[crappie89]

Fellas,

I seem to not be getting full power to my minn kota rip tide anymore. Its 70 lbs of thrust which should be moving pretty good but it doesn't seem to be putting out much juice. I am getting 24 volts off of the two batteries in the back. What gives? Could it be old wiring or could it be something in the trolling motor itself?

Any help would be awesome.

 

[NCTribute]

Check all connections, including the circuit breaker. Also see if anything is getting hot.

 

[sundrop]

Check all the metioned above, how old is it? Brushes might be getting worn or there might be corrosion built up in the windings or armature reducing the voltages/amps. If the little seal on the prop shaft has seeped or moisture has built up in the housing over time it will corrode. I have taken many apart and found that, cleaned them up good and used them for years after.

 

[Neilslure]

Check your prop shaft for a wad of fishing line, that can bog one down.

 

[crappie89]

Thanks guys I will check out those parts. The motor is prob 10 years old.

 

[crappie89]

Bump to this thread, shouldn't a trolling motor of this size on a 24 volt system have 6 gauge wire running to the battery? I believe that must have been an oversight on my part for not looking at it when purchased. Wire right now seems to be 8 gauge.

 

[sundrop]

Alot of them are wired with 8ga and a 15-20a breaker. I see some people use 6ga and a 40a breaker but it is overkill and large breakers fry stuff before they trip.

 

[Drum Runner]

It's dependent on amp draw and DISTANCE from the batteries. Any top notch trolling motor rigging will have 4 or 6 fine stranded copper.
I had a bassboat once that had solid 6 gauge factory installed. CHEAP crappy install.
Don't confuse AC with DC wiring practices. DC has a more critical and rapid voltage drop over very short distances. AC doesn't.

To get the most out of your battery bank and motor, size the wire properly and use the correct wire. DC voltage drop tables can be found online which will help you size the wire per distance and amperage. If you need any help finding one of those tables I can round one up for you.