Trolling motor questions..

[Marchosia]

Ok so yesterday i went fishing.. An ive been having problems with the trolling motor stop working for a couple weeks now.. First i thought it was just getting a bad connection to the battery post, so cleaned it an could mess with the cable an it would work for a little while then do the same thing.. But yesterday in the middle of the day, it just stopped working.. I figured with the grass dieing in the lake an everything that it got wrapped up inside.. took the thing off nothing on the shaft, so then we just figured the battery was dead since it was having to use more battery with all the grass an stuff..

So we brought it home an hooked up the the battery charger an it said one was at 90%, an the other was at 80%. So i then tried to turn the propellor on the motor by hand an it just seemed extremely hard to turn compared to other times when i would spin it by hand, an hit the button to when the charger was on it would turn maybe half an inch then stop..

Now it just keep popping the switch thing.. its a 24 volt 45lb thrust motorguide bruteforce, thats about 10 years old i would say, but not sure..

So my question is.. Is the motor in it just seized up causing it to pop the switch, or is it just old an worn out an need a new one..

An another question, if I do end up buying a new one my question is.. Can you tell a difference between a 24v 45lb thrust and a higher pound thrust that is 12v? Or would it be better to just get another 24v one?

Thanks for the help in advance..

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling motor questions..

If the motor turns very hard by hand it is indeed seized up due to bad bearings or corrosion because water has made it's way inside. The motor draws an extremely high amount of current when it turns hard so that's why the circuit breaker is popping. There is a good chance the motor is toast but why not open it up and take a look. Nothing to lose is there!

If you need a new motor and you were happy with 45# of thrust, a 55# 12 volt unit would make you very happy. Not only are they much cheaper than a 24 volt motor you have only one battery to contend with rather than two. Besides, 24 volt motors start above 55# and it appears you really don't need that much power. 55# is the largest 12 volt unit from either Minnkota or MotorGuide.