Livewell not getting full

So I had to re-work the livewell system on my boat due to a broken valve lever a while ago and just now was able to go check it out. At home, it will hold water in both livewells with the 3-way valve in Auto or Recirc so I know it isn’t leaking out in those positions. It pumps water in recirc to the sprayers with good pressure while at home.

At the lake today, in auto I couldn’t get the livewells full. One had low pressure to the sprayer and the other has good pressure but neither would put more than about 4-5” of water in the livewell. I ran them for a while just to see if it was just going to take a while but at one point it just wasn’t getting any higher in the wells even though the pumps were pumping water. It won’t leak out on plane or anything but for whatever reason it is not filling up. The valve positions work because I tested them on recirc to make sure it kept the water in and they both emptied like they should on empty. Any good explanation for this?

Check and be sure nothing is interfering with the valve lever. On mine, after I replaced the pump, I somehow routed a hose too close to the lever and it would not allow the valve to fully close when in recirc.

Is there any adjustment in the cable? I’m wondering if that is causing the auto side not to open fully. There is nothing interfering with the valve lever that I can see. IIRC I think there is a way to be able to adjust the cable on the control knob side a little but I’m not certain.

The cable on mine is not adjustable.

What type of spray valve does it have? Mine has a Flow-Rite Pump-Out Aerator which you push in to recirculate and pull out to pump out. If you have something similar maybe it is partially pulled out.



Either that or one of your valves is stuck in the open position. The livewell is filling up to the lake level but no additional water is being forced in.