minn kota motor problems

[Chrisper4694]

I'm not sure where else to post this, but if it needs to be moved to a different page, feel free.

so, because minn kota has no authorized service centers within almost 3 hours of me I have to fix the damn thing myself. been having issues with it since the second season with it.

I forget which members are experts in this but i'm hoping someone can confirm the part i need to fix the current issue...

I talked to minn kota about the problem and they seemed to be not totally sure what the problem was so hopefully someone here can help more definitely.

When i'm trying to control the speed of the motor (forward or reverse) the motor will click off and then click back on erratically and more and more often the longer this problem persists. I also noticed if the battery isn't at full power the motor will just turn completely off and not turn back on unless i disconnect it and reconnect it.

Additionally (not sure if it's related but assuming it is) the handle on the motor in the 'off' position still turns the prop slowly and only if i click it just barely into reverse does it truly stop the prop completely.

Not many options as to what the problem is, i know...my main issue is the expensive control box and if that is the definite problem piece. is there any chance that these issues are from the handle pieces, clutch piece or battery reader connection, etc.? I'd hate to order the control box and it not fix the problems as it's a $100 part!

btw all the current wires and connections appear to be in perfect shape from what i saw inside the unit but i didn't pull them out of the shaft yet.

I appreciate any help, thanks guys!

[akoop]

Hey Chris,
Not sure which motor you have but check this out it may help.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v1vt33iG2boLIR0HhdLWEcQaIpBj6bJ-/view
It is a Minn Kota Service/Repair manual with some troubleshooting steps.

[Chrisper4694]

yeah, i've used this, but i just can't 100 percent confirm (even after calling them) that I need a new control box. it's a $100 part and it's non-returnable so i just don't want to order it and it turns out it's not the problem.

I'll most likely just try every other option first before ordering it i guess...

[catfishonthelake]

yeah, i've used this, but i just can't 100 percent confirm (even after calling them) that I need a new control box. it's a $100 part and it's non-returnable so i just don't want to order it and it turns out it's not the problem.

I'll most likely just try every other option first before ordering it i guess...


It may actually be your battery...I had a similar issue. Your battery may have enough voltage but not enough amperage to run the motor. The battery will actually run some electronics but not others. Use a battery tester to test each individual cell of the battery, even if it's reading a full charge, or try a friend's battery. At least it's worth a shot before ordering something you might not need.

[akoop]

yeah, i've used this, but i just can't 100 percent confirm (even after calling them) that I need a new control box. it's a $100 part and it's non-returnable so i just don't want to order it and it turns out it's not the problem.

I'll most likely just try every other option first before ordering it i guess...


What about this place https://www.njtrollingmotors.com/

I don't have any experience with them personally.

[Mikey topaz]

I would agree with mark Chris, mine was doing same crap and replaced the battery and problem was solved. Def double check your connections though, Inspect the ends of the wire.I kept my minnkota manual with a bunch of info on troubleshooting if you need it lemme know man,

[Rapidfflow0]

Have you tried contacting John at NJ trolling motor in Jackson NJ I have had my motor too him several times for warranty work and repairs caused by my own stupidity. Does great work and is minn Kota authorized repair shop. I know it’s not close but it’s not 3hrs either. If you need his contact info let me know

[Chrisper4694]

It may actually be your battery...I had a similar issue. Your battery may have enough voltage but not enough amperage to run the motor. The battery will actually run some electronics but not others. Use a battery tester to test each individual cell of the battery, even if it's reading a full charge, or try a friend's battery. At least it's worth a shot before ordering something you might not need.

so one of the batteries is actually brand new but i'm not chancing it, i'm going to return it as well. I'm thinking there is something wrong with the motor AND the one new battery to be honest.

I might replace every cheap part first and then if that doesn't work get the expensive part i guess.

[Chrisper4694]

Have you tried contacting John at NJ trolling motor in Jackson NJ I have had my motor too him several times for warranty work and repairs caused by my own stupidity. Does great work and is minn Kota authorized repair shop. I know it’s not close but it’s not 3hrs either. If you need his contact info let me know

it's def almost 3 hours from me and i'm pretty sure they don't have weekend hours when i checked. The real problem is it's going to cost me, at the very least, $175 bucks with the part and the repair shop and i can buy a brand new one for $240 so I start thinking what's the point.

I should've taken off work and hauled it down there one day while it was still under warranty, but I didn't.

