Minn Kota

[Falroy]

I have a mkab1823939 minn kota 55lb power drive trolling motor and when I press the foot pedal the relay clicks and I can hear the motor hum slightly but has a hard time starting but will not turn the prop unless I give the prop a spin manually. I am not sure if this means I need to replace the brushes or if there is maybe something else wrong. Thanks in advance.

 

[Star]

Re: Minn Kota

I'll give you my best guess, When did it run last. Check for fishing line behind the prop.. Prop should turn easily. LOW BATTERY or conection... Check dc voltage going into the red black cables at the motor, I will bet you don't have 8V under load while it is running.
Is it a fresh water motor that was run in salt water?

 

[Falroy]

Re: Minn Kota

It worked fine before I winterized the boat and this is the first time I have tried to use it this spring. It has never seen salt water. The battery is brand new and I just charged it also the charge indicator on the minn Kota says it is full. I will check the voltage. All the connections as far as I could tell seemed fine. Also when I would spin the prop by hand while pressing the foot pedal it would then spin at full speed. The prop seems to spin freely by hand. Also when I first hooked up the battery it would not work at all then when I took the boat out on the water the prop would hesitate then slowly moved then go at full speed then it stopped working all together. Now that I have it have it at home again I am able to spin the prop to get it to work.

 

[Star]

Re: Minn Kota

I still think you are not getting full battery power to the motor. Bad brushes or bad spot on the armature could too. Can you slow the prop once it starts turnning. If you have a foot pedal try cleaning the pins and socket.

 

[Falroy]

Re: Minn Kota

I took apart the lower unit yesterday and there was a bunch of fishing line wrapped around the prop shaft. That fishing Line wrecked the prop shaft seal and the lower unit had some water in it all winter. I took out the armature and the brushes and cleaned up everything as best I could and put it back together. Everything seemed to work fine so I just ordered a seal kit some new brushes and the cardboard brush holder. But I tried it again today and it's doing the same thing as before only working part of the time and starting when I spin the prop like there is a dead spot. I will try the seal kit and retainer/brushes. I am still thinking maybe there is a dead spot in the armature? Thanks for your advice so far.

 

[Falroy]

Re: Minn Kota

When the prop is spinning there is definatly full power.

 

[kahuna123]

Re: Minn Kota

You need to clean the armature really good. In between the copper contacts there should be air. Not crap. After water intrusion this area is where all the crap from the brushes ends up. Hard to describe but look at the contacts the brushes ride on. In between the contacts there should be an air gap. You are lucky the magnets did not come loose.

 

[Falroy]

Re: Minn Kota

Luckily there wasn't to much water. I will give it a better clean when I get the parts I ordered and hopefully that is all I need to do. Thanks kahuna123 for the description.