??? for TK

[agelesssone]

TK, what gauge wiring should be sufficient to effectively run my trolling motor, 36V, 112# thrust?

The boat is 21 feet long and the batteries are probably 18 feet from the TM. The boat is wired with 8 gauge going to the front.

The TM leads going to the plug are 8 gauge.

I was having issues with the trolling motor shutting itself off when running on high for a very short time. I tried going from a 40 amp breaker to a 50 amp breaker to a 60 amp breaker to removing the breaker altogether with no change in results. BTW, none of the breakers ever tripped either.

I removed one of the batteries from the boat to light some LED lights around my deck last night and when I was replacing it today, it seemed like the batteries weren't wired together correctly to create 36 volts. I think the boat shop who wired the TM may have only had two batteries in series instead of three. Would running a 36 volt motor on 24 volts cause the TM to shut itself off? It the new MinnKota 112# Terrova w/IPilot.

Or would the TM even run on 24 volts?

[Dakota]

Well Merv I wish I could help you on that one great question curious what TK says.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[agelesssone]

I always used 6 gauge wiring when doing my own boats, but this one came pre-wired I assume.

[XxthejuicexX]

I can check mine out, I have a 36 volt 109lb motor guide tour.

[agelesssone]

Juice, take a look and let me know.

I'll be launching tomorrow, trying the TM on high for a bit to see if it still shuts off after a short while, as in like 15 seconds.

I've wired it in series like it is supposed to be. I've wired my bassboat in series ( 3 batteries) and the same trolling motor will run all day and never shut off.

Hopefully it was just wired wrong and there will be nothing wrong with the TM and I won't have to remove it and put it in for service. MinnKota tech says he hasn't run into that problem yet.

[FloatNFish]

It would likely turn on and run on 24V but you would have noticed it running much slower than normal. Probably would have sounded different as well.

What part of the lake you fishing today? I'm heading for Ham Creek now. Will probably stay around the lower end today then camp on hole in the wall tonight. Give me a shout later

-Alex

[FloatNFish]

Minnkota tech should know what the low voltage threshold is. If its above 24V then young have another problem. Interested in what you find.

-Alex

[tkwalker]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

TK, what gauge wiring should be sufficient to effectively run my trolling motor, 36V, 112# thrust?

The boat is 21 feet long and the batteries are probably 18 feet from the TM. The boat is wired with 8 gauge going to the front.

The TM leads going to the plug are 8 gauge.

I was having issues with the trolling motor shutting itself off when running on high for a very short time. I tried going from a 40 amp breaker to a 50 amp breaker to a 60 amp breaker to removing the breaker altogether with no change in results. BTW, none of the breakers ever tripped either.

I removed one of the batteries from the boat to light some LED lights around my deck last night and when I was replacing it today, it seemed like the batteries weren't wired together correctly to create 36 volts. I think the boat shop who wired the TM may have only had two batteries in series instead of three. Would running a 36 volt motor on 24 volts cause the TM to shut itself off? It the new MinnKota 112# Terrova w/IPilot.

Or would the TM even run on 24 volts?

Merv, in a big hurry this morning ... Yes the TM will shut off under High demand such as top speed if only seeing 24VDC... Double check and make sure all three are in series ... 8 ga. probably okay ... 6 ga. even better for a 18 foot run .... Hope this helps ... <'TK><

[agelesssone]

You just confirmed my suspicions.

I thought the wiring looked amiss when I went to put the battery back in. The boat shop mechanic had left one of the batteries out of the series.

I had the boat in the water just to take Sophia for a joy ride and I forgot to run the TM.

Thanks TK.

[XxthejuicexX]

Did he have the batteries hooked up wrong or did he just miss one completely?

[agelesssone]

Hooked up, but not in series. He had two in series, but the third was not wired into the string.

He had the ground wire from battery one going to trolling motor ground. He had a jumper wire going from hot on battery one to ground on battery two. Good so far. He then had a jumper wire going from hot on battery two to hot on battery three and a ground to ground connection on those two batteries. He then had the positive wire from the TM hooked up to the hot wire on the third battery
This only put 24 volts to the trolling motor.

I rewired it negative post battery one to TM negative wire. Positive post to negative post battery one to battery two. Positive post from battery two to negative post battery three. Positive post on battery three was then hooked to the positive wire on the TM, thus giving me three batteries wired in series, meaning I have 36 volts to the trolling motor. You can keep wiring batteries together in this sequence and it just keeps adding to the total voltage delivered to the end use. 12, 24, 36, 48, ad infinitum...

If you hook negative to negative, positive to positive, you just add longer life to the device being powered, but no extra voltage. It will constantly be 12 volts. It's like having a 1 gallon tank and adding extra tanks to it. You still get the same amount of fuel out of the fuel line, it just takes a lot longer to empty the fuel, in this case, electricity.

[agelesssone]

Well, took the boat out today to test the trolling motor.

Same old, same old. It shuts itself off after a few seconds on high (10).

So I kept reducing the numbers until it finally settled on 6 1/2 and it didn't kick off. Turned up to 7 and within 15 seconds, it would shut itself off.

When it shuts off, I would have to turn the "constant on" off and back on to restart the TM.

It doesn't matter if I set the speed on the foot pedal or on the remote.

Seems like I may have to take it it a Minnkota repair facility in Hendersonville.

[Alphahawk]

Bummer.



Regards

[tkwalker]

Originally Posted by agelesssone

Well, took the boat out today to test the trolling motor.

Same old, same old. It shuts itself off after a few seconds on high (10).

So I kept reducing the numbers until it finally settled on 6 1/2 and it didn't kick off. Turned up to 7 and within 15 seconds, it would shut itself off.

When it shuts off, I would have to turn the "constant on" off and back on to restart the TM.

It doesn't matter if I set the speed on the foot pedal or on the remote.

Seems like I may have to take it it a Minnkota repair facility in Hendersonville.

Yes I can't think of the Gentleman's name but I used his Service for years when I was guiding ... Is he right off New Shackle Island Road ?? <'TK><

[Pookie]

Originally Posted by tkwalker

Yes I can't think of the Gentleman's name but I used his Service for years when I was guiding ... Is he right off New Shackle Island Road ?? <'TK><

You are thinking of Marine Electric Svc. They are no longer, as the Bass Tracker place bought them out. I've had one experience with them and they are yahoos.

My tm is a Motor Guide 112# on a 20' boat. It is wired with 4 ga. wire and I've never had a problem.