[Chrisper4694]

I would agree with mark Chris, mine was doing same crap and replaced the battery and problem was solved. Def double check your connections though, Inspect the ends of the wire.I kept my minnkota manual with a bunch of info on troubleshooting if you need it lemme know man,

is it the same trouble shooting that you can get online?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v1v...aIpBj6bJ-/view

[Ken Lyons]

As a general rule check the easiest things to fix first. Always. That said I would bet a buck you have a loose connection. If the batteries are deep cycle do NOT use a load tester. They are for cranking batteries not deep cycles and could harm them. To check a deep cycle get a digital voltmeter and check the voltage. There should be instructions that come with it to tell you how to do it. Fully charged deep cycles are going to read at least 12.8 volts. The should hold this level for weeks or longer. A bad one will drop at least .3 volts overnight.
Before you do anything else run it as you usually would. Then feel all the connections but carefully. A bad connection will be warm if not hot.
I’ve been playing with these things for many years. Over 90% of my problems were bad connections.
Good luck.

[Chrisper4694]

As a general rule check the easiest things to fix first. Always. That said I would bet a buck you have a loose connection. If the batteries are deep cycle do NOT use a load tester. They are for cranking batteries not deep cycles and could harm them. To check a deep cycle get a digital voltmeter and check the voltage. There should be instructions that come with it to tell you how to do it. Fully charged deep cycles are going to read at least 12.8 volts. The should hold this level for weeks or longer. A bad one will drop at least .3 volts overnight.
Before you do anything else run it as you usually would. Then feel all the connections but carefully. A bad connection will be warm if not hot.
I’ve been playing with these things for many years. Over 90% of my problems were bad connections.
Good luck.

I def have one bad battery, but the other one is good. you're saying the wire connection to the battery terminal should not be warm at all after running for a bit?

[Ken Lyons]

Warm is fine. A loose battery connection can melt the post. Loose connections will be hot. The way you describe the intermittent on and off suggests a loose connection somewhere. Is this a 24 volt setup?
I don’t want to be a pia about this but anyone who is dependent on batteries really has to check voltages. The last time you charged that bad battery the voltage was above 12.8 for sealed lead acid and 12.6 for a wet cell. After a few days it would have dropped 3 or 4 tenths while the good battery would not have changed much at all. I’m not sure if the bad battery is the problem but it has to be replaced so you will find out.
As long as am lecturing let me say a good word about sealed lead acid if that’s not what you have. They can easily withstand discharge levels that will greatly shorten the life of a wet cell. They don’t emit fumes that will put holes in your clothes. They will hold a full or close to it charge over the Winter with out being topped off. That’s not all but enough for now.
Please let us know. We need your reports.

[phil]

which minn kota motor model is it

[Chrisper4694]

Warm is fine. A loose battery connection can melt the post. Loose connections will be hot. The way you describe the intermittent on and off suggests a loose connection somewhere. Is this a 24 volt setup?
I don’t want to be a pia about this but anyone who is dependent on batteries really has to check voltages. The last time you charged that bad battery the voltage was above 12.8 for sealed lead acid and 12.6 for a wet cell. After a few days it would have dropped 3 or 4 tenths while the good battery would not have changed much at all. I’m not sure if the bad battery is the problem but it has to be replaced so you will find out.
As long as am lecturing let me say a good word about sealed lead acid if that’s not what you have. They can easily withstand discharge levels that will greatly shorten the life of a wet cell. They don’t emit fumes that will put holes in your clothes. They will hold a full or close to it charge over the Winter with out being topped off. That’s not all but enough for now.
Please let us know. We need your reports.

It's a 12v, i've had multiple batteries running it over the last 2 years and the problem has always happened over all 3 of them so i'd think it's pretty unlikely i've had 3 bad batteries and rather it's more likely a problem in the motor. That being said, though, one of the batteries definitely doesn't hold a charge as well as it should. So i'm going to refund that battery for a new one and run more tests i guess

[Chrisper4694]

which minn kota motor model is it

endura max 50 transom 12v

[acabtp]

you can get the battery load tested for free at any of the chain auto repair places. if they test out good under load it's not the batteries.

warm connections (not hot) are not unsafe, but are a waste and indicate you are getting voltage drop. if your connections or cable are getting noticeably warm, that takes quite a bit of power... power that otherwise would be delivered to the motor giving you more top speed and runtime. heating the conductors it just gets thrown away.

