24 volt trolling motor hook up????

[BAKERMAN]

I have an older Alumnicraft boat that originally came with a 12 volt trolling motor...It finally gave out this fall and I bought a used Minnkota trolling motor that is 24 volt.

The storage area for batteries has two battery tiedown areas as well as 2 separate battery cables--one complete +/- for each battery. Up in the front of the boat is a switch that states down for 24 volt, center for 12 volt and up for recharging. I hooked each battery up to their individual cables and flipped the front switch to 24 volt and ran the trolling motor out in the bay. It works but seems to be running slower than I expected. Should I add a continuity cable between the batteries.

Any Help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[TonkaBass]

If you are getting 24v up front you should be fine. My guess is that you are running 12v. Try jumping the positive of one battery to the negative to the other battery and running two leads to the trolling motor (one from the empty positive of one battery and one from the empty negative of the other battery). I'm sure you could google it for a picture.... really there is only three wires. the jumper to series the batteries and the two lines to feed the troller.

[PerchJerker]

If your two sets of + and - wires from the battery are going to a plug-in port for your trolling motor, you probably make the jumper connection there, inside the plug or the receptacle. There is often 3 connections at that point for when you have a set of power leads for each battery ------ 1 for -, 1 for 12 volt, and 1 for 24 volt. My guess is you're on the 12 volt connection, not the 24 volt connection.

[BAKERMAN]

Thank you for your insights....I did like Tonkabass recommended and the trolling motor is running like I hoped it would...

Here's to a great fishing season

Thanks again

Craig

[BAKERMAN]

I now have the trolling motor working better than I expected Thanks to you Gentlemen...

Now my next question...Is it possible to charge both batteries by simply attaching the charger to one of the batteries? the set up I have is the "jumper to the series and the two lines to feed the troller"

Thanks for you insights

[PerchJerker]

You need 1 bank or 1 charger for each battery.

If you had the batteries connected in parallel (+ to + and - to -) so it was still 12 volts you could do it with 1 charger, but in series for 24 volts you need a bank or a a charger for each battery.

[BAKERMAN]

Thank you..That means I need to buy an onboard charger that handles 2 batteries...

Thanks again

Craig

[bucketmouth64]

I just bought a two bank from Pro Fishing Supply over the weekend. I've done some research and his prices are pretty good. I ended up buying the Guest brand and their price by far is the lowest. My second choice would have been the MK.

[eyebjim]

Guest is a good brand too. I have had my 3 bank Guest in my boat going on 9 years with no problems.