CaneCutter79
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- May 24, 2009
- Messages
- 454
I have a 1979 boat and the wire that is used for the original 25lb thrust trolling motor is about 12ga I believe. There are (4) 12ga wires running from the bow to the stern where the batteries are stored. The wires were once switched to go from 12v to 24v (not sure how that worked) but I have bypassed the volt switch entirely and I?m running (2) of the 12ga wires for positive, and (2) of the 12ga wires for negative power leads. I?ve upgraded to a newer Minkota 65lb thrust trolling motor (quite the upgrade!) from the factory original Evinrude lightweight trolling motor.
When trolling at the highest speed in windy conditions, the 30amp breaker will trip after about 2-3mins of wide open throttle on the trolling motor. When trying to reset the breaker, I noticed the wires were very warm and so was the breaker (thus why it tripped). The setup works fine until using the trolling motor at it?s highest setting for a prolonged period.
I?m thinking of upsizing the 33yr old 12ga wire to multistrand 8ga wires (1 for positive, 1 for negative lead). I do not know how many amps are being pulled from the trolling motor (that would be good to know because then I could size the wire based on amp draw). If I can find any information on the amp draw, it would be valuable. I?m thinking either 6-8ga wire.
Also, multi-strand wire (like speakerwire) vs. stiffer automotive wire (cheap stuff at Autozone that has large strands with about 12 strands in a 12ga wire).
Questions:
This solution should deliver the current more efficiently and reduce heat as well correct?
When trolling at the highest speed in windy conditions, the 30amp breaker will trip after about 2-3mins of wide open throttle on the trolling motor. When trying to reset the breaker, I noticed the wires were very warm and so was the breaker (thus why it tripped). The setup works fine until using the trolling motor at it?s highest setting for a prolonged period.
I?m thinking of upsizing the 33yr old 12ga wire to multistrand 8ga wires (1 for positive, 1 for negative lead). I do not know how many amps are being pulled from the trolling motor (that would be good to know because then I could size the wire based on amp draw). If I can find any information on the amp draw, it would be valuable. I?m thinking either 6-8ga wire.
Also, multi-strand wire (like speakerwire) vs. stiffer automotive wire (cheap stuff at Autozone that has large strands with about 12 strands in a 12ga wire).
Questions:
This solution should deliver the current more efficiently and reduce heat as well correct?
