Trolling motor blues!

  • Finlock
    Posts: 19
    June 22, 2004 at 9:46 pm #1232804

    Going along upwind with my bow mount Minn-Kota 55PD during a walleye tournament I was fishing last sunday when all of a sudden it stops working. Checked the battery gauge and it said 3/4 full charge. Press the battery condition red buttons that are located on the base of the trolling motor and nothing happens. No power head rotation, no response!
    Checked the fuse and it was fine.
    Checked the wiring connections and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
    Any idea’s?

    Gianni
    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Posts: 2063
    June 23, 2004 at 12:03 pm #309673

    Could try putting a voltmeter on the battery and running the TM. I don’t know what kind of test load the battery guages put on, but I guarantee it’s not the 40 or so amps that your motor demands. If it still reads above 10 volts with the motor switch on, maybe corrosion at the terminals? Ohm the fuze, sometimes visual inspection looks okay when it’s still bad.

    DeeZee
    Champlin, Mn
    Posts: 2128
    June 23, 2004 at 5:52 pm #309731

    Be sure to check the water levels in your batteries several times a year. I was victim of this during the Wave Wacker about 2 weeks ago that haunted me on the wrong day… I had filled them over the winter and by now they have evaporated about a 1/4 gallon off each battery. Granted I charge them almost daily, but I should have checked them sooner than I did. My fault. Lots of charging cycles will cause this to happen.

    Finlock
    Posts: 19
    June 23, 2004 at 6:51 pm #309742

    I figgered out the trolling motor. The wire going into the fuse got hot and pulled away from the contacts, so when I examined the fuse it looked OK!
    So now I bought a 40 amp marine circuit breaker made for trolling motors and made to replace the fuse!
    So now it works!
    Thanx all for your input!

    DeeZee
    Champlin, Mn
    Posts: 2128
    June 23, 2004 at 7:05 pm #309743

    Nice work!
    Glad to see you will be back on the water.

    nick
    Lakeville, MN
    Posts: 4977
    June 24, 2004 at 3:21 am #309807

    BTW I fused my trolling motor becuase someone once told me, I’d get more power if I fused it, instead of using the circuit breaker, and I’ll be damned, they were right… I didn’t ask for the advice they gave, I’m thankful he stepped up and told me. (background: My boat was brand new, and my trolling motor was brand new, and I was having problems getting the trolling motor to work, a passer by comming out of fleet farm passed the info onto me.) I did keep my circuit breaker around in case I blew a fuse somehow.

    YMMV (your mileage may vary)

    Gianni
    Cedar Rapids, IA
    Posts: 2063
    June 24, 2004 at 11:05 am #309822

    Quote:

    BTW I fused my trolling motor becuase someone once told me, I’d get more power if I fused it, instead of using the circuit breaker, and I’ll be damned, they were right

    I’ll be damned too, if they were right. Unless someone can explain that one, I think I’ll continue refusing to believe.

    nick
    Lakeville, MN
    Posts: 4977
    June 25, 2004 at 12:59 am #309955

    WE’ll all I can say is I replaced it with a fuse and I have more power, that’s all I know

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