Trolling Motor Switch..

[Marchosia]

Alright I have a motorguide tour 82 lbs of thrust trolling motor that was gave to me a few months back. It worked fine when we hooked all the wires up an everything, until the day it was finally good enough weather to take the boat out an do some fishing. Before we left the house I decided that I would try to make sure it would work before we left the house, plugged it up an it would not turn the prop, but was lighting up the light on the directional arrow. So I started messing with the wires checking the battery connections an even cleaned the connections with still no luck. After about 30 minutes of that my father came outside an seen that we were having problems an starting rubbing on the screws an wires on the bottom of the foot pedal an the sswitch an after doing that it started working.

So after that we left to head to the lake, an when we got thier before even started to back down the ramp i once again checked to make sure the trolling motor would work since it was our first time to use it. Needless to say it didnt work then so we did everything my father did an it still didnt work an after 45 mins of scratching head checking connections I called my father an he told me to take a screwdriver an place it on the back of the switches screw connecting the two with the screwdriver and blow into the switch onto the foot pedal, so I did an of course it worked.

Now tonight I was out taking the boat cover off getting the boat ready for the upcoming Bassmaster classic at Lay Lake here in Birmingham that im going to and just playing around i plugged the trolling motor up and of course it wasnt working but the light on the arrow was working. So I messed with the connections again an still nothing, seeing how i havent used it in about a month I figured that the battery was to low to turn it but had enough charge to turn the light on, but there was no dimming of the light when the switch was pressed. So I put the battery on the charger an headed to walmart, came home and waited about hour an half an tried it again. Still nothing but the light turning on. I tried everything that my father has told me to try before and still nothing..

So my questions are.. What would be causing this to happen? The switch being bad, a bad connection or possibly something else?

Thanks in advance..

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Switch..

All of the things you mentioned. Follow the current. Start at the batteries and using a voltmeter, measure the voltage. Should be 24 volts at the red and black wires going up front. (You do have two batteries wired in series don't you?). At the connector, measure again. No 24 volts there is a problem between the connector and the batteries. Then move to the foot pedal. Check for 24 into the switch. Then activate the switch and check for 24 volts out of the switch. If all of this checks ok, there is a problem in the motor not the pedal.

 

[Marchosia]

Re: Trolling Motor Switch..

Yes I have it in series.. Well this morning before I left for work me an my father went out an checked all the voltage an everything was fine, even the switch at the pedel. We also hooked it straight up to the batteries to the wires and still wouldnt work. Then my father went an spun the prop with his hand and it started working, but when we hooked all back together normal and everything and now it will work every now and then he said while he was working on it while i was at work..

He said he would shake some wires an it would start to run, an shake the boat, an get it started an cut off.. but all the voltage was reading right..

So manged to figure out it seems like thiers a short going from the plug, to the footpedal, an wen we took the wire wrap off the wires looked fine an not like they should be shorting out, but after we messed with them awhile it worked fine an still works fine.. So we taped it back up an screwed it back down and was working after we did all that, now the batteries are charging..

So hopefully everything will be fine an it not be the motor.. But what would cause it to seem like the wires were being shorted out at the footpedal an still look perfectly fine on the wires..?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trolling Motor Switch..

Short circuits blow fuses so that's not the problem. Bad connections cause intermittent operation which is very likely your problem. I suspect the brushes in the motor or the wiring in the motor shaft is the issue.

 

[Slimpickens4me]

Re: Trolling Motor Switch..

Did you ever discover what the problem was? I have one doing the same thing. I've had it to the shop and of course it worked for them. Thanks for any help you can give me!