Trolling Motor Plug

[litldvel]

I am new to this so hopefully I am not kicked too hard for this question. I was on the lake the past weekend and while on the 24 volt selection I felt a jolt and the trolling motor stopped. I switched over to a 12 volt and it worked just fine. I could switch back to the 24 volt and it would work for about 2 minutes and then quit. By the time I got back there was no 24 volt system, and after looking into it the plug was melted a little bit, and I smelled smoke. There was no fuses blown, I just put a new fuse panel in and was wondering if the fuse panels holds and fuses for the trolling motor and if so what amp fuse should it be? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Trolling Motor Plug

Sounds like a loose or dirty connection. Are you using heavy duty connectors and is your wiring to the TM at least 6 or 8 gauge? I have a 24V, 70lb TM and it calls for a 50 amp circuit breaker. You need find the problem and get it fixed before using it again. Its hard to run from a fire in a boat.

 

[litldvel]

Re: Trolling Motor Plug

Thanks, IBNFSHN ,,I will check the connections I have a plug ordered to replace this one. Nothing has been changed from the factory so the 8gauge wire is still original. The breaker are 50 amps and in the battery box in the back. Hopefully the plug will clean it up cause, after the military I have had enough of swimming with the fishes <br />But don't think I will take it out again until this problem is tested THOROUGHLY! I will let you know what I find.

 

[ufm82]

Re: Trolling Motor Plug

This is a longshot but it's worth looking into. If you are confident in your skills, this really isn't tough. The problem you had may be in the lower unit. I've seen it a few times and it does exactly what you described. Water seeps into the lower unit and corrodes the brushes and the armature, causing high amperage draws. You can check it like this:<br /><br />Remove the prop and you should see a couple screws that hold the rear end cap on the lower unit. Remove those and carefully remove the cap- you'll see the back end of the armature and the field magnets. Look to see if there is any sign of water intrusion. If it is clean, use some vaseline to grease the seal and reassemble. If there is crusty stuff inside, it'll need to be disassembled completely and fixed or it will go south very quickly. <br /><br />Hopefully it's just a dirty plug. <br /><br />UFM82

 

[litldvel]

Re: Trolling Motor Plug

UFM82, Wanted to thank you for your great information. I took the lower unit apart (little difficult squeezing that thing back together but good exercise). There was some rust specs present. So I cleaned it out and put some vaseline on the O-rings. Will make sure that I carry my spare transom mount with me until I find another Bow mount. Good thing is I won't be stuck out in the water, bad thing is I have to shell out around 600 bucks for another one. OH Well, hopefully the next one will last 17 years like this one.<br />Thanks again for the info.<br /><br />Litldvel