correct size.

Jeffrt: No not normal at all for water to enter the floor drain. I suspect a problem with your scupper. I would pull it off to inspect. make sure the ball is clean and has no water in it, and the sealing surface is clean and not rotted.

When the boat is sitting in the water (no on plane) water/air pressure forces the ball to seal and no water comes in/out of that hose. when boat gets on plane the scupper is above the water so the ball falls open and water should drain freely from the cockpit.

 

[cordale]

I ordered this one from Amazon yesterday, supposed to be here today, hopefully right size. This one is a twist off/easy to clean type.

Flow-Max Ball Scupper

 

[jeffrt]

Thanks for the reply. I'll pull it off and check it out. Just got the boat last year, and always had an inch of water on the floor around the drain while sitting around. Will be nice to have a dry boat!

 

[cordale]

I agree...I'm the type of person that like to fix every little thing that is wrong, maybe a little OCD. That is why I enjoy forums like this and bouncing ideas off other people. I've had mine for 2 days now and ordered several things...latches, scooper, gotta replace/repair depth gauge that has the transducer broken off, gotta figure out why my gauges aren't working.

Lots of fun!! haha

 

[devonte007]

Glad to help fellas, we have the same boat and I am also a bit OCD about fixing and maintaining things. Most of the people on this forum actually are as well. I'll do the best I can to help you guys out.

As far as the problem with your gauges, I don't really know where to start. Electrical gremlins like this are the worst to track down and troubleshoot. I would consult the shop manual, sure there is a troubleshooting section for the gauges. Need to work your way upstream through the wiring until to find the cause. May also be bad gauges? Have heard that Faria makes the gauges for our boats and you can send them in for repair if necessary.

Good luck and let me know how all the fixes go!

 

[cordale]

Yeah i'm hoping its something simple like a bad ground...just strikes me as odd that all three aren't working.

Has to be a common denominator.

Just curious, I see you are in the Chicago land area? I'm in Central Illinois.

Do you have any dealers up there that work on sportsters?

I see there is a dealer in Wilmington.

 

[Lumps]

I agree...I'm the type of person that like to fix every little thing that is wrong, maybe a little OCD. That is why I enjoy forums like this and bouncing ideas off other people. I've had mine for 2 days now and ordered several things...latches, scooper, gotta replace/repair depth gauge that has the transducer broken off, gotta figure out why my gauges aren't working.

Lots of fun!! haha

I totally agree. It's too easy to let the little things slide then you end up with a boat where every thing is broken! It's way easier to just fix things as the go wrong

 

[devonte007]

Yeah i'm hoping its something simple like a bad ground...just strikes me as odd that all three aren't working.

Has to be a common denominator.

Just curious, I see you are in the Chicago land area? I'm in Central Illinois.

Do you have any dealers up there that work on sportsters?

I see there is a dealer in Wilmington.

Our boat stays in SW Michigan most of the summer so I have never visited any dealers in IL. When I first bought the boat I had some service done at Lake Effect Powersports in Benton Harbor, MI. As the years go by it is becoming increasingly difficult to find dealers to service these boats.