Trolling Motor Problems

Been having many problems with my trolling motor the past few weeks, wanted to know if you guys could possibly help me out.. It's a 2003 Motorguide 55 lb. thrust motor. Originally I took it to the shop and had the wiring re done, a new male & female plug put on, and also a 50 amp circuit breaker. I have gone through 4 or 5 circuit breakers already (they "zapped" out) and the last time this happened i replaced the circuit breaker and the trolling motor still didn't work. So today i took the digital voltage reader out and checked the wiring, i had 26 amps or volts? not sure at the back near the trolling motor batteries, and 0 at the bow up by the trolling motor itself. So I'm guessing its a wiring problem, however the tilt button at the front of the boat didn't work either and that is a totally different wiring set isn't it, and doesnt it run off the cranking battery? I guess I am gonna run new wiring from the female plug back to the batteries and see if it fixes it. I checked the fuses, and didn't see any broken either. Sorry if this post sounds stupid, or i look like a complete moron because i don't know what I am talking about, but i am a 17 year old struggling to get control over my '96 Bass Tracker. Any tips/ advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

Re: Trolling Motor Problems

What you measure with a meter depends on what function you have selected. Set the scale to DC VOLTS. A 12 volt motor (one battery) should measure 12 volts at the plug. A 24 volt system should measure 24 volts at the plug. You need to tell us what type of system you have. One or two batteries (12 or 24 volts). (I can tell you that if you used a simple hand held meter you were not measuring 26 AMPS).

Re: Trolling Motor Problems

Since you mentined batteries, I assume you are reading 26Volts. To read amps the meter would have to be in series with the motor and running. A 55lb MG is most likely a 12V motor. Sounds like you are trying to run a 12V motor on a 24V system. My recommendation is to get someone with some 12/24VDC experience to help you figure it out. ie trace the wiring out.

Re: Trolling Motor Problems

Thanks for the replies, I put the meter in VDC mode like you suggested and it read 12 on each of the batteries so I was measuring volts. The system I have is 2 batteries (24 volts).

Re: Trolling Motor Problems

Because it measured 12 volts at each battery does not mean you have 24 volts at the plug. Two batteries in parallel = 12 volts. Two batteries in series = 24 volts. You need to measure the voltage at the plug, not the batteries. Here is a wiring diagram for a 24 volt system.



And here is one for two batteries in parallel (12 volt system)