the manual for that minn kota specifies a 50 amp max draw and no more than 5% voltage drop is allowable at full power. with the TM in the water and set to full blast, the voltage at the motor (take off the top cap) needs to be at least 95% of what you measure at the battery. if it's any less it's the connections are a problem.

if it's not the batteries and it's not the connections, then i'd look at that control board in the TM

[Ken Lyons]

If you’re using deep cycle batteries a load tester could damage them. Load testers are for starting batteries that are designed to give short bursts of high current that you need to start an engine. Deep cycles are designed to supply much lower amperages for extended periods of time.
I would also respectfully disagree on that test. In actual use there is no way that motor draws 50 amps and I don’t care what MK says. Too the voltage drop across the terminals will vary substantially depending on the battery’s level of charge. At lower levels of charge you could see as low as 8 volts.
I also know what the documentation says about the voltage necessary to run a fish finder. Years back when I ran the motor and the FF off the same battery I knew when the FF shut down it was time to go home. That is because the motor drew enough to cause a battery voltage to drop below 8.
Please buy an AGM replacement and I’m sure you’ll have less trouble.

[Ken Lyons]

If you’re using deep cycle batteries a load tester could damage them. Load testers are for starting batteries that are designed to give short bursts of high current that you need to start an engine. Deep cycles are designed to supply much lower amperages for extended periods of time.
I would also respectfully disagree on that test. In actual use there is no way that motor draws 50 amps and I don’t care what MK says. Too the voltage drop across the terminals will vary substantially depending on the battery’s level of charge. At lower levels of charge you could see as low as 8 volts.
I also know what the documentation says about the voltage necessary to run a fish finder. Years back when I ran the motor and the FF off the same battery I knew when the FF shut down it was time to go home. That is because the motor drew enough to cause a battery voltage to drop below 8.
Please buy an AGM replacement and I’m sure you’ll have less trouble.

[acabtp]

redacted for professional courtesy :p

[Ken Lyons]

My ring says B.S.M.E. So much for one upped.
I did misunderstand what MK was talking about and that version of voltage drop will test the circuit continuity.
My experience with load testers has not been good although newer versions may be safer. Still why bother when a cheap digital volt meter will tell you all you need to know.
By actual measurement from two different on the water tests a C30 at top speed draws about 18 amps. MK says 30. If you call them up they will tell you 30.
I suggested the AGM because he said one battery was dead.
I was trying to be helpful based on tears of experience. I wasn’t trying to get anyone’s shorts in a knot.

[acabtp]

mine says B.E. :p so much for so much! between the two of us we'll get this sorted out!

load tester is fine for deep cycle, they even have settings for it. free to try and they'll even do it for you at auto parts store

that 18A measured sounds about right for running current for your C30, but stall current is much higher. have you tried binding the prop and testing it? i bet you would see around the 30 they spec. MK does spec 50A max draw on a 60A breaker for the endura 50
p.10 https://minnkotamotors.johnsonoutdoors.com/sites/johnsonoutdoors-store/files/product/mintransommountl3/1036488/ProductManual/MIN_productmanual_EnduraC2-50.pdf

chrisper, shoot me a PM if you would like a hand w/ your diagnostics, i'm in denville.

[Ken Lyons]

Stall current is a mystery. It is way too high by actual measurement yet fuses seem never to melt and circuit breakers never trip.

[Ken Lyons]

So Chris, just be clear, you have a variable speed 55 motor with two batteries. Are the batteries connected in parallel? What exactly is the control box? The electronics are usually in the Motörhead which is why I ask.

[Chrisper4694]

So Chris, just be clear, you have a variable speed 55 motor with two batteries. Are the batteries connected in parallel? What exactly is the control box? The electronics are usually in the Motörhead which is why I ask.

it's a variable speed 50 lbs thrust. i have two batteries not connected (one as back up for for long days) The older one sits at 12.5v after being charged and drops down to 85% if left for a while. The newer one seems to be staying at 12.8v after sitting at least 4 weeks or so. BUT when i was running off the newer battery the motor started completely shutting off. the older battery it was just doing the clicking on and off erratically.

acabtp i'll pm you

[Ken Lyons]

As you already know the older one is a door stop. It doesn’t seem at all likely that the battery is the problem.

[Chrisper4694]

As you already know the older one is a door stop. It doesn’t seem at all likely that the battery is the problem.

eh, it still gets me back to the dock as the back up