It's one thing after another, it's a boat.

A friend of mine recently bought a late model outboard motor that was attached to a free older center console boat. On the whole it was a very good buy, but the previous owner was somewhat cack handed at repairs, if they were made at all. The boat hull was buffed back into shape, and out it goes for an inaugural trip which results in a near sinking in some rowdy water. As the vessels stern compartment was filling with water it was observed that the bilge pump was not functional, but with some luck they made it back to the boat ramp. After waiting for half an hour for the water to drain out, home they went. I came over to look, and to listen to the story. Everything was fine in the beginning, but it was getting rough by the time they noticed the lowered back end and returned

Johnson bilge pump wiring, "Splained to Lucy."

Lets start with the fact that Johnson bilge pumps are excellent pumps. Good, now that's out of the way. My issue is only with some less than crystalline wiring documentation. Let me take that back, it's not that the wiring diagram is incorrect, it's just poorly labeled. When you have two wires, and one is labeled brown #1, and the second is labeled brown #2, some inherent confusion will result. In reality there are not two brown wires, there is a brown wire, and then there is a brown/red wire. Why the wonky nomenclature? Just call one brown, and the other brown/red?