Minnkota Powerdrive Trolling Motor Problem - Need advice

[WyoChris]

I have a Minnkota Powerdrive Trolling Motor (Copilot, 80 lbs thrust). I was out fishing today, using the trolling motor, when all the sudden it stopped working and couldn't get it working again.

The motor will not thrust, nor will the motor turn left or right.

I charged up the batteries again and it still won't work. However, the motor stopped at a pretty full charge anyway, so it didn't stop due to the batteries being dead.

I took off the footpedal, and tried the copilot remote, and it still didn't work. This rules out a faulty footpedal.

Where do I start troubleshooting? Any ideas of what could wrong? I would like to try and fix this myself before going straight to the Minnkota dealer.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Chris

[CAMAN]

Fuse/breaker?

[PerchJerker]

Have your batteries load tested --- even though they are reading 12 volts they may not be putting out the amps needed to run your motor.

[JohnMickish]

First thing I would do is make sure you have power at the connector. It sure sounds like a fuse/connection problem.

[CRFan1]

Check the fuse! Should be in line in the power wiring.

[mojogunter]

Does the unit beep when you plug it in? If it doesn't there is a power issue. If it does then chances are the circuit board may have an issue. The power drives are known to have board problems.

[marine_man]

I would check to make sure you've got power at the plug in on your boat with a multimeter. I agree with the others.. sounds like a fuse to me as well.

If you've got power to the trolling motor, batteries load check good I'd say it's time for a visit to Motor Clinic in Bloomington.

marine_man

[BigSwen]

I have the exact same motor and had problems last summer. It quit having thrust...it woudl either be full on or full off. It would turn but no control on speed. I had the circuit board replaced. I used it the next time out and same story, the board blew again...now, this time it was under warranty. The second time in, they checked the brushes in the motor assembly and replaced them as well. I in turn added the Minn Kota circuit breaker and in the limited use since then all has been well. So, check the brushes for excessive current draw...that is a big motor pulling big juice. Secondly, get the board replaced. If I remember right, it was about a $75 experience to have fixed.

Mark

[WyoChris]

Thanks for your help guys, I worked on it for awhile tonight.... when I would plug the trolling motor in it wouldn't beep anymore. In addition, when I would press the "battery test" button, the graph wouldn't light up at all. And of course the trolling motor is totally dead - wouldnt thrust, turn, or do anything with the footpedal or the copilot. So I am convinced this must be a power source problem.

I went out and bought a multimeter to test the power. I tested the batteries themselves and they had a full charge, then tested the negative side of one battery, and the positive side of the other (i have 2x batteries), and it read about 26 volts. In addition, I just bought brand new batteries about 3 weeks ago. This tells me the batteries and their circuit is working.

I tried to put the prongs in the outlet that I plug the trolling motor into... didn't get any charge. I wasn't sure if the prongs were penetrating enough, so I unscrewed the plug, got down straight to the wires themselves, put the multimeter prongs directly on the wire and zero charge.

So it looks like somewhere between my batteries and the outlet for the trolling motor plug something has gone haywire.

I have a 2007 Lund Mr Pike - any idea on how to get down to the wires and tear this thing apart to find where I am losing the charge? Could I have gone wrong somewhere? Any help on the way ahead would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Chris

[marine_man]

Did you check the inline fuse at the battery? Follow the positive battery cables from the post. Follow the line until you find what looks like a spot inline with the wire that gets a little bit bigger in diameter, and probably has another cylinder / tube looking thing on the wire. Pull that apart and you should find two fuses - the one lined up with the cable is the one that's currently being used, the other is a spare. See if that fuse is still good.

marine_man

[DaMoose]

I have the same motor in the 70lbs thrust. Instead of a fuse I have a breaker in mine. It is usually hooked directly to the battery with the power line coming out of it. I originally had a 20 amp breaker that went out, replaced it with a 30 amp and haven't had anymore problems. They are supposed to reset after a couple of miniutes, but don't always.

[WyoChris]

Thanks for the help guys..... finally pinned it down and i ended up blowing a fuse on the red wire coming off the trolling motor circuit. Should be an easy fix after visiting the auto parts store tomorrow.

Thanks for the replies.

Chris

[MinnetonkaMan]

Hey Chris, Just had the same problem happen today could you tell us where the fuse is located at. Either the head of the trolling motor where you can press the button for autopilot or the housing where your battery tester is. Or if anyone has had the problem and fixed it would love to hear your replies. Thanks in Advance. Ryan

[walleyemaniac]

MinnetonkaMan, the fuse should be by the battery on the boat wiring, on the positive side. I don't think there is anything on the motor itself. If you hooked the wires that came with the TM direct to the battery you needed to put a fuse inline yourself. If you didn't you may have other issues with the TM.