I have a 1990 47' Harbormaster that has an macerator that has the lines disconnected and plugged, due to use restricitions on the prveious body of water on which it was located.

It may have been electrically disconnected as well, but I am not sure, since I do not know where the switch to operate it is. There is a "mystery" switch in the aft head, located on the sink _base_ whcih is a "pull switch".

Could this be the switch? that is supposed to turn it on?

Thanks
daniel_ed38159.3786921296

Unless the boat is now in waters that provide immediate access to open ocean at least 3 miles offshore from the nearest point on the whole US coastline--and you plan to routinely go offshore that far--there's no reason TO reconnect it...'cuz it's illegal to dump a tank in ALL U.S. waters, not only inland waters but coastal waters too inside that "3 mile limit."

That said...

I doubt that the pull switch in the head is the macerator switch...it's more likely to be switch for the shower sump. If the wiring has also been disconnected, it most likely has been at the macerator, not at the other end...Find the wires and you should be able to find the switch by tracing the wiring to it back to it. However, depending on how long the macerator has sat unused, it may not work any more if you do reconnect the wiring and/or find the switch. At the very least, the impeller is prob'ly stuck tight to the housing and will require replacement... but before doing anything else, I'd remove it and connect it directly to a battery and see if the motor still runs.

Methinks you need to spend some time getting to know ALL the wiring on your boat before you do much else ...'cuz 55% of boat fires are wiring related...and when you see or smell smoke or burning insulation is not the best time to START trying to figure out what's connected to it. Same is true of all hoses too, btw...knowing where all the seacocks are--and the condition they're in--can come in very handy if/when you should start taking on more water than the bilge pumps can handle.