Trolling motor troubleshooting

[C_M_25]

Hey guys. Been fishing a lot lately and I'm noticing some potential issues with my trolling motor. I have a 55# Minn kota power drive v2. It seems like my motor is just losing power or something. The battery is still in really good shape. A couple times I've noticed that when I lower it in the water, it would turn the motor left and right but the motor wouldn't spin the propeller. I simply disconnect the pedal and reconnect and it would start working. That has probably happened only twice this year. Finally, I've noticed that when it is running in continuous mode and I turn the motor, it really sounds like it is struggling to turn the motor left or right....it is really slow and acts like it doesn't have enough power. This only started after the first time it would turn the motor but not run the propeller. Any thoughts?

[jediger]

[quote="C_M_25"]Hey guys. Been fishing a lot lately and I'm noticing some potential issues with my trolling motor. I have a 55# Minn kota power drive v2. It seems like my motor is just losing power or something. The battery is still in really good shape. A couple times I've noticed that when I lower it in the water, it would turn the motor left and right but the motor wouldn't spin the propeller. I simply disconnect the pedal and reconnect and it would start working. That has probably happened only twice this year. Finally, I've noticed that when it is running in continuous mode and I turn the motor, it really sounds like it is struggling to turn the motor left or right....it is really slow and acts like it doesn't have enough power. This only started after the first time it would turn the motor but not run the propeller. Any thoughts?[/quote]

I would check your fuse on the battery to address the "not running the propeller" question. Turning the motor head doesn't take all that much power. Pushing the propeller does. Might be something wrong with the fuse that you get enough oomph to turn the head, but trip the switch when you try and run the propeller. A loose or corroded wire could explain it too. Would explain why a perfectly good battery isn't running a perfectly good motor.

Had a similar problem this summer on my Terrova. Took the motor in for service... it was fine. Problem remained when on the boat. Turned out to be an issue in the way I had reconnected the batteries at the start of the year.

[jimbo21165]

Too small of wire........corrosion.........loose wire.......

[C_M_25]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I don't suspect that I have too small diameter cable as the problem just started this year. Now, the loose cable could be the culprit. I'm going to take it apart after my next trip out to make sure I don't have a loose cable. I'll also check the voltages across the control module and pull the prop to check for fishing line. Ugh...maintenance never ends!

[joe20toon]

My older Minn Kota had pinched wires under the top head part of the trolling motor. Never thought thought the factory would ship it this way. It's easy to check under the top portion of the trolling motor. These pinched wires caused an intermittent overheating issue. I'm not saying this is the problem you have but, something to check.