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I am not specifically knowledgeable on the Dauntless factory bilge pump installations, but I do have a Whaler with factory installed pumps. As a matter of fact, I just completely re-wired one of mine that neede a new flaot switch.

From what I can tell, something is wrong with your installation as described, and I suspect the dash switch has been changed, since you have an inoperative float switch. Something probably failed (possibly the float switch), and a simple manual on-off operation was installed to bypass the float. The "ON" function of the pump can be initiated either directly by the "ON" switch, or it could be run through a functioning float switch, only turning on the pump when the float is raised. But then you would have no "instant on" function unless you lifted the float manually, which doesn't make much sense.

So let's assume your factory installation was altered. It would have been orignally configured like this:

1. A three way bilge pump switch on the dash: a momentary on(to operate the pump on demand), a center off, and continuous "auto-on" (which puts power through the float switch to only operate the pump when water rises.)

2. A pump and a separate float switch would be installed in the floor sump

3. All bilge pumps which do not have a built in "auto" function, have only two wires: a black neg and a brown positive. The float switch has two brown wires. Both are connected into the positive wire from the "auto-on" switch (brown with stripe)

4. The three way switch obviously requires a three wire cable: Black for neg, brown for manual (momentary) on operation, and brown with either white or black stripe for the "auto-on" going through the float switch. These three wires are connected about 2'-4' in front of the pump, hopefully in a dry spot. This three wire bilge pump cable can be purchased from West Marine, by Ancor, in either 16 or 14 gauge wire.

5. the connections are fairly easy, but note that three wires from the switch are spliced into two wires from the pump. The black is easy - black to black. The solid brown wire is connected to the soild brown wire from the pump. This is "momentary on" circuit. The brown with stripe wire is connected to one of the leads from the float switch. The outgoing lead from the float switch is *ALSO* connected to the solid brown wire from the pump. THERE WILL BE TWO WIRES GOING INTO THIS SPLICE - ONE THE MOMENTARY BROWN WIRE FROM THE SWITCH AND ONE FROM THE FLOAT SWITCH*. That's it - if you do it right, the pump will work as the factory intended it to work.

The concept is simple. There are two ways to turn the pump on - the momentary side of the switch sends power directly into the pump - and the brown stripe wire from the "on" side of the switch sends power through the float switch, which means the pump only runs when the float switch makes the continuity.

There are other bilge pump options for a small boat like a Dauntless, but for a pump with a separate float switch, this is the way to do it.