Trolling Motor Electrical Problem

For most of the summer I have experienced what I thought was a bad connection on my Minn Kota Power Drive 24v. Frequently, it would not respond to the co-pilot, so I would just wiggle the plug or remove it completely and plug it back in again and it would usually work.
Last night, we opened the livewell and one of our tackle bags bumped the plug — end of the trolling motor. This morning when I looked at the plug, I noticed that the prong that has little bend in it was burnt and so was the plastic around it. I also noticed that the positive wire was in the 12v hole and not the 24 on the back of the plug. Should that be? I removed the receptacle and that appeared to be ok. When I inspected the wire at the trolling motor, I noticed similar burn marks at the fuse connector which appears to have melted the rubber together so I can’t remove the fuse.
I don’t know much about boat wiring so I am not sure what might have happened. Has anybody experienced this? Any ideas on what is wrong — bad motor, bad wiring, bad plug? One other note, we took on a lot of water over the bow yesterday. Could that have contibuted to the problem? Thanks a bunch for any suggestions!

I wouldnt even feel comfortable trying to guess what happened without looking at every inch of wiring. I have seen more than one connector melt down over time from poor interanl connection. Over time they can result in a direct short or fire.

Any connection/plug that is not permanent should recieve an occasional dose of dielectric grease to prevent corrosion and help maintain a good connection. There are often other trolling motor plugs under the deck, not just the outlet.

Sounds to me like either the fuse was not adequate or the hot wire was stripped too far back and came into contact with something metal behind your face-plate? The good news is you can cut the wires and start over with a new plug…and yes, the wires shoud go into the 24v holes on your system. Also, be sure you have the proper in-line fuse. Sounds like you need to buy a new one of those in addition to your plug….all relatively inexpensive.

water will cause this in a bad foot pedal that is going bad. and as far as the + wire in the 12v hole? you can put a volt meter on it but it should have 24v comming back because your batterys should be in series so there is only 24v to your outlet.

While your at it, clean your battery connections until they shine. Any corrosion will increase the amperage due to the increased resistance- which in turn creates heat and melts things. Easy maintance that was recommended to be checked-done twice a season. Sometimes, the corrosion is only evident when you pull the rings off the terminal.

Jeremy