iPilot Remote Issue

Yes at least 6 times but thanks for suggesting.

MNSmallieGuy wrote:

I am not gonna take the time to read back through all these posts but did you ever try resetting it and going through set up again? I am referring to the process that matches the remote to the head.

I was running a friends Terrova without Link last weekend, he had the plain remote without the colored screen. I too had problems getting the remote to command the motor when people stood in my way.

I have the link with the color LCD remote and have never had problems.

Yes at least 6 times but thanks for suggesting.

biggill wrote:

FYI… I just sent in a troubleshooting request to MK. I was polite hoping I can get a valuable response.

I’m curious what they have to say.

biggill wrote:

FYI… I just sent in a troubleshooting request to MK. I was polite hoping I can get a valuable response.

I’m curious what they have to say.

Would be nice if they could help. To bad they don’t repair for a reasonable price. Also maybe studying the bad units could determine why they failed.

Update.

I’ve been in contact with a tech at Minnkota. He said that if there isn’t some kind of power loss between my batteries and my motor then my ipilot needs replacement.

Big shocker.

Well my voltage from my batteries is 38.4v and it’s the exact same at the motor receptacle.

I feel like I’m officially part of the club.

Im about to the point of once a year just buying a new remote, sticking the old one in the package and returning it. Every Minnkota remote Ive owned has had the same battery issue. They all have the same battery connections so why wouldn’t they all have the same issue. Back in the Co pilot days even the repair center told me when the batteries died just buy a new remote.

biggill wrote:

Update.

I’ve been in contact with a tech at Minnkota. He said that if there isn’t some kind of power loss between my batteries and my motor then my ipilot needs replacement.

Big shocker.

Well my voltage from my batteries is 38.4v and it’s the exact same at the motor receptacle.

I feel like I’m officially part of the club.

Yea – I just love it when something fails it’s got to be the buyer’s equipment’s fault especially when I paid professionals to install the whole thing for me. I’ll try not to take a complete sour note on the whole thing, because when it was working it was great. Now I have to walk forward and get within 7 feet of the motor for it to work at all. Maybe I’ll try to install an antenna on it to get some more distance. The thing is it’s likely to stop working all together in the future. Good luck Guys.

biggill wrote:

Update.

I’ve been in contact with a tech at Minnkota. He said that if there isn’t some kind of power loss between my batteries and my motor then my ipilot needs replacement.

Big shocker.

Well my voltage from my batteries is 38.4v and it’s the exact same at the motor receptacle.

I feel like I’m officially part of the club.

Yea – I just love it when something fails it’s got to be the buyer’s equipment’s fault especially when I paid professionals to install the whole thing for me. I’ll try not to take a complete sour note on the whole thing, because when it was working it was great. Now I have to walk forward and get within 7 feet of the motor for it to work at all. Maybe I’ll try to install an antenna on it to get some more distance. The thing is it’s likely to stop working all together in the future. Good luck Guys.

FWIW. I have had zero problems since replacing my i pilot head.

Jonesy wrote:

FWIW. I have had zero problems since replacing my i pilot head.

That’s good to know because my next question for the tech is how the hell do I prevent this from happening again?

I am experiencing the same issue on my Riptide trolling motor. I’m curious if yours is still functioning properly. MY brother replaced the head on his and it worked fine for several months but is back to acting up.

Kirk Carter wrote:

I am experiencing the same issue on my Riptide trolling motor. I’m curious if yours is still functioning properly. MY brother replaced the head on his and it worked fine for several months but is back to acting up.

I recall that being an ongoing theme. I fixed mine by upgrading to a BT version. The stress in gone now.

I was afraid of that. Thanks for the reply

I actually went through 3 heads they would work great for a while then the range would fall to about 8 feet. I believe the motor match and power drain of motor likely cause surges that would ruin the head unit. Anyway last year a storm cause the dock to raise up and destroy my motor so replaced with a Blue tooth model which until sold boat worked great. I think the problem they were having made them decide to go to blue tooth. With new model you also had option to control a lot of unit features with your phone.
Good luck

I believe the motor match and power drain of motor likely cause surges that would ruin the head unit. Anyway last year a storm cause the dock to raise up and destroy my motor so replaced with a Blue tooth model which until sold boat worked great. I think the problem they were having made them decide to go to blue tooth. With new model you also had option to control a lot of unit features with your phone.
Good luck

Last year a storm cause the dock to raise up and destroy my motor so replaced with a Blue tooth model which until sold boat worked great. I think the problem they were having made them decide to go to blue tooth. With new model you also had option to control a lot of unit features with your phone.
Good luck

Guess that answers that. Thanks for the reply and great information

Are you guys throwing the main breaker into the off position prior to charging your trolling motor batteries? Just curious if small power surges are happening and affecting the units. I have gotten in the habit of throwing the breaker prior to hooking up to the charger.

My unit plugged in and I always unplugged before plugging in to dock electric. So that was not the cause for me. I also shut motor off before unplugging. I’m aware that disconnect or break is greater than the make so I did take that into consideration. In any case you would think/hope manufacturer tech when replacing would have mentioned if it could cause damage.

I had the same issue and finally found a fix for mine. I had 10 ga. wire from the trolling motor to the batteries. I replaced the 10 ga. wire with 6 strand and soldered the ends on the wire. I can control it over 100 feet away where I could barely get it to work from behind my console before. Hope this helps someone because it almost drove me crazy 🤪

Has anyone else upgraded there wire gauge size and it fix their issue?

Daniel Cobb wrote:

I had the same issue and finally found a fix for mine. I had 10 ga. wire from the trolling motor to the batteries. I replaced the 10 ga. wire with 6 strand and soldered the ends on the wire. I can control it over 100 feet away where I could barely get it to work from behind my console before. Hope this helps someone because it almost drove me crazy 🤪