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Fishing Boards - Boats & Motors

Trolling motor/battery issue

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ol sarge

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7/9/12 11:18 AM CST

I have a 12 volt 55 lbs thrust Minn Koat Traxxis that I use on my 14 foot smoker craft. I power it with a group 27 battery that I have running through a Minn Kota trolling motor power center. The issue is that my power has continually gone done each of the last few times I have had the boat out. First time, the boat flew like a rocket. Now it just barely crawls. I rarely fish for more than 2-3 hours at a time and I put the battery on the charger when I get home. Well the last time I had to charge the battery for about 12 hours to get the power center to read full charge. I verified this reading with the test button on the TM. Yesterday I took the boat out and straight off the ramp it was slow. Not even enough power to get through a few lily pads. The test button on the power center showed a dead battery and the test button on the motor showed 1/3 of a charge. (Which one do you believe?)I am leaning towards the battery as the problem here as the TM is brand new and I bought the battery at Walmart in March with a manufacture date of February 2012. What is the best way to proceed? Do I just take the battery back and exchange it for a new one (pro rated of course), have Walmart test the battery? If the battery shows it is holding a charge, do I suspect the TM power center or the motor. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Plmlk

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7/11/12 5:44 PM CST

Not that you've verified the battery has a full charge you can scratch that off the list. Put it back in the power center and see if it registers a full charge. If it does, it sounds like you were simply not letting it charge long enough. If it doesn't bypass the power center and hook it up directly to the trolling motor. Also, agree with Mendota, let it trickle charge until you leave the driveway. I have an on-board charger and it's always plugged in unless the boats on the water...

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mendota

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7/11/12 3:19 PM CST

Sounds like a cell in the battery went bad. Have it tested.

Hopefully Walmart will give you a pro-rated price on a new one.

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ol sarge

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7/11/12 11:16 AM CST

I might have to leave it disconnected from the power center until I go out. I am hoping that just keeping the battery plugged in will do the trick.

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tinyfisher

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7/11/12 9:20 AM CST

Do you charge the battery as soon as you get home, and then leave it all week until you go fishing again? I wonder if that power center is potentially draining the battery? We have an onboard charger, and always leave it plugged in until we pull out of the driveway. You could also isolate the battery during storage, either with a switch or just remove the terminals.

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ol sarge

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7/11/12 8:15 AM CST

So I took the battery to Auto zone last night after leaving it on the charger for 24 hours. It read completely charged and no issues. I am going to check the prop tonight for fishing line and see if that is an issue. I am thinking that I have not been leaving the battery on the charger long enough. I have a maintainer style that floats once the max charge is reached. I think I will just leave it plugged in all the time to make sure it has a full charge. I am going to try and get the boat wet tonight after work so I can check and see if these issues have been resolved. thanks for all of the advice and I will post the results tomorrow.

[This post was last edited on 7/11/12 at 8:17 AM]

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Plmlk

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7/10/12 7:31 PM CST

I know the good folks at Wal-Mart tested the battery for you and it tested good, but no harm in taking the battery to Pep Boys, NAPA, Checker Auto Parts, or similar place. Maybe the guy at Wal-Mart was new. I think it's noteworthy that the power center indicated a dead battery, and the indicator on the trolling motor only registered 1/3 of a charge - that means it's 2/3 depleted. I think that may be a clue worth chasing down.

If you registered a full charge, and the trolling motor had no power, then I think the prop would be the logical next step. I also think that your trolling motor needs to indicate a fully charged battery or you may be just spinning your wheels. I've never owned a Minn Kota Power Center, so I might be all wet, but can't you remove the battery from the power center and hook it up directly to the trolling motor? That would certainly help the trouble shooting process.

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hoytpower

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7/10/12 7:08 PM CST

Maybe a bunch of fishing line got twisted up under the prop?

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wet-net

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7/10/12 12:57 PM CST

Maybe its your charger. Did you check that shear pin on the prop. One time I thought I had a dead batteries the motor would barley move my boat when I got home plugged the boat in and the charger read full so then I looked at the prop and the shear pin was broke.

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ol sarge

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7/10/12 10:35 AM CST

I took the battery to Walmart and they put it on a tester and it was fine. Just needed a charge. Could it be that maybe I am not leaving it on the charger long enough? I usually put it on the charger for a few hours until it says charged on the charger but now I am thinking that maybe I need to leave it on there longer. i have a charger/maintainer that is designed to float once the charge is reached. Should I just leave it plugged in when it is not in the boat?

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BOBBYB

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7/9/12 11:18 PM CST

Wal mart does not have people come in and check their batteries every so often like Interstate battery does they just replace them. They feel it is cheaper to do this. You could get a battery that has been sitting there for 6 monthes or longer and never checked. Interstate have their men check the batteries in the places they sell them.

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Mr. G

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7/9/12 8:20 PM CST

Before you condemn the battery, be sure you have checked all the connections in the trolling motor circuit (battery terminals, connectors, etc.). A bad connection could make the motor act exactly as you described.

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Plmlk

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7/9/12 4:47 PM CST

I would lean toward a bad battery. The power center said it was dead, and the trolling motor said 1/3. Their not all that far apart. Also, I've had bad luck with Wal-Mart batteries. They take them back with no issue, they just seem to go bad more than they should. Also, a battery can register 12 volts with no load but drop like a stone as soon as you put a load to it.

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wet-net

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7/9/12 2:59 PM CST

Go out and buy a volt meter they dont cost much and are nice to have around the house. I would also check your shear pin on your trolling motor prop.

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