Is my co-pilot junk?

[Fishin Dood]

The co pilot for my Minnkota Power drive quit working early last year. When I have it plugged in the motor spins with out pushing any buttons and doesn't respond at all when i try to use the remote. I tried cleaning the connections and what not...nothing. Can it be salvaged or is it headed for the trash? It's almost 5 years old so I dont think it is under warranty.

[zepman]

Contact Johnson Outdoors in Mankato, Mn. They have been very good at working with me on these issues. I had the same thing happen to my auto-pilot (lot's of others as well) and they fixed it within a couple of hours after I dropped it off. I can't really remember what they said was wrong with it as it was a few years ago but I explained it to them the same as you just did and they knew exactly what the problem was. I think it had something to do with the internal compass or magnets....something like that. Once fixed, I have never had any other problems with it since. Also, check your batteries...if they have a really low charge or are trashed you may experience the same problems.

[goose89]

Good advice from Zepman. Sounds like either low battery or faulty compass/gyro to me too.

Haven't had to go there, knock on wood, but I've heard good things about the Motor Clinic in Bloomington. Good Luck.

[Walleye Rueben]

Last summer, I was having all kinds of trouble with my co-pilot. Sometimes, I was even having trouble with co-pilot turned off. I rewired everything from the battery to the plug, and used contact cleaner to clean every contact that I could find.

Everything has worked perfect from that point forward.

I would start with the contact cleaner...clean where the power plugs into the boat...clean the contacts between the trolling motor and the co-pilot. Also, clean the battery posts and the connectors on the wire end.

[overdalimit]

My experiance with the exact same problem was that it cost me 220.00 to fix that problem (compass) and an addtional 70.00 to put a 60 inch shaft on the motor (best thing I ever did). a new unit is going to cost you over 600.00 plus the price of the co-pilot.

[mpester]

Have you tried a new battery in the remote?

[Fishin Dood]

Thanks for the advice fellas. I have not tried changing the remote battery yet. Could it be that simple? I'll check it out. I'm gonna go through all the connections again. Then i'll consider taking it in. I hope I can fix it.

Is there anything that is built to last anymore??

Thanks again!!

[marine_man]

Have you tried it with the footpedal? Does it exhibit the same problems?

marine_man

[wplatehunter]

I bought a new boat last year, and kept my co-pilot to put on my new boat. It never worked right with the new trolling motor, but it was the right model. I got a new one last week, and now everything works great. So they must wear out at some point.

[goose89]

I bought a new boat last year, and kept my co-pilot to put on my new boat. It never worked right with the new trolling motor, but it was the right model. I got a new one last week, and now everything works great. So they must wear out at some point.

I believe they have to be "initialized" for each motor. I'm thinking I did something like that with mine. If each "fob" worked on all the motors, places like pool 4 on a busy weekend would be more interesting than it already is. You may be able to "re-initialize" your old copilot (fob) is you kept it. I could be mistaken on all this, but off the top of my head, I think this is right. Good luck.

[wplatehunter]

I kept the same remote with the unit, and it worked fine on my old boat. With my new one it would work, but I had to keep moving the wires on the trolling motor when it would stop working to make it work. When I got a new one it worked without at problem. All I had to do was screw it on.

[blarkey]

sounds like the compus is bad did the same thing my did and that is what it was is it also a auto piolet

[Casey Sunsdahl]

could be several different things.. like marine man said check the operation with the foot pedal first if that is fine it is probably in the co-pilot....

You can reset the co-pilot by unpluging it, holding the button in on the side for 5 seconds then plugging it back in with the button still pressed (nice to have 2 sets of hands)... you will have to reprogram all remotes..(hold the button in and while its beeping press any button on the remote)

try cleaning the pads inside the remote with a q-tip and alcohol.. and a fresh cr2032 battery.. or try a known good remote from a friend.. (reset your co-pilot after doing so he doesn't control your motor out on the water!)..

these are the easiest fixes you can try without bringing it in