Trolling motor advise and wiring help?

[MikesOcean]

Hello fisherman!

My boat use to have a 24 v bow mount trolling motor that I would plug into a 12/24v marinco receptacle in the front of the boat. There are 4 orange wires that run to the stern where the 2 trolling batteries use to be.

I'm planning to buy a new 12v TM and I need help/advise on how to do this easy and properly from people who are familiar with 12/24 v. marinco receptacle.

I plan to put old plug on new tm and just plug in receptacle. And although I love the fact to just connect tm straight to house batt and never worry about charging, I prefer to buy a separate batt so I don't chance draining the house batt.

Am I suppose to rewire the marinco receptacle for 12v? Or can I just leave all wires connected to it and just grab any two wires in back and experiment to see which wires operate the tm? They are all orange so I have no clue which is + and which is - .

Any help and advise would be great.

Also would like to hear pros and cons on the tm I am looking at which is the Minn Kota power drive 12v 55lb at $600 bucks. I know I can get spend way more and get more gadgets but I'm looking for something more affordable since I have an older boat.

Thanks in advance!
MIKE

[DEVOREFLYER]

Call John and talk to him as he may have a deal for you and can walk you through the wiring or make a harness. John is a world class guy and an electrical and trolling motor go to guy. And he has used motors and gear with a warranty.

http://www.jonestrollingmotor.com/what%20we%20do.htm

[MikesOcean]

Thx Devo! But I think it might be awkward to call him asking "how to wire"
I will call him tomorrow to see what he has in used motors!

I was hoping you would have walked me through this on the phone
Like you did with my Lowrance problem. Hehe.

No?

[DEVOREFLYER]

I would be happy to walk you through if ya got a fire extinguisher when the sparks start flyin'. lol It's the "4 orange wires" that have me puzzled also. You are right that you only need 2 wires if going to 12v. While it not a requirement I always like to install a breaker between the battery and motor (just in case) ya know. I can wire it if you need help PM me.

[fishinone]

Hi Mike,

Mine was wired for 12 or 24 volt when I got it. It came a part soon because the plastic connectors were old but one pin was ground another was 24 volt and the third was 12 volt. If the motor was wired correctly all I had to do was plug it in and the pins that were wired selected the correct voltage.

[MikesOcean]

I would be happy to walk you through if ya got a fire extinguisher when the sparks start flyin'. lol It's the "4 orange wires" that have me puzzled also. You are right that you only need 2 wires if going to 12v. While it not a requirement I always like to install a breaker between the battery and motor (just in case) ya know. I can wire it if you need help PM me.

Haha your too funny Devo! I will remember to have my fire extinguisher ready!


Hi Mike,

Mine was wired for 12 or 24 volt when I got it. It came a part soon because the plastic connectors were old but one pin was ground another was 24 volt and the third was 12 volt. If the motor was wired correctly all I had to do was plug it in and the pins that were wired selected the correct voltage.

Thx Ron! But you didn't help me with the 4 orange wires. Lol

[fishinone]

Thx Ron! But you didn't help me with the 4 orange wires. Lol

The orange wire is -12V, the orange wire is +12V, the orange wire is -24V and finally the orange wire is +24V.

Just let me know if you need any more help!

[trail blazer]

mike,,,,1st thing to do is make sure that the battery is fully charged and hook,d up,, This will help in spotting the sparks in bright sunlight while looking for the right wire combination,,If the wire ends are getting worn then just rip the ends off and strip abought an inch of the remaining wire back away from the plastic covering,,,THEN just crimp those wires to the battery terminals with some old worn out vise grips,,,THEN find any KINDA BIG looking red and black wires laying around in the general area of the trolling motor and do this,,,,just touch the black and red wires togather ,,,if it sparks then its right!,,,if not then just put some aluminum foil in the fuse box, don't be chinsey here,,,,,,remember the FOIL will have to be able to withstand the load of the red and black wires coming in contact with each other multiple times before the BAKO BOYS finally fix it right for you,,,,:Wink:


TRAIL BLAZER

[cutbait]

Mike don't forget that after you fully charge the battery you grab an end wrench and lay across both terminals of the battery ( the pos and the neg) for a minimum of 1 minute.

Doing this sets the memory of each cell in the battery. Done correctly the battery will heat up and "wear in" giving you an extended run time.


When rewiring the plug, a nice trick to strip off the insulation on the wires is to use a box cutter and press firmly into the insulation using your thumb as back pressure.

You might want to also overtighten every screw or bolt. You may feel like they are going to break but that's when you need to be extra careful and tighten even harder. Use a snipe if you have to.

Think about this, sometimes its better to run all your instruments, fish finders, trolling motor on one fuse.

For instance a 20 amp online fuse should be sufficient in running all your electrical components. Saves a ton of room on the boat without all those extra fuses and wires and fuse panel nonsense

[fishinone]

mike,,,,1st thing to do is make sure that the battery is fully charged and hook,d up,, This will help in spotting the sparks in bright sunlight while looking for the right wire combination,,If the wire ends are getting worn then just rip the ends off and strip abought an inch of the remaining wire back away from the plastic covering,,,THEN just crimp those wires to the battery terminals with some old worn out vise grips,,,THEN find any KINDA BIG looking red and black wires laying around in the general area of the trolling motor and do this,,,,just touch the black and red wires togather ,,,if it sparks then its right!,,,if not then just put some aluminum foil in the fuse box, don't be chinsey here,,,,,,remember the FOIL will have to be able to withstand the load of the red and black wires coming in contact with each other multiple times before the BAKO BOYS finally fix it right for you,,,,:Wink:


TRAIL BLAZER

I just have one thing to add to this.

Don't smoke while you're doing this.

It might start a fire!

