MinnKota Wiring Question

[JIvers]

I have a transom-mount MinnKota trolling motor, which I use on my rather small boat. Is there any reason I couldn't splice insulated wiring (proper size, of course) into the battery cables on the motor so I can place my battery at the front of the boat? Right now there is only five feet of cable with the motor, so I have to put the battery in the rear of the boat. Unless I could find cable with the battery connectors already included, I would have to cut the connectors off, splice in the new cable, and re-attach the connectors at the end of the cable. The warranty on the motor is expired, so that would not be an issue.

[gunflint]

I've done it to two boats. (Those darn 4-strokes are heavy) Use 4 or 6 gauge wire and it should work fine. I would also mark the pos and neg ends of the cable. I use red and black tape. You can pick up different connectors for the end of the new cable and just connect the trolling motor cable to the new one with a nut and bolt and electric tape of course. And don't let the connection sit in the bottom of the boat.

[wayner]

Also, don't forget to add a fuse or circuit breaker on the positive lead as close to the battery as possible. That way if your wires short out anywhere you won't have a fire.

[JIvers]

Thanks for the information--I never would have thought of the nut/bolt connection, because it is so obvious. I probably wouldn't have thought of the fuse, either. That is why I post questions like this on here--it saves me trouble down the line.

[Whoaru99]

Quote:

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You can pick up different connectors for the end of the new cable and just connect the trolling motor cable to the new one with a nut and bolt and electric tape of course.

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Do you mean to crimp ring terminals on the wire ends and then bolt them together or to use the split bolt/line tap compression style?

The latter work pretty good for connecting heavy cables together and you can get them at pretty much any hardware store.

The split bolt line taps look like this http://www.conexmetals.com/splitboltslinetaps.htm if you are not familiar with them.