Trolling Motor Quits...Then Starts Working Again...Repeatedly

[kinggabbo]

I have a Motorguide EF54 trolling motor and yesterday at the lake it just suddenly stopped working. Thought maybe it flipped the breaker. So I reset it, still nothing. Then out of thin air it just started working again. It did this several times and the last time it wouldn't start working again so I headed home. When I got home, I tried it and it was back to working again.

I checked the battery and it had a full charge and I checked the plug receptacle and it was showing 12v as well. Anybody have any ideas what could be the problem?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Quits...Then Starts Working Again...Repeatedly

The breaker you have may not actually reset when you push the button. Unless it provides a positive "snap" when the button is pushed the breaker did not reset. If you have a lever actuated breaker then that's a different issue. You need to determine "why" the breaker tripped. The first step is to remove the prop and check for fish line wrapped around the shaft. That makes the motor draw too much current and pops the breaker. If there is no fish line present, spin the prop by hand. If the motor turns hard, it has likely injested some water and the bearings have tightened up.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trolling Motor Quits...Then Starts Working Again...Repeatedly

Thanks for the tips Silvertip. You know I didn't pay attention to if there was a "click" or "snap" when I reset the breaker. But I don't think there was. Maybe the breaker is bad? I did check for line around the prop and it was clean. The prop will spin by hand pretty easily, with some resistance, but I thought that was from the magnets in the motor.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Quits...Then Starts Working Again...Repeatedly

Turning the prop by hand you will feel sort of a slight jerky motion. That's the action of the magnets. Each time a circuit breaker trips, it derates by a small amount. What this means is a 50 amp breaker (for example) trips the first few times, it will lose some of its capacity and may actually trip at 48 amps. Further tripping derates further and finally it can no longer hold under normal conditions. If the breaker must handle very close to its trip rating under normal conditions, it wouldn't take long for the breaker to derate to the point where it can't hold. Resettable breakers work on a heat principle so when the breaker trips, it takes awhile for it to cool where it can be reset. Any bad, loose, or corroded connections in the system increases current flow so check those carefully -- make sure they are disassembled, cleaned thoroughly and securely tightened. Wire size can also affect current flow but if you have not had a problem until now, that is likely not a problem.

 

[kinggabbo]

Re: Trolling Motor Quits...Then Starts Working Again...Repeatedly

It is a brand new breaker. If that was what it was, it had never been tripped before then. But maybe it did trip and then have to cool down. I have checked most connections. The only thing I haven't cleaned lately is the plug the trolling motor plugs into.

 

[glfishwi]

Did you ever find a solution to this? My Motorguide Varimax does the exact same thing. Today, the motor just stopped on me, again. Has not happened in weeks. No junk around the prop shaft. It will just stop working. Then, it takes 7 - 10 minutes and it starts working again. Happened three times about an hour into fishing today. Then, it worked perfectly for a couple more hours.

I have a breaker on the battery, but, not with a reset button. Also, when the motor shuts off, it still has power (battery level on motor shows full). So, my breaker on the battery is OK. Almost seems like some type of breaker inside the unit?

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