Changing out trolling motor

[Buzz]

Hi all,

I'm going from a 12v motor guide 46lb thrust to a MinnKota MaxPro80 24v. I already have two batteries for the trolling motor. Tell me if this sounds right....

I'll be connecting positive from one battery to the negative of the other battery then using the remaining positive and negative to go to the trolling motor. Does this sound right? Also, my boat ('05 Nitro)has an extra wire running from the batteries to the front of the boat. Does this offer another wiring option? One last question.....How different are the mounting holes from Motor guide to MinnKota?

Thanks,
Buzz

[btts]

going to 12v to 24v you need to run 6ga. wire to allow for the extra curent,& yes you are right about the wiring.The neg. goes to the pos.& then the remaning pos.& neg.go to the troling motor.The mounting holes will be diffrent.however you might be able to use 2 of them,the 2 in front or the 2 in back.I just switched from a 12v mg to a24v mk & was able to use 2 front holes. Took about 3 hours to run 6ga.wire & mount new motor.Hope this helps.

[Buzz]

Btts,

Thanks for the reply. I wonder what the other wire is for that came from the factory. Maybe someone here knows what its for. The wires that are in the boat are pretty heavy, not sure what gage they are.


Buzz

[Barnacle Bill]

Btts,

Thanks for the reply. I wonder what the other wire is for that came from the factory. Maybe someone here knows what its for. The wires that are in the boat are pretty heavy, not sure what gage they are.


Buzz

The third wire is for the older 12/24 volt TMs. They had a switch on them so you could run them on 12 or 24 volts.

[wwwUncle]

This site will help you determine your wire's gauge.

http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm

[Scott S]

I replaced a 50lb 12/24 Motorguide with the MaxPro 80 earlier this year. Everything btts and IBNFSHN mentioned is right on with what I experienced. One other thing I did was put a circuit breaker in-line. Might not be necessary but the original wiring had fuses so I decided to keep the protection. Seems like I've seen adapter plates to mount the motor if you don't want to drill more holes. My boat has a removable mount, it has bolt pattern for both motors so I got lucky there.

[Buzz]

Hi,

I got the new trolling motor in today. This thing is really heavy. I gotta give it to Minn Kota, they have several holes in this base and they even had ones to fit the old MotorGuide holes. Didn't even have to drill new holes.

On a different note....as mentioned eariler, I'm going from 12V to 24V and the boat has three wires which I was told was for the older trolling motors which could work on 12 or 24V. Saying that, wouldn't the current wires be large enough to handle 24V if the boat was wired for either. The wires are about the size of a round school pencil.

Thanks,
Buzz

[wannabe fisherman]

Hi,

The wires are about the size of a round school pencil.

Thanks,
Buzz

Sounds like 6 gauge wire that should be plenty big enough.

[sylvan14]

While you guys are on the subject of TM wiring please give some help. I have older MG 12/24 volt wired to 2 batteries in front. How would I wire to get power back to the rear starting battery in case of it's failure? I appreciate the help as it's getting harder and harder to pull that darn rope!! Couldn't have anything to do with SS payments I don't imagine. Thanks, Bill

[Buzz]

Don't know if you have a Sam's Club around but I just picked up a jump starter for about $44. These things are really handy and they can really be a lifesaver. Even if your out fishing and someone else has a dead battery, you can just hand it over and get them started. I can't tell ya how many times I've actually needed one of these things and just now bought one.

Later,
Buzz