Trolling Motor Help?

[wde1113]

I need help with my trolling motor. I have done everything that I could think of to resolve this.

I run a 24v system and have a 3 bank on board charger.

With my MultiMeter I have tested each battery individually and get 13.4 and 13.2with them off the charger. I get 27.7V when I test them together in series. Also breaker is not tripped and getting 27.7V on both sides of the breaker.

The bow I’m getting 27.8V and through the plug getting 25.7 V.

I originally thought the motor it self had went bad and I bought a replacement which I needed anyways.

I did go from a 70lb thrust MK to a 80lb thrust MK.

Motor is acting like it’s dead, won’t spin or no sounds. Can anyone lead me in the right direction?

 

[Scott Danforth]

you have voltage up to the trolling motor plug

the drop in voltage at the plug indicates you have corrosion on the pins / sockets. fix that. there should not be 2.3 volt drop, there should be at most, 0.01 volt drop.

after you get that sorted out, and you still dont have a working trolling motor, time to look at the trolling motor.

 

[wde1113]

I just checked again. It’s equal at battery and I probed wires right behind the plug on TM. It’s a brand new MK Fortex. I figured my old one was bad and went ahead and replaced it now this one is doing same thing.

i did a copy and paste job from another forum just updated the numbers. Must have forgotten those.

 

[wde1113]

Should I by pass the plug and see if that’s doing anything? And the circuit breaker? That would rule out the wiring, right?

 

[Silvertip]

You should never bypass a circuit breaker. But the fact that you had one dead troller and replaced it with what we assume is a NEW 80# and it too is dead would lead one to think that neither motor is bad. You replaced the connector but I'm sticking my neck out here and suggest you wired the new connector incorrectly. More on this later. Are you using a new motor controller with the new motor? Reversed polarity at the new plug. Newer electronics generally have reversed polarity protection so the motor wouldn't run if that were the case so check the new connector wiring carefully. Make sure the troller plug is also wired to properly match the new connector. Yes, you could wire the motor directly to the batteries to eliminate the entire run of wire and the connector. But check for reversed polarity first.

 

[TyeeMan]

If I'm reading you right, you get 27.8 volts at the bow. Does that mean the receptacle that is mounted to the boat? If so you should be good there. When you plug trolling motor in to the bow, are you getting voltage in the wires that go to the motor?

Are you using the twist lock plug and not the two pin plug?

Is there a power on/off switch on the motor itself or the foot pedal that you might not be seeing? My Minnkota Ulterra has a power on/off button on the motor.

The problem I had was, my motor plug in is about 12 feet ( as the cable is run) from the battery, so I needed to go up in wire gage size. The problem was that physical size of the wires were too big to properly fit in the terminals on the receptacle mounted to the boat. In fact once last year one wire came out of the terminal and I was dead in the water which is bad news when your trolling motor electrically stows and deploys. So make sure all your wires are properly secured in the plug/receptacle terminals.

Also - the so called manual that comes with the motor is crap for trouble shooting. Go to Minnkotamotors.com and download the manual and possibly a separate trouble shooting section, there will be more help there.

 

[wde1113]

I ended up just bypassing the plug at the bow and it worked and got a new plug and receptacle and it’s all good now. I’m guessing the old plug/receptacle was didn’t like the new motor or it was bad. My old trolling motor may have not been bad after all but it was time for an upgrade anyways. It struggled in the river that I normally fish in.