I have a minnkota auto pilot that sometimes when your running it it will just start to turn all the way around on it’s own. The unit was bought last yr. anyone else every had a problem like this?
Thanks in advance Todd
Todd,does this happen with the unit’s head in the water or when it comes up out of the water?
Ryan Hale
Ryan…it happens when the head is down in the water. You can be trolling along on calm water when it will start to turn. Usually to the right and won’t stop unless you push the button on top of the head unit to turn the Auto pilot part off.
Take that puppy to your nearest dealer. You have a two year warrenty.
Minnkota has made some changes in the compass and electronics. I took mine in last fall for the second time, they say this solves the problem. Hope so…
You can tell when the have the new “stuff” installed, the motor turns much less jerky when it’s adjusting itself.
(Ps…I maybe streaching it here…but everyone has this problem with the autopilots)
Sometimes it can be a voltage problem. If it a 24v you might be getting 12v from time to time.
Check your battery connections to see if they are clean and tight.
Also a culpret can be the Marinco plug. Check the connections there to. Trying another of those red plugs altogether can do the trick.
I’d just eliminate these things first before I took it in and couldn’t use it.
That’s true Kevin. I’m glad you pointed that out. 5 minutes to look around is much better that being without for 2-3 days. This time of year….maybe longer.
It happens, soemtime it just needs adjustment, Took mien is got it adjusted no real problem since, My invoice sadi they adjusted the both “pots” from something like 2.15v and 4.2v to 1.0v on both of them, works good now, although some people have had compasses replaced and or computer boards, I haven’t had to.
Correct!
The problem with the AP going wild is due to the resistance in the board. When the Ohms are “too high”, it appears to “restrict” the current.
A buddy of mine is an electrician and he called Minnkota. They walked him through the problem on an original unit with this problem 2 years ago. He made the adjustments and hasn’t had a problem since.
I asked this same question a few weeks ago and here are the answers:
In summary, I contacted Minn Kota and their cheif tech rep explained they had a bug in the software on the main board. My unit was 2 years old and had problems since the beginning. He sent me a new board and compass and I installed it myself in about 5 minutes and so far so good. Only 2 trips out so far but for now it is OK as towards the end it was happening every 2-3 minutes.
The way to tell if you have a new board is one of the two following ways:
1) On the new boards, there is a bit of latency when you push left or right on the foot pedal. This is to make micro-adjustments to your heading. If you head rotates at full speed immediately, you have the older style and probably need the new board and compass.
2) Also as someone else mentioned, the autopilot correction is much smoother and isn’t so clunky or jerky as in the past. So if you can’t physically hear a the corrections, you probably have a new one. They were supposedly fixed last fall. My guess is you need a new board and compass.
My local technician did the POD adjustments and eventually it would be a problem again. If you have the same issues, call Minn Kota and say you want a new board and compass. They know what you are referring to.
I’ve ran mine for about 6 hours now. Not a problem! Last year it would take off at least 4 times in 6 hours.
I now love my Auto Pilot again…. 
Happens to mine ALL the time. Guess i’ve just learned to live with it. 
Thanks for the imput everyone. My father took it to a dealer and had it checked. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet to see if it helped hope so.
Thanks again Todd.
It hit me about mid day. My Auto Pilot was working extreemly well. It’s really the first time I’ve used it since the repair shop put in the new parts…
I’m impressed…now if it will just last?! 
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