Minnkota Trolling Motor won't turn left

[WyoChris]

I have a Minnekota trolling motor on the front of my boat with a foot pedal. It will rotate right, but it won't rotate left. Any idea what is causing this?

Thanks

[Eckie]

Could it be one of the cables inside the unit? Most have two cables running from the pedal up to the head --- guessing one of those slipped out of it's holder? Other possibility is a cable snapped. It's easy to find out, just take the head cover off and see if both cables are attached -- if they are, gently pull on both and see if one gives -- you'll know immediately if it's not attached.

[bassNspear]

these pads are knowen to go bad. Not worth sticking the money into fixing them. go and get a new one!

[marine_man]

I'm guessing here, but I'd guess you have a power drive, or a non cable driven trolling motor, right?

I agree with Bass N Spear here, sounds like a foot pedal. Do you know anyone who has a similar foot pedal? I'd swap them and see what that tells you.

One other option is to take your Foot Pedal to Fish Electronics in Minneapolis - they're pretty helpful there.

marine_man

[BoxMN]

Also make sure you have enough water in the battery, and it/they are charged. I have seen this on 24v systems where one or both batts are low on water, or one batt is bad.

Good luck!

[Bad Moon]

I have one that does that too with a remote. Might be a bad connection at the plug. I just unplug it , that flat plug right by the motor base, then plug it in and then it works. For a while.

[Bad Moon]

I have one that does that too when using a remote control. There might be a poor connection in that flat plug by the motor base. I unplug mine and then plug it in again and it works. For a while.

[EyeGuide]

I had the same issue once, all I had to do was take the foot pedal apart and clean the dirt from the contacts inside. I just used a couple QTips and some 409 cleaner, then it worked like new. (Maybe someone else has a better way?) This could be the issue or you have a bad foot pedal and they are around $80. For your sake I just hope it's dirty. Good luck

[WyoChris]

Yes, it is a powerdrive.

I just tried it with my wireless remote control and it still has the same problem, so that rules out a bad foot pedal.

My trolling motor batteries are fully charged and have enough water.

Well i'm gonna take off the screws and open her up

[WyoChris]

Ok, here is the update. After ruling out the bad foot pedal, I was out on the lake and put it on "autopilot" and it turned left using that. But it still won't turn left with the foot pedal or Co-pilot remote.

After doing some research online and calling the Minnkota service line, I concluded the main circuit board must be bad (apparently the autopilot uses a a different circuit board). So, I bought a new circuit board at the nearest minnkota dealer, replaced it, and..... it didn't fix it. It still won't turn left and i am back to square one.

I can't think of what else to try, and I can't stop fishing for more than a few days so leaving it at the shop for a week or two isn't an option. Any more ideas?

Thanks. Any more help would be greatly appreciated.

[crawler harness]

I would take the new circuit board back and try the compass board, my dad's did the same thing. The steering wires hook into the compass board, easy fix.

[WyoChris]

Crawler

Good idea, can you tell me where the compass board is located? I lost my manual awhile back.

[crawler harness]

its at the top of the trollig motor. take the 4 screws out the bottom side, and then the ones out where cable goes into the head and you should see it

[Eckie]

Isn't this what I mentioned in my earlier post (Crawler's idea)? Tho, I will admit, I might've used incorrect verbage/terminology when trying to help out....

Let us know what you find! Good luck...

[crawler harness]

Eckie,

yes you did suggest about the wires going to the compass being broken or loose, but not the compass itself being replaced.

[Eckie]

I stand corrected

Only reason I thought of it was I just had the same issue -- thought it was a cable that came off, so when I pulled the head off, turns out the cable did, but a piece of the plastic housing was broken off --

Took it down to Motor Clinic in Bloomington -- they replaced the board with a used one he had sitting around -- in and out in a couple of days.

[Hookmaster]

When this happened to me I cleaned the foot pedal first since this solved some previous issues. This time it didn't fix it. Then I cleaned the flat plug and found some corrosion on one the pins. It fixed it and worked fine ever since.