[trail blazer]

o YA,,,Almost forgot to mention,,,,do NOT wear thise surgical looking mechanical gloves that keep your hands clean,,,,,The skingrafts adhere and take much better to the burnt limbs and body parts without the residue from the latex
and rubber imbedded into the skin,,,,,,,,

Besides you could have a minor allergic reaction to the latex





TRAIL BLAZER

[MikesOcean]

LOL love you guys!!!

A year and half ago I took the old tm off when I redid the boat. I taped each set of orange wires
Together with electric tape so I would know each set goes to a battery. Today when I took the electric tape off each set, one orange wire on each set had additional electric tape wrapped around the orange wire pretty good. I must have done that so I knew that the blk tape would represent - wire.

Well today I went to buy 2 deep cycle batt from Walmart. I went straight to the boat to install new batteries and hook old tm up to make sure all the wires are right. BINGO old motor turned on.

So I decided I'm gonna stick to a 24 v tm and to make things easy. Plus I know I will get more speed/power.
Tomorrow I am going to p/u at BPS. And install when I get back if not too hot!(ya right)

Thx guys for all the great humor and I will make sure to lay on + and - terminals on the hot asphalt with my shirt off to make sure I break it in. Haha.

I will post finished product.

[trail blazer]

all joking aside mike,,,,,,,,,,,since you are going 24,,,,,,be sure and put a digi voltage meter on your plug to make sure that your in series+24 volt AND not parralle= 12 volt,,,,,,,a 24 motor will still turn with just 12 volts ,,,,,just wont have much power,,,,,,

TRAIL BLAZER

[MikesOcean]

That is actually great advice!

Thx Scott! I will check it tomorrow!

[DEVOREFLYER]

Put a 50 amp breaker on those hot wires, you don't want to have a short and fry your troll motor.

[muskyman]

another word of advise is to keep a spare trolling motor plug in the boat at all times. I cannot tell you how many events I have fished where the plug goes bad and its so quick and easy to fix ...........provided you have a spare. Trust me.

[DEVOREFLYER]

Don't forget the breaker(s).

http://www.basspro.com/SeaDog-Resettable-Circuit-Breaker/product/1401161011362/

[MikesOcean]

Put a 50 amp breaker on those hot wires, you don't want to have a short and fry your troll motor.

Hmmm.. I was thinking a 50amp inline fuse would be enough?


another word of advise is to keep a spare trolling motor plug in the boat at all times. I cannot tell you how many events I have fished where the plug goes bad and its so quick and easy to fix ...........provided you have a spare. Trust me.

Ya great tip. I have had the plug melt out there on a hot day! Suuuux!!


Don't forget the breaker(s).

http://www.basspro.com/SeaDog-Resettable-Circuit-Breaker/product/1401161011362/

Daaaayaaam I'm gonna have to remember this. I truly thought 1 50amp inline fuse was plenty? WTF? LOL

[DEVOREFLYER]

Breaker is what you want and 50 amp, fuses are for sissy's cause ya never have a spare when they pop. Breakers have a reset. :Envious:

ps: One breaker on each battery.

[MikesOcean]

Daddy likes!!!! :Dancing Banana:

[DEVOREFLYER]

Mike did you get the motor and is it hooked up yet?????

[MikesOcean]

Mike did you get the motor and is it hooked up yet?????

Dev

I bought it on Friday and it was so daaaayaam hot I didn't want to do
It in the heat.

I plan to do it late morning or early afternoon.
I will post up when I'm done. Wish me luck. Haha

[MikesOcean]

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/965B471C-2F63-4D30-8DC8-7E1FCF71E5C4_zpsjd9o9pf0.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/965B471C-2F63-4D30-8DC8-7E1FCF71E5C4_zpsjd9o9pf0.jpg.html)

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/A08F86FE-2992-434C-98F2-41D34C30965F_zps6rc05fkj.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/A08F86FE-2992-434C-98F2-41D34C30965F_zps6rc05fkj.jpg.html)

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/D170BF74-DDAD-429E-90D3-042F11A83187_zpsh5cg1ldr.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/D170BF74-DDAD-429E-90D3-042F11A83187_zpsh5cg1ldr.jpg.html)

[DEVOREFLYER]

Very nice indeed, but does it work? Just kidding, nice install and now it needs a test run, it's got tears coming out the prop from not being used.

[MikesOcean]

When I bought this power drive the guy at BP sold me a wireless pedal. But he didn't tell me I need to upgrade to co- pilot which is not compatible to I- pilot. I was looking forward to upgrade to I-pilot in the next month or so to utilize spot lock which keeps you in one spot and no anchors needed. Not to mention was excited to have a foot pedal for t/w out there.

The salesman didn't tell me I can not use use the pedal with I-pilot on the power drive. The only model you can use remote, pedal, gps, spot lock, auto pilot, & cruise control on one motor is the Terrova. Oh great it is more $. He said it was ok if I wanted to bring it back and exchange it but the 24v is only made with 80lb and 60 inch shaft. So what should I do? UCK IT!!! I only live once!!

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/64B1FFCA-DB2B-45AE-9DA0-60FD78E09A83_zpsptkf3ltz.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/64B1FFCA-DB2B-45AE-9DA0-60FD78E09A83_zpsptkf3ltz.jpg.html)

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/mikesocean/Mobile%20Uploads/3E44CD1E-7C18-4905-832A-81336C83961A_zps0i1xttqg.jpg (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/mikesocean/media/Mobile%20Uploads/3E44CD1E-7C18-4905-832A-81336C83961A_zps0i1xttqg.jpg.html)

Looking forward to try this new beast!!

[DEVOREFLYER]

Outstanding as it will hold you on "Your Spot" without an anchor. It will also allow you to follow and repeat a track painlessly. Your fishin' brothers are gonna hate you. Tell um to suck it up. lol