upgrade trolling motor to 24v

[ky_boater]

I just recently purchased a Minn Kota Maxxum 70lb trolling motor which is 24v. I currently have a 55lb motorguide 12v. The Minn Kota came with a Ranger plug and I am wondering if I can just take the plug off the Motorguide and put it on the Minn Kota. The Motorguide plug and receptacle both say 12-24 on them. I am wondering if the current wiring for the trolling motor is already setup for 24v (other than the battery setup).

I have talked to a few people and they have mentioned making sure you have the proper guage wires (6 or 8) going to the batteries. I'm not real sure what guage wires are currently installed but they appear to be good size (I attached a picture of the wires).


Also, on the current receptacle, there are 2 red cables going to the battery (+) and one black wires (-). Why are there 2 red wires and not just one?

Thanks.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: upgrade trolling motor to 24v

Marinco's 12/24 plug and receptacle can be configured in different ways. It looks like Ranger ran 2 + wires (red and orange?) to the receptacle, to parallel the batteries only when the plug is inserted into the socket. Most likely to break the parallel connection for battery charging, so each battery gets charged independently.

The wire "looks" like 6ga to me, any writing on the wires?

The plug and receptacle can be configured for 24V use. Run + and - from both batteries to the receptacle, (you'll need another - wire) and then series jumper the plug for 24V. The receptacle wiring is pretty straight forward, but make sure you series jumper the plug correctly, only 1 jumper. Jumper the plug wrong and it would directly short out a battery . Instructions for wiring are on Marinco's website.

Either that or, make the series connection at the batteries and then connect a single + and - wire to the receptacle. The plug wouldn't need any jumpers for this configuration. This can be done with your existing wiring.

Do you have an on-board battery charger or are you using a portable battery charger?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: upgrade trolling motor to 24v

Way too complicated an unnecessary as well as inefficient runs of wire. A 24 volt troller doesn't need all that wire running to the front. Just like a 12 volt motor it only needs two wires. Boat manufacturers did one of two things for the combo 12/24 motors. They either ran three or four wires to the bow. Since you only need two, Select the red and black wires near the batteries. You will need two batteries wired in series for this. Do not remove or cut any wires currently in the boat. Leave them so the next owner can put it back the way it was. Simply wire the batteries like this:

Then connect the positive (red) and negative (black) wires as shown in the diagram. At the bow, all you need to do is check which two terminals the red and black wires are on. Remove the plug from the existing motor and install it on the new motor making sure you match the motor wires to the two terminals in the receptacle. You can remove any jumpers in the plug. Save it for future use. The existing wire size will be fine. This is a simple and trouble free system.

 

[ky_boater]

Re: upgrade trolling motor to 24v

With regards to an onboard charger. I have a Minn Kota 315 charger. Would I just hook up charger cables to the batteries the same way if it were a 12 v setup?

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: upgrade trolling motor to 24v

If this is a three bank charger one pair of outputs go to each battery.

 

[ky_boater]

Re: upgrade trolling motor to 24v

Thanks!