Foot Pedal Extension

[Guest]

I just bought a Motorguide trolling motor with a foot control and the cable is only a few feet long. Is there any way to add a longer cable. I've looked on a few websites and have not seen any replacements.

PS. if anyone is looking for a bow mount, and doesn't mind a short foot cable, Reeds has 46 pound 50" Energy Motorguides on clearance for $140.

[Guest]

I just went and checked and Reeds changed the price since I bought mine on Tuesday to $230. I guess I got lucky.

[cdnfisherman]

Herkey

I also bought one for $140 including shipping. I was sure impressed with myself when I found that deal.

I do have an installation question. What guage of wire do you guys recommend, and what size inline fuse do I need?

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by cdnfisherman (edited 03-15-2002).]

[TUMBLEWEED]

Don't bother putting a fuse on the line.
Instead, get one of those resetting circut breakers. They cost about 5-6 bucks and
you don't have to mess around with fuses.
As to a rating, they come in 40 or 50 amps.
I put one on mine and have never looked back.

[Grabs]

What voltage is the motor? 12V or 24V?

A 40 or 50 amp circuit breaker doesn't sound right. If you calcuate out the wattage, P=V*I

P=12*50= 600 watts
P=24*50=1200 watts

That is a lot of wattage, enough to warm your boat during a chilly day! The only place you are going to see 40-50 Amps is on household or commercial applications. If you trip that circuit breaker you have more problems than just a simple over current.

Besides, the foot pedal probably only operates on a 5V signal, and probably operates with a current of well under an Amp. I would say 18 or 20 gauge wire should be fine, and throw in a 1 amp in-line fuse if you are concerned, I wouldn't be too worried though. You are only dealing with logic signals and they can't sink or source very much current.

Good Luck!

[This message has been edited by Grabs (edited 03-15-2002).]

[Guest]

A 12v motor with 50lbs of thrust will have a max amp draw of around 50 amps. A 24v motor at 74 lbs thrust will be around 40 amps. So a 40 amp breaker/fuse is used with 24v and 50 amps for 12v systems. Just be sure to put it within 7" of the positive battery post.
If your wire from the battery to the motor is under 6'-7' 10ga wire is fine. If it is over that I would go to 8ga or 6ga wire. With the heavier wire you will lose less amperage due to resistance in the wire.

Rob

[Grabs]

Ok ok, what are we really talking about here? The power supply for the motor? or the foot pedal, that makes a huge difference!

[cdnfisherman]

Sorry Grabs

My question was about the power supply to the motor.

I think the initial question was about extending the foot control.

Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for the replies guys.

[Snowking]

needed a BUMP