New Ulterra question

Finally, got to pick up my 36v 112lb 72″ Ulterra this weekend, so excited to have this motor. If it’s as good as my last 2 Terrova motors. I’m really going to enjoy it!

I was reading the manual this weekend and read the manual stow procedure and I nearly fell out of my seat!! If I have an issue on the boat and have to manually stow it. It says you have to bring it in to a service center WTF!!! Really?

Anybody, manually stowed it yet and did you actually have to go to service center to get it working again? What actually happens when you stow, why the hell would it need to go back to a service center?

I guess if it doesn’t stow automatically there is an issue that needs to be addressed by a service center.

If is potentially a low battery issue I would check operation on land after charging the batteries.

dandorn wrote:

I guess if it doesn’t stow automatically there is an issue that needs to be addressed by a service center.

Like he said, if you need to manually stow the trolling motor than something is broken. It needs to be serviced. I have never had to manually stow mine.

I’m thinking if for some reason the problem happens between the power source and the motor that you can not fix on the water.

Seems strange that manually stowing the motor if the motor is not the problem would require a trip to a service center.

Sure this motor will be as good or better than my last ones, just curious

I think that is why a lot of people put these Ulterras on a detachable bracket. For fear that it will fail while in the water with no way to stow the trolling motor back on the boat.

Even with the detachable bracket I have, you would not be able to remove the motor if it is in the down position. The bracket will only slide back, not forward. I keep the motor manual in the boat to look up how to manually stow the motor. As I mentioned in a previous post, do not run the motor in the garage. I had it get stuck/jammed in the trusses. I had to move the boat around to get it free.

Please keep this reset procedure on your phone or in the boat for reference…… It will resolve most issues….

In the unlikely event Ulterra will not trim or stow, the following procedure will reset the motor and restore functionality:

Press and hold the POWER button located at the mounting base to turn power off (green LED light will turn off).
Press the POWER button until the green LED light illuminates.
Wait 3 seconds.
Press the POWER button 3 times within a 2 second period.
Red and green LED lights will flash continuously and the Ulterra will go through the following automated sequence:
Motor will position itself into the proper orientation
Motor will automatically trim up to the mounting base and trim down approximately 6 inches.
The flashing red LED light will turn off, and the flashing green LED light will become solid green.
Ulterra should now be reset and fully functional. If Ulterra does

gregl2017 wrote:

I’m thinking if for some reason the problem happens between the power source and the motor that you can not fix on the water.

Seems strange that manually stowing the motor if the motor is not the problem would require a trip to a service center.

Sure this motor will be as good or better than my last ones, just curious

I think they are trying to say that if it doesn’t stow as advertised it may require service. The act of manually stowing it does not require a trip to the shop.

The motor works on memory. When you manually stow, it messes with the motor memory. That’s why it has to be serviced after manual stow.

I had a stow problem once. In my case it was the remote that lost power. I keep a power pack and an USB extension cord with 12v plug
in the boat just in case. Fortunately, after being off for a while it had enough battery to signal the stow procedure after turning it back on. For awhile, I sort of panicked wondering how to get the boat back on the trailer. Not a good feeling but feel that I’m prepared now.

I asked Minn Kota if I had a power issue and had to stow the Ulterra manually , does the motor actually have to go to a service center to make it functional again.

This was their reply, thought I’d share the knowledge

Minn Kota Reply
If it were an issue of voltage getting low, you can manually stow it & you would not have to bring it in necessarily. You could do the steps in reverse to get everything back together after having to manually stow the motor.