Supra Ballast bag problems

21 V Supra 06... the front ballast bag does not fill... and one of the rear bags leaks at the bag/fitting connection, is that repair able or what's up? Any help would be a friend in deed!

For the front bag, turn on the switch and make sure the pump turns on. Check the fuses under your dash for the solenoid. If all is good check for kinks in the hose. For the leak, unscrew the fitting from the bag and use thread sealent and screw it back in.

You probably have the sprinkler valve setup. Make sure the sprinkler valve is opening to allow water to enter your front bag. There is a manual switch on the valve that can cause the valve to close permanently, make sure it is not in the closed position.

If all your other bags are filling, then the pump is working and I would bet the valve has failed or is stuck in the closed position. If you try the manual switch and still have problems, check for a kink somewhere, and if still no luck you will probably have to replace the valve. Also check to make sure the electrical connection did not come loose.

For under $300 you can eliminate the sprinkler valves and increase your fill times by 50%. Supra makes a very nice boat with a crappy ballast fill system. If you need more information I posted a complete write-up on the Supra site for the "Tsunami 800 upgrade". You will have a seperate pump for each bag, its so much better. And you will eliminate the sprinkler valves which in my opinion are not a great set-up.

(Message edited by fman on August 10, 2009)

It's easy to like this site when solid answers come so quickly! Thanks both Jon and Travis, it will take me til next weekend to try these fixes out (although the sac is going home with me). Spent too much time trying to connect to a dealer...Like this so much better.

We've helped a few people (including Travis) resolve issues with the factory ballast system. Give us a ring and we can troubleshoot what's going on with your system and get you back up and running without spending too much cash.

Jason, Travis- I'm having a problem with my 08 22ssv's ballast... mabey you can help? When I turn on either the fill switch or the empty switch on any of the three ballast switch's, nothing happens and all the switch lights light up??? I live in alaska and we have no dealerships and mine in Pheonix wasnt much help and hadnt ever had this problem... Any ideas?

(Message edited by akdivision on August 11, 2009)

the two things that you can check is the reset buttons by each switch or the 6 fuses under the dash. the fill fuses are 5 amp and the empty, i believe, are 3 amp

Have you checked to make sure your bag isn't air locked? I had this problem with my left rear bag and my tech just told me to run around 20 mph with the fill going and the air lock will kick out. Sure enough it did. You should be able to pull that cooler up above the v-drive unit (if you have the sprinkler system), flip the fill switch on each of the 3 bags and hear a quiet click for each one of them at the solenoid if they're working.

Here's an '06 21v ballast problem. I usually fill the front sac first, then the backs. If the front is filled and I turn off the switch then go to fill the backs, it also fills the front sac which in turn dumps the water out of the front sac drain. Also when we're on a big lake trying to get to the other end, I won't have the sacs filled at all for fuel consumption reasons. By the time we get to where we're going the sacs are full even with the switches off. I've checked for trash in the pumps to see if they were being forced open, but they're clean. The only way to stop it is to shut off the entire system with the lever on the hull to not allow any water to come in.

(Message edited by dudeman on August 12, 2009)

Peter,

I would check to make sure you are getting power to the RULE pump first. If it is turning on, next would be to check your sprinkler valves to make sure they are allowing water to enter your bags. You should have seperate pumps for your drains, make sure they are coming on. If you turn the switch on and nothing is happening with the pump check your fuse panel under the dash (3/5 amp fuses, as Mark Manzo mentioned already).

If you get the pump running, another trick with the stock system is to crack open the filter and give a 1/4 turn while the switches are on to eliminate any air pockets. I did this a couple times and it helped.

With my old stock system I would also hit the fill buttons while driving to get them to prime, this is when water is being forced into the system with the scupper intake on the bottom of the boat. Once you get the prime, it will be good until you take the boat out the water.

Give this a try and get back to us, hopefully this gets you going in the right direction.

P.S. For under $300 you can eliminate all sprinkler valves, bags filling when they are not supposed to, and the system fill everytime 50% quicker when you hit the fill switch. I wrote up a Tsunami 800 ballast upgrade on the Supra website. You might want to take a look, well worth the $300.

All the '08 systems and older are not efficent and always have problems, in '09 they went to the impeller pumps on each bag which works much better.

Randy flip the black switch on your front pump. The owners manual talks about this...

The switch is actually on the solenoid valve for the front bag, not the fill pump.

As Travis wrote, the '08 and earlier system is plagued with multiple issues that impact it's ability to perform. There are lots of tricks that will help make things work better, but ultimately eliminating the weak links is really the only way to fix all of the issues.

mikebu, I've tried the switch in both positions. Still the same problem. I'll be out for 8 weeks with shoulder surgery at the end of September. Fixing the ballast system is on the list on the layoff.

Randy,

I have a write-up on the Supra site, "Tsunami 800 ballast pump upgrade", its a step by step on how I did my system. You wont be disappointed, well worth the day of labor and $300 worth of parts.

fman's write-up:

http://www.supraboats.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=4595

Thanks Travis. I will definitely be upgrading during my recovery period.

Travis- Nothing turns on when you hit any switch... Not filling or emptying. I have power coming into the switch's. I can hear the relay for the main fill pump "click" when you flip any of the three fill switch's. The whole system seems to be "locked" up. My theory is at some point between the switch panel and the pumps or the valve system, something is stuck open. To me thats the only way I could be getting power back through my switch's to light them all up and to cancel out the switch functions. I know my switch's arnt bad cause I unplugged the harness and plugged it in to my buddys moomba and it worked. Im not a 12v dc guy... and I'm stuck

Peter,

Ok, I am little confused, does the RULE pump actually turn "on"? you said you hear the fill pump "click" when you flip any three fill switches.

If you are turning on your fill switches and you hear the pump click and nothing is happening I would think the pump is not working properly. You should hear the pump running, which if I understand you correctly does not sound like it is. If I were you, I would try a different pump. If it is getting power to the pump, but the pump is not turning "on" just clicking I would say you have a faulty pump.

If power is going to the pump and its not turning "on" everything from the pump back is working properly. Now if you replace the pump and it turns "on" and you still have problems filling your bags, the next blockage would be the sprinkler valves.

Clear as mud???? Hope this helped you out a little...

(Message edited by fman on August 13, 2009)

Travis- nope... I hear the Relay(sp) for the main pump at the switch panel "click". Not the pump itself. On the switch panel you have three toggle switch's...up for fill, down for empty. Now all three fill switch's are all tied together with one relay which sends power to the "fill" pump. Then depending on the switch flipped, also sends power to that particular sprinkler valve to allow water to fill that bag. Where im stuck is im not sure how or why or where I would be getting power back through the system to "lock" everything up and cause the lights of all three switch's, both fill and empty to light up... Nothing turns on... Ive checked everything I can think. Every fuse, harness, and pump. My next step is to ohm test my sprinkler valves and see if one of those are locked or ohm'ing out...

you may need to prime the pump hole. when your boat is in the water turn on you ballast switch then get the boat up to speed around 25....this will force water into the ballast intake and will create the suction process.

Peter,

Got me on this one.... have not heard of this problem before. I will say it again, get rid of the sprinkler valves and you will be a much happier Supra owner. Those things are junk, and having one pump is also not a good setup.

Good luck.... sorry I cant be more help for you.

(Message edited by fman on August 14, 2009)

Disconnect the harness on each sprinkler valve and try again.

Also, check the switches.

If the relay clicks, but no power in the back, it could be a bad switch.

I didn't read the whole thread, but I'm assuming all the fuses are good?

Do you have 12V at the pump?