Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

[brazman]

Here's a few "stupid" questions, to prove that there is such a thing :

I traded my foot controlled 12v 40lb Minn Kota trolling motor for a hand powered 55lb Minn Kota Riptide (I know, lucky me!) and plan on replacing all the wiring from the TM to the battery in the stern. After reading up on other sites, this is what I have purchased:

40ft of black 4awg stranded wire ( I plan to run this as both + and - wire)
60amp Minn Kota inline breaker Amazon.com: 12V DC Car Audio Inline Circuit Minn Kota Breaker Fuse for System Protection 60 AMP 60A: Automotive
Marinco plug and receptacle set
Marinco Trolling Motor Plug Receptacles Set 12 24volt | eBay
Big Foot foot pedal

Here are my newbie questions:
Can I use the same 4awg wire to run for positive and negative, and just wrap the positive side with red electrical tape on the terminal ends? There's nothing inherently different about red wire or black wire, is there?

I will splice the inline breaker into the positive wire near the battery end.
I found directions for how to wire only two wires into a "4 toothed" plug (B+ and A-, if I remember correctly. I'll double check before doing it).

I know that, to install the Big Foot pedal, I'll have to cut the negative wire near the trolling motor and splice the two wires into the two wires of the foot pedal, but can I just splice the negative wire to on of the foot pedal wires, and then attach the other foot pedal wire directly to the receptacle of the trolling motor plug? Or does it HAVE to be spliced into the heavy gauge TM wire?
And, since this is just a freshwater weekend warrior's chariot, could I get away with using butt connectors, or twist connectors, or what? I don't have a soldering iron or heat gun to do the heat tubing, but I guess I could get one or the other if absolutely necessary. Like my title says, I don't want to have to use the fire extinguisher or swim to shore.

There ya go. Be gentle, it's my first time.

 

[Splat]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Welcome aboard!

OK here we go! Yes marking one of the cables is a suitable way to differentiate pos from negative. My trolling motor cables are marked with duct tape, it's all I had laying around when i made the run. Mark the wiree far enough back so after you install your plug, or other termination points it's mark for easy reference in the future.

Butt connectors are fine in my my opinion. A little dielectric grease squeezed in them goes a long way to prevent corrosion in the future. Better yet the butt connectors with the shrink wrap work amazing well, just crimp then hit with a heat gun, lighter, or propane torch and you have a water tight connection.

Your plan with the breaker sounds good.

You can put the Bigfoot wherever in line you'd like. Either before the plug (would be my preference) or between the plug and the trolling motor. To my knowledge they are nothing more than a spst switch so they could be installed either on the pos or neg wire. If you install it between the plug and trolling motor you'll have to take it with you every time you remove the motor. Could be useful if you plan to use it on another boat, but won't be as clean of a install. Totally up to you.

Only dumb questions ate the Ines you don't ask. Welcome aboard again!

Bill

 

[Splat]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Just re-read the op, don't use twist connectors or wire nuts. To much vibration on a boat, plus you'll get water intrusion and corrosion.

 

[brazman]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Thanks for your replies, sir. I won't use the twist connectors. I forgot to mention that I have dielectric grease and will be using it liberally as I rewire my boat (eventually) from head to toe. I'll pick up some shrink tube tomorrow when I hit the hardware store for a few more things, and hopefully the butt connectors heat-tubed together will be a one-and-done deal. Thanks again for your help, Splat.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Yes! marking Cables with Colored Tape is acceptable.
Spiral wrap the wire back at least a foot so the end of the wire can never be confused for the other lead.
If you like to get picky. The ABYC standard for DC Ground is Yellow. Black is for AC Hot.

Install the Controls in the Positive 12v lead.
If installed in the Ground lead, the entire motor will be at 12v when the controls are OFF.

Do not apply a Flame to Heat Shrink, do it correctly. Scorching it defeats the purpose.
A quality Heat Gun can commonly be found at you local Hobby Shop for under $20.
A small bead of Hot Glue around the joint before the Shrink tubing is applied, guarantees a Waterproof connection.
The glue seals the shrink tubing to the wire's insulation as the heat is applied.

 

[midcarolina]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

I would run 6 gauge wire.... #4 is way overkill plus it's not gonna fit the terminals of the receptacle without cutting down the conductor....

 

[brazman]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

I am basing my selection of #4 wire from this chart: Amps and Wire Gauge - 12V Circuit
from this forum discussion: What gauge wire for extending wiring? 50 pound thrust trolling motor - DoItYourself.com Community Forums


Loudly proclaiming that I am a newbie at this, I'm only going by what I've read from my research. Now I'm scratching my head. Already bought the #4 wire, but could take it back and get #6 if I need to. I'm rapidly burning up my day off, though...

 

[midcarolina]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