New MotorGuide Xi5

[chaunc]

Bought mine in March, no issues, very easy to use right out of the box, install was a breeze. Love it!

Did it fit into the old motorguide bracket holes or did you have to drill new ones. I have the digital.

[Savedpaver]

I got one in may, anchor feature is great, the ability to move 5' in any direction with one push of a button is cool too.
i installed it with a removable bracket, it was fairly easy. Everything works as it should, haven't used foot pedal much. The only thing I had a problem with was the heading lock which I eventually figured out that I didn't have the motor parallel to the boat. After syncing that everything is good. I would definately recommend this motor. It's quiet, runs consistent speed with cruise control and has a great battery life. I'm hoping to get a lowrance hds touch in the spring to try out that aspect of this motor.

[boat49]

Did it fit into the old motorguide bracket holes or did you have to drill new ones. I have the digital.

New holes as the mount for this is smaller. I tried to match up some of the holes but this mount sits further towards the front of my boat that sealing the old holes and drilling new was the only way I could get it to work. Did I mention I love this motor!! Like Savedpaver said, once you synch it correctly, this thing works like a charm! Very clear and easy to follow directions to get it set up.

[SeaRay]

When I mounted my Terrova I put it on the opposite side of the deck so I had 4 holes left where the old TM had been. I found plastic plugs at Lowes that fit the holes perfectly. They were even black like my deck so you never even notice they are there and they keep water from getting in too. The plugs were made specifically for this application. You may have some on your car of truck where it was predrilled for some accessory that was not installed on that model.
Just thought I would pass it on in case you need it.

[IkenI]

I had an older, cheaper remote Motorguide that came on my Lund 7 years ago. I loved the remote control but is was jerky and spastic in remote steering and was very noisy. I sold it and replaced it with a Minn Kota Maxxum. I miss the ability to control the tm from the anywhere on the boat so have been thinking of a new tm. Unfortunatly my arthritis has gotten severe in the last few years so I am considering the Minn Kota Ulterra. I wish this one would come with the remote deploy and stow. It would make my life much easier not having to get up and down as much. Sometimes being a geezer ain't as much fun.

[Good Stuff]

I ordered mine yesterday. 24 volt, 80lb thrust, 54" shaft.

[boat49]

I ordered mine yesterday. 24 volt, 80lb thrust, 54" shaft.

You will love it!! Same as mine only I got 60" shaft. As they say, greatest thing since sliced bread!!

[geowits]

About the pinpoint function. I've had the Xi5 for about a year and have experienced the following condition three or four times.
1) I'm locked on a saved pinpoint location - everything is working normal.
2) The Xi5 appears to lose the lock position and takes off at high speed in a random direction.
3) After moving 5 or so feet, the unit realizes it has moved off the original spot and quickly reverses direction, still at high speed.
4) Unit overshoots original position by 5 feet since it's still running at high speed and goes 5 past original position, then reverses direction again.
5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 over and over.
6) To stop the oscillation, I have found that, after tuning off the propeller and waiting for 20 seconds or so, then turning the prop back on, the unit returns to normal operation (ie: motor speed slows back down and unit returns to the original position).

I've also experienced a similar condition while following a saved track. Unit backs up 10-15 feet at high speed then returns to normal operation. Are these caused by GPS glitches or is there a problem with my Xi5?

Thanks for any info or similar experiences.

[boat49]

I personally have not experienced either of those conditions. When I get to about 100 yds of my set point and press the button, it runs at high speed but slows as it gets close to the spot. The couple of times our wind here has blown it off point it has returned right back to the spot with no issues. My guess would be your issue would be an xi5 problem rather than gps. That's just an opinion! not any kind of educated guess! I would be interested in knowing what you find out about it, keep us posted. b49

[geowits]

MotorGuide apparently has received no complaints of a similar nature so I assume there is no major problem. They suggest I recalibrate the compass setting and the trolling motor mounting offset setting. I will try this but it seems to me to be a motor speed problem.