Problem with older bow mount Minnkota Powerdrive

[Fish4Eyes]

This unit has to be 10+ years old. The problem I'm having is that it will continously work, and then the motor stops. The steering on it works still when the motor dies. After I turn the steering back and forth, adjust the speed up and down, and press the continous thrust buttom on and off, it comes back to life and starts working again. And then it dies again at any given time. I can hear that it makes a noise within the motor when it does not want to produce thrust. The noise is not continuous it just makes a little tick noise for a split second as soon as I press the pedal for it to thrust. It seems like its a bad connection to me. Another thing I noticed is that when I activate continous thrust it does not always want to work. Any suggestions, or anybody have similar problems?

Edited September 1, 2009 by Fish4Eyes

[perodimi]

Hi Fish4Eyes,

 

This may help:

 

Minn Kota Repair Manual

 

Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit "Download"

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

[Fish4Eyes]

Thanks for taking the time to post the link, but my problem is not really listed under that pdf file.

[danbo]

The prop shaft is bent. Bend it back to free it.

[SRT8 smoker craft]

have you ever had the prop off ? I would pull the whole bottom end off and clean the contacts and brushes with electrical contact cleaner and make sure theres no line wrapped around the prop shaft if that doesnt work find a dealer that repairs them it could be the pedal itself the older ones used to break down alot might need to replaced they are pretty easy to work on just make sure you put it back exactly the way it comes apart I found that out the hard way

[Fish4Eyes]

Never had it off no. Thanks for the advice guys!

[Fish4Eyes]

So I pulled off the prop, and the prop shaft was not visibly bent. There was no water inside the motor either. I checked the voltages on the pedal and they were ok too, aside from one of them being more than what the Minn Kota diagram specified. One thing I did notice is that the 12V source connectors were not really connected properly as the connectors just pulled apart with not much force at all. After cutting the wires to reconnect it back together I noticed the copper wires on the positive were black. I cut off another 2 inches and they were still black. The negative copper wires were not. Is this the result of overheating? If not, what causes this? Any suggestions? Do you guys recommend connecting the wires back together by soldering or is shrink wrapping or connectors ok?

[msp]

Check Aikmans sporting goods in Mississauga. They do Minn Kota work. Or you can buy a new one there for arouund $150

[Fish4Eyes]

Check Aikmans sporting goods in Mississauga. They do Minn Kota work. Or you can buy a new one there for arouund $150

 

Trying to fix this one myself before I take the expensive dive for a Terrova.

Edited September 1, 2009 by Fish4Eyes

[Garry2Rs]

check for stuck brushes.

I have had the same problem.

You might need two Hacksaw blades to reinstall the armature.

[BITEME]

The black is a result of oxidation shine the wire up or keep cutting it back till its clear get some quality marine ring connector and some of the same in splices good marine connectors have epoxy in the shrink tube and will make a water tight seal when connected

 

From what you have described it is lousy connections

side note at your battery put vaseline on the posts and connections after you have them screwed down

[Fish4Eyes]

get some quality marine ring connector and some of the same in splices good marine connectors have epoxy in the shrink tube and will make a water tight seal when connected

 

 

Do only marina's sell these?

 

 

side note at your battery put vaseline on the posts and connections after you have them screwed down

 

Just out of curiousity what does the vaseline do? Thanks for tips!

Edited September 1, 2009 by Fish4Eyes

[BITEME]

west marine sometimes canadian tire in the auto section

vaseline makes a barrier against corrosion

[Whitespinnerbait]

I'll be posting some pics of the wiring problem in found with mine ....the spaded terminals heated up and melted the wiring.......

[wallyboss]

I had the same issue with mine ,. when you take the pedal apart you will see where the foot switch put's pressure on a plastic tab I just added a bit of electrical tape to make the bump a bit higher(on printed circuit) and now the tab makes full contact.

Edited September 1, 2009 by wallyboss

[DRIFTER_016]

I had similar issues with my 18 year old Auto Pilot.

Turns out the pedal was shot. Replaced it and all is good.

If you still have issues after cleaning up your wiring pick up a new pedal.

About $70 and available at LeBarons, Bass Pro, Cabelas etc.

[Fish4Eyes]

Seems like it is the pedal. One of the resistances is reading infinity, which means there is an open circuit somewhere. Me and my brother disected this trolling motor in every possible way last night. We hooked up a 12V power source directly to the red/black wires at the top of the motor shaft and the motor spun instantly, which rules out the bottom end being an issue. We also checked the circuit board directly behind the steering system and all wires received a voltage.

 

Wallyboss: I also noticed wear on the tab, and I did put some electric tape on it to help it make contact better, but still no dice.

 

DRIFTER016: That will be the next course of action, if it still don't work I can just return it.

 

Im just confused because when the pedal is pressed you do hear a relay click in the circuit board behind the steering system (which tells me it is getting the signal ). Is this normal even if the pedal does not work properly? DRIFTER016: did yours do this when the pedal was faulty?

[DRIFTER_016]

Seems like it is the pedal. One of the resistances is reading infinity, which means there is an open circuit somewhere. Me and my brother disected this trolling motor in every possible way last night. We hooked up a 12V power source directly to the red/black wires at the top of the motor shaft and the motor spun instantly, which rules out the bottom end being an issue. We also checked the circuit board directly behind the steering system and all wires received a voltage.

 

Wallyboss: I also noticed wear on the tab, and I did put some electric tape on it to help it make contact better, but still no dice.

 

DRIFTER016: That will be the next course of action, if it still don't work I can just return it.

 

Im just confused because when the pedal is pressed you do hear a relay click in the circuit board behind the steering system (which tells me it is getting the signal ). Is this normal even if the pedal does not work properly? DRIFTER016: did yours do this when the pedal was faulty?

 

 

Yep they still click, they just don't work.

I ordered a new one up from LeBarons, plugged it in and all is good.

Before the new pedal was installed the direction worked but no prop spinning.

I went through all the same testing as you before giving in and buying the pedal.

Pretty much a waste of my time as there have been lots of posts on various boards about pedal problems with this model of pedal.

It's an easy fix though.

[Fish4Eyes]

Plugged in a new pedal and all is good. Thanks to bitsmith2k for hookin' up the pedal, and everyone who gave suggestions.