New Terrova iPilot Link has demons – battery too close or?

I got my 24v Terrova installed, along with my 2 HBs, all networked on a switch, in my 16’ Lund Stinger. I’ve taken it out twice and it’s been giving me what was intermittent problems to not functioning at all.

Symptoms were first in autopilot it would suddenly start turning (always the same direction) on its own. Using the foot pedal or the HB 9 G2N (I have not yet used the remote) I could get it to stop, sometimes. It would either stop rotating but not go in the direction I was directing it, sometimes it would, sometimes not even respond at all and continue to wrap the cables around themselves to the point they would stop it if I were not up there in time to power it off, the only way to stop it.

Had it out for the second time the other evening, autopilot worked well for a while, then started to fail in the same manner to the point it would not work at all after getting progressively worse.

I searched the web for problems of it turning on its own. Only problems I could find (mostly on this forum) were related to the remote which I’m not using yet. I referred to the manual troubleshooting guide and it said this

1. The motor is making erratic steering corrections while in a mode of navigation.
• Be sure to keep all ferrous metallic objects away from the i-Pilot controller as they will have an impact on the built-in compass. Ferrous materials include materials made of lead or nickel such as a boat anchor, etc.

I have a group 27 battery in the bow of my boat. It used to power my previous 12 v power drive. It now powers my HB 7, the Ethernet switch and heading sensor. I also have my 2 bank charger hooked up that charges it and my starting battery (which also powers the HB9, bilge, aerator, usb charger and rarely used lights). I could power those front mounted items off the starting battery but I’d prefer not to put any more of a load on it.

Terrova batteries are a good 5-6’ back from the bow. They are on their own 2 bank charger and are completely isolated.

Does anyone have any experience with a battery this close to the trolling motor? If this is the problem I could extend those cables to the back of the boat but would avoid that if possible. I like a battery near the front, would like to avoid additional wiring (potential problems with voltage loss, splices etc).

I wish there was a low profile battery that would fit in a forward storage compartment.

Where is your heading sensor for trolling motor mounted at?

snelson223 wrote:

Where is your heading sensor for trolling motor mounted at?

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I’ve never experienced what you’re speaking of with my Link, but maybe try moving that battery from the bow under the motor because of the ferrous materials. Can’t hurt it. Heading sensor location looks fine to me, and shouldn’t be a cause for your Autopilot issues anyhow.

Have you calibrated the heading sensor? If you haven’t taken your remote out at all that may be the problem. The only way I know to calibrate the sensor is by using the remote. I just calibrated mine yesterday. If you have calibrated it i would maybe try calibrating it again and then also download the IPliot link app on your phone. The. Pair your phone to the terrova and see if there are any software updates for the terrova and the remote.

Just throwing up ideas here….If ferrous metals can affect the magnetic compass, then wiring could as well. If you have current flowing in a wire that will generate a magnetic field around the wire. Maybe moving wiring around or moving the battery will affect the problem?

S.R.

It appears not using my remote may be at the root of my problem. I’ll have to try to get it on the water tomorrow to calibrate.

I would certainly try getting the remote out and calibrating the sensor before I’d move batteries and such. Minn Kota says the heading sensor is only used for spot lock jog but maybe it’s the problem.

” Be sure to keep all ferrous metallic objects away from the i-Pilot controller as they will have an impact on the built-in compass. Ferrous materials include materials made of lead or nickel such as a boat anchor, etc.”

Where did that come from? Ferrous metals are only those which contain iron, such as steel or cast iron. You could google that. Lead and nickel are NOT ferrous metals, Some stainless steels contain nickel, but that does not mean nickel is a ferrous metal. It’s the iron in steel that makes it ferrous. Your anchor or your battery are not the cause of your problem.
Wiring could be a problem if it is in close proximity to your heading sensor and is powered while your trolling motor is running, possibly creating a magnetic field. But copper wiring itself is not a ferrous metal.

I thought that strange that they called out lead. That came from the troubleshooting section of the manual.

Wiring would be –
Cables coming from the trolling motor to the batteries, straight line, not coiled, unavoidable.
22 ga wire from heading sensor, strait to battery in bow
Small diameter 18-22 ga? Wire from HB7. This may have a coil for excess, I’ll check.

