Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

[tugger]

I have a Minn Kota 50lb thrust trolling motor on my 14ft jonboat. There seem to be wiring issues with the boat due to last time i had the boat out in October all electrical shut down then would come back after 30 seconds or so. This happened twice. Additionally the Minn Kota has not been pulling the boat as well as it used to. I checked the 12v battery and there is a full charge. The only electronics on the boat are the motor, fishfinder and stern all-around light. Not sure if the trolling motor depleted performance is due to a wiring issue with the boat or something else. I will be rewiring the boat in March to hopefully correct the problem.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

Sounds like you have a self resetting circuit breaker that is tripping. Pull the prop off the trolling motor and check for fishing line wrapped around inside.

 

[tugger]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

I did this and didn't find any fishing line.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

Sounds like you need to check the boat's wiring, everything clean and tight. With loosing power and it coming back 30 seconds later, that does sound like a breaker tripping and resetting after it cools down, though, there shouldn't be an auto-reset breaker in the boat, should be a manual reset breaker.

Have you had the battery load tested? Poor performance from the TM could be a bad battery. Or bad wiring, or something wrong in the trolling motor itself.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

How did you determine the battery had a full charge? Although the battery may measure 12.6 volts with no load, that is not a valid test. It needs to be checked with a load. Any auto store in town can test it -- usually for free. Not knowing what the problem really is, don't be in a rush to rewire the boat. Find out what's wrong. No sense rewiring if all you have is a bad/weak battery or some loose or corroded connections. Always "diagnose", "isolate" and then "repair or replace" as necessary.

 

[tugger]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

Thanks Silvertip, fishrdan and bhile. I will be taking my battery to my mechanic and have it load checked. I will be rewiring my boat also due to i wanted to do this prior to the power issue described above. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[kuks24]

Re: Minn Kota Trolling Motor Slow Down

Thanks Silvertip, fishrdan and bhile. I will be taking my battery to my mechanic and have it load checked. I will be rewiring my boat also due to i wanted to do this prior to the power issue described above. Appreciate the feedback.

I have a Minnkota 55AT, and mine is doing the same thing. I was told from one mechanic that the magnets in the motor housing can go bad being in extreme temperatures. But mine does not nearly have enough power it used to. I had the battery tested and checked all of the wiring. It is just time to get a different one.