Trolling Motor Question

[River Rider]

Sorry if this has been covered before but I tried searching and never found the answer I was looking for. Basically what I did was bought a switchable 12/24 volt trolling motor and had some questions. First off I haven't seen many of these units so what are the downside of having a slectable voltage? Next what is the purpose of the switch? Does the 12 volt knock down the power to where I am not going to get the full 55 lb thrust? Just seeing if I should take the time to hook it up my boat or just resale it? Thanks for any help and again sirry if this has already been brought up and answered.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Question

If a combination 12/24 volt motor was the cats meow they would still be made today. So the long and short of this was to allow the motor to operate at 12 volts using two batteries in parallel or on 24 volts by flipping the switch and having it operate on two batteries in series. You didn't indicate what make and model motor you have but for maximum power you want to run at 24 volts. For longest run time you would run at 12 volts. That last statement holds true ONLY if the 12/24 switch in fact parallels the two batteries when on 12 volts. Some merely switched to one of the two batteries so run time is still limited to one battery.

 

[River Rider]

Re: Trolling Motor Question

The one I have is a Motorguide 756 (56 pounds thrust) 12/24 volt with foot control and gator mount. So basically you are saying the switch part is really kind of obsolete? Other then that if I just wire it 24 volt and not even bother with the switch would this be a decent trolling Motor? Thanks for your help.

 

[fucawi]

Re: Trolling Motor Question

Tdhe only way you are going to tell what is going on is to wire it up as per the instructuions and then switch to 12v ..run for a few minutes and measure the battery voltages if one is high and the other lower then its running on ne battery and thats not good for the batteries....There is no reason you cannont set the knob to 24v and run it on 12 from both batteries in parallel.....55 lb will be at 24v as for if its a good motor ..depends on price but what you have is a 55 lb 24v motor with some switchy bits you may or may not use.

 

[River Rider]

Re: Trolling Motor Question

Well I played with it a bit and found out how it is all going to work. I can't complain for the price and should serve its purpose for the next few seasons until I feel I really need to pay the big bucks and upgrade. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Question

You don't need to modify the wiring in any way. Wire it as the isntructions indicate and leave the switch on 24 volts. No need to bypass anything.