Problems with 05 xstar ballast
 

Just bought an 05 mastercraft xstar with very low hours but already having problems with the factory ballast. The rear ballasts work perfectly fine, but the center ballast switch lights up but no pump engages, can't hear anything spin up and the gauge is motionless whether filling or dumping..
Any ideas?

Thanks for any help

Have you pulled off the face of the jabsco pump? It will be the middle pump.

It's not surprising that the gauge is not moving since the pump doesn't seem to be running. You need to first check to see if you are getting power to the pump (using a voltmeter, test light, etc.). If you have power, you will need to open the impeller housing and check the impeller. Its not uncommon for those pumps to stick. You can buy a new impeller that is a little less stiff to help with that.

If you don't have power, you may have a blown fuse, bad connections at the switch, etc. I believe that each of the pumps has a 20A fuse.

First thing I would do is pull the impellar on the pump. Since you just bought the boat it may not have hit the water for a bit and the impellar could have gotten stuck to the housing. Very common. As mentioned also grab voltmeter and check power at the pump.

I have used the boat 2-3 times with no problems until now.. I will check power first and see if I find anything. Thanks!

Exacly what I experience when I purchased a used 09 x star. This should be a simple fix, just check to impellor.

When the impeller get dry in the cavity, the electric motor has a hard time starting them back up and will blow the fuse if left on.. Does the 05 have the timer box in the back.. that has the circuit breakers on them.. Honestly.. we replumbed an 05 star and got ride of the manifold and check valves, and installed two more 1 1/4 in hull fittings. Each pump has it's own in/out source and cut the fill time down to under 8 minutes.. The 04/05 systems had issues..

Another tip is after you done draining, turn the pump on in the fill position for a second, this repositions the impeller blades for fill and will spin right up.. even if dry..

2007 was the first year of the timers.

Switch to the green impellers if you don't already have them.

For sure. Works great when I remember to do it.