Minn Kota Power Drive issue

[laopi]

Hi, I had a 45lbs Minn Kota motor with Power Drive foot pedal, the propeller did spin, left and right turn working.

I disassembled the motor, and measure the voltage between the brushes,  it shows about 12.5v, so I assume the food pedal working, and I measured the resistance between two coppers,  the value is the same, the springs look fine, so I assume the armature is working.

I heard most of issue will come from the brushes, but I only find the brush become a little bit curve instead of flat, is it the issue? any thought?

[misfish]

The brushes look fine IMO. 

[OhioFisherman]

Limited experience, but those brushes are what I would call a wear item, they may start off flat, but wear into the shape of the commutator. Those don't look bad to me, but I don't know the original length. What were the issues with the motor?

[laopi]

9 minutes ago, OhioFisherman said:

Limited experience, but those brushes are what I would call a wear item, they may start off flat, but wear into the shape of the commutator. Those don't look bad to me, but I don't know the original length. What were the issues with the motor?

No experience about it, does the brush length matter?

[OhioFisherman]

Well yes, not on trolling motors but I have seen some worn so badly the motor wouldn't run.

[shanty gord]

Are the magnets cracked or shifted in the housing 

[North Channel Cottages]

I had something similar with mine, it turned out to be the "mother" board. Easy enough to replace. 

Call Bay Distributors in North Bay and there's a guy there who should be able to tell you the issue over the phone.  +1 705-476-6010

 

[misfish]

6 hours ago, North Channel Cottages said:

Call Bay Distributors in North Bay and there's a guy there who should be able to tell you the issue over the phone.  +1 705-476-6010

These guys are still going? Wow,I used them many years ago to get parts for my big jon rigger. It was great service.

[mitch seguin]

X2 on the motherboard being the likely culprit.

[laopi]

15 hours ago, shanty gord said:

Are the magnets cracked or shifted in the housing 

magnets is good.

[laopi]

12 hours ago, North Channel Cottages said:

I had something similar with mine, it turned out to be the "mother" board. Easy enough to replace. 

Call Bay Distributors in North Bay and there's a guy there who should be able to tell you the issue over the phone.  +1 705-476-6010

 

Thanks, I'll ask soon.

 

peter

[AKRISONER]

What gen powerdrive? If it’s a Gen 1 you are basically screwed.

gen 2 the motherboards can be replaced for about $3-400

[laopi]

13 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

What gen powerdrive? If it’s a Gen 1 you are basically screwed.

gen 2 the motherboards can be replaced for about $3-400

Gen 1

[Hack_Fisherman]

11 hours ago, mitch seguin said:

X2 on the motherboard being the likely culprit.

X3

The brushes and armature look fine to me. Lots of life left in the brushes I’d say. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Hack_Fisherman

[Hack_Fisherman]

Do you have a spare foot pedal or know someone who has the same pedal to rule out whether it’s in the pedal or main unit. 

[AKRISONER]

If it’s a gen 1 it’s the pedals fail with the motherboard. The pedals are impossible to get. Basically your only option is to replace the motherboard and buy a new pedal. At that point you’re almost at the price of a new powerdrive.

 

I went through this myself and Jimmer did too

[Hack_Fisherman]

1 hour ago, AKRISONER said:

If it’s a gen 1 it’s the pedals fail with the motherboard. The pedals are impossible to get. Basically your only option is to replace the motherboard and buy a new pedal. At that point you’re almost at the price of a new powerdrive.

 

I went through this myself and Jimmer did too

Yup I was looking for a pedal and ended up picking up a full setup. Figuring it was a dead pedal on my first, it actually ended up being something in the drive. Left me with 2 good pedals. Opposite the usual. That’s why I said try to rule one out

[smitty55]

On 6/14/2021 at 2:09 PM, laopi said:

No experience about it, does the brush length matter?

The main issue with brush length happens when they get short enough that the spring doesn't put enough pressure to force good solid contact with the commutator. Then you get lots of sparking which cause more damage. Those brushes look fine as does the commutator. Seeing as the motor still works fine I agree that the issue is with the pedal itself, whether it's the motherboard or crappy contacts on the other switches for turning.

[manfish]

I have a pedal thats never been used from a co pilot minkota.I just use the remotes. You can have it

[laopi]

3 hours ago, manfish said:

I have a pedal thats never been used from a co pilot minkota.I just use the remotes. You can have it

where are you located?

[AKRISONER]

4 hours ago, manfish said:

I have a pedal thats never been used from a co pilot minkota.I just use the remotes. You can have it

You’ll need to check cross compatibility. 
 

minkotta are real dinks about this stuff 

 

I had a gen 1 terrova ipilot and bought a terrova pedal, same connector same everything except it included an anchor button on the pedal  and it wouldn’t work. 
 

trust me…I’ve been through my share with those guys. There’s a Garmin on the front of my boat now because of it.

[pics]

Could a technician fix that problem or is the motherboard sealed in epoxy? Quite often with electronics its a cheap part failure but an expensive fix.. 

[AKRISONER]

14 minutes ago, pics said:

Could a technician fix that problem or is the motherboard sealed in epoxy? Quite often with electronics its a cheap part failure but an expensive fix.. 

nope, can only be totally replaced.

very pricy

[smitty55]

7 hours ago, pics said:

Could a technician fix that problem or is the motherboard sealed in epoxy? Quite often with electronics its a cheap part failure but an expensive fix.. 

You are right about how it can often be a cheap part that fails on a pcb, capacitors are often the most common failure. Most boards are sealed with conformal coating which can be removed with a strong solvent like acetone. For the most part manufacturers don't repair them, it's just a replacement. However, if you could do a visual inspection on the board and spot an obvious fault like a swollen capacitor can or a dark burnt looking component like a diode or even a burnt track then there would be a possibility of repair without even needing a circuit diagram. That being said I have no idea of the history on the failure of these boards, it could also be an IC in which case there'd be no chance of repair.