In the case I can’t make it on the water for calibration which requires driving in 2 circles, any reason I can’t loop around the cul de sac with it on the trailer? Of course without having it on the water I may not know if that has resolved things.
22 ga switch cable. Also may be coiled excess
Coiled eithernet cable.

I would start by changing your username. Your boat saw you coming from 1000 miles away.

Then, I would agree with the calibration step. I see nothing wrong with what you’ve done. If anything, my heading sensor is located in a much worse location than your. It located on top of my console where my graphs, 4 batteries and lots of ferris metals are located and yet I don’t have any issues like this.

I think the next step would be to call minnkota. The you may have a defective i-Pilot.

For the cul de sac method to work you may have to trick the motor into thinking that you’re fishing so you may need to cast a jig out and pull it behind ????. Doing it while on the trailer should work but you are right, you won’t know if it resolves any thing until you put it in the water. Also, if you call Minn Kota it’s almost certain that their first step would be for you to check for any required software updates before they offer anything else.

I just put a new Ulterra with link on my boat and both the Ulterra and the remote had updates available.

Unless they’ve had an update in the past 2 weeks or so I should be current

Can’t help you with the Terrova, but on a side note, if that is a recent picture of your boat, you may want to check your tabs. Hate to see you get an unnecessary fine.

If your heading sensor is near the battery, that could definitely be the issue. I had those very problems. I had not read the installation instructions well enough and mounted my heading sensor near my starting battery. It was within 20inches. I moved it, and all the issues went away.

walleyewizard wrote:

Can’t help you with the Terrova, but on a side note, if that is a recent picture of your boat, you may want to check your tabs. Hate to see you get an unnecessary fine.

I have a temp until the tabs come in the mail

fishinfreaks wrote:

If your heading sensor is near the battery, that could definitely be the issue. I had those very problems. I had not read the installation instructions well enough and mounted my heading sensor near my starting battery. It was within 20inches. I moved it, and all the issues went away.

I think you can see in the picture this shouldn’t be an issue. If it’s still to close somebody speak up.

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishinfreaks wrote:</div>
If your heading sensor is near the battery, that could definitely be the issue. I had those very problems. I had not read the installation instructions well enough and mounted my heading sensor near my starting battery. It was within 20inches. I moved it, and all the issues went away.

I think you can see in the picture this shouldn’t be an issue. If it’s still to close somebody speak up.
[/quote]

Looks to me like the battery is about 18 inches from the battery in the opening in the bow. I think this could very likely be the issue.

It is 34” to the closest corner of the battery

Are there any wires ran underneath the gunnel? In the larger boats with joysticks and autopilot, power wires ran too close can cause the heading sensor to do some wacky things as well. The magnetic field just from having voltage running through wires can be enough to screw things up. What you’re describing sounds very similar to what I’ve dealt with on some larger boats when using autopilot. One scenario stands out where the customer would turn on the windshield wipers, and the boat would turn right while trying to drive to a waypoint. Turned out the power wires for the wiper motor were ran right underneath the fiberglass the sensor was mounted to. Potentially anything like wiring, speakers, motors, or pumps could cause an issue and for some reason it can effect one boat and not another rigged the exact same way.

walleyewizard wrote:

Can’t help you with the Terrova, but on a side note, if that is a recent picture of your boat, you may want to check your tabs. Hate to see you get an unnecessary fine.

Isnt it the dumbest thing that they expire in the middle of the winter when the boat may be nowhere in sight? Mine expired last year, then this winter when I saw it I thought crap, the tabs expired, wonder where the postcard is? Well turns out I had already bought them and they were sitting in my truck. Its just stupid the timing of that IMO.

Is the puck blinking? I installed 2 of these for friends this spring. The syncing/calibration process is a 3 step operation. I don’t remember what they all are but it is in the instructions. Something like syncing the puck, orientating the head to be parallel with the boat and something about an offset. Might take care of everything.

Dennis Williams wrote:

Is the puck blinking? I installed 2 of these for friends this spring. The syncing/calibration process is a 3 step operation. I don’t remember what they all are but it is in the instructions. Something like syncing the puck, orientating the head to be parallel with the boat and something about an offset. Might take care of everything.

Very valid question

I have an ulterra but I think the calibration is the same. You link on the remote and start to calibrate and then complete 2 circles the remote will show when complete. My guess is that is the issue.

Only wires for the puck are running with are the wires for my two bank charger, which there is no voltage running through when I’m on the water

Puck is blinking, when I turn the motor on I can pair it and get the three audible beeps that tells me it’s paired.

Got on the water and did the calibration turning the two circles confirmed it on my remote. Also did the remote offset.

I no longer have the issue of the motor winding itself up. But it’s still not working properly. Seems to get worse the longer I have it out. I was able to spot lock on a couple of places first and did a little auto pilot, then I tried to do a go to waypoint and it just seemed lost and not only that the propeller doesn’t want to turn on. The indicator on the remote says that it is spinning but it’s not. right now this seems to be the biggest problem.

So I figured hey, I’ll call Minnkota well I’m on the water. I called them at 4:25 and they had the phones shut off saying they close at 4:30

Based on the fact that performance gets progressively worse as time goes on each time I go out I’m thinking I have a voltage issue. I have 2 new Interstate group 31 batteries. I had to extend the power cables about 4 or 5 feet and I used 8 ga cable as it calls for in the installation guide. I used the same 8 gauge cable to tie the batteries together in series. I’ll have to do a voltage test. I’m hoping it’s a simple as a bad splice which actually was not simple. Crimping 8g butt slices and terminal ends is a real PIA.

You need a lot larger cable to tie the batteries together. I go to fleet farm and buy large diameter battery cables. When I used to make my own I would use 00 welding cable.

Sounds like a good easy place to start.

I think I’ve eliminated the voltage issue, as far as at the batteries. I talked to Minn Kota. They say it’s probably either the board or the lower unit causing the prop to stop, this alter testing voltage on the batteries. Turns out my crossover cable was 4ga so I did that properly on the install.

MK said one test I could do was remove the cover to the head and apply 12v power directly at the head. I presumed the head was the top part of the motor on the shaft. I took the cover off but didn’t see any place to apply the power other than there is a butt splice that I might have been able to get up into but I’m thinking the wanted me to access it in a different spot, probably at the base? Anyway, while dicking around with that I discovered a few things.

I was able to get the motor running with the prop turning. When I pulled the cover and tipped that far enough it would shut off after beeping. This seems logical, probably a shutoff when the motor goes horizontal. But more importantly I found when twisting the motor left to right, if I went hard all the way to the right the prop would stop and stay stopped. Turning it back to the right it would start up again. I wasn’t able to recreate it for the video below but I could do it fairly regularly.

There also seemed to be a lot of side to side slop. This is shown in the very short video below. Does this seem normal?

MK said to bring it to a service center. Both Action Fishing Electronics and The Skeeter Boat Center are close to where I work in Anoka. Action said they could put eyes on it in a couple of days but I’d have to take it off the boat. I really don’t want to do that, it was a real PIA and part of it is a 2 person job. I called Skeeter and I could leave it on the boat but it’d be 2-3 weeks before they look at it.

I might take it on the water one more Toomey to see if I can get it to do the same things it did in my yard on the trailer before I take it off. It pisses me off. This is prime time. I can fish without it but it’s not the same and not nestle as effective. I was hoping to hit Mille Lacs this weekend before that Peters out.

I just bought an ulterra. Third time on the water it started giving me a motor error on my remote. Then i tried the foot pedal. Same issues. I took it 3 different shops who all thought it was batteries or wiring. All checked out. Then all 3 said it was a bad head unit. Just got it back, so we will have to see. All 3 shops said that they are seeing more and more bad head units out of the box. I’m guessing your having the same issue with your Terrova. Mine started acting up whenever I used AP, spot lock, constant, etc. It would work for a short time if I used the foot pedal manually, but then would error. I’m as pissed off as you are boatshateme.

UPDATE – After calling around a few places I chose Actions Fishing in Anoka to bring it too. More than one other service centers even recommended them, they are less than a mile from my work and they said it’s be the fastest turnaround. I can’t recommend Jack enough. I dropped it on Monday, went out of town for a few days for work and picked it up Friday. All warranty, no charge. I asked Jack what he did and he couldn’t even remember and was heading out so I didn’t make him look it up. Based on what Minn Kota told me I suspect he had to replace the board and the lower unit.

I took it out on the river tonight and I had zero malfunctions. Very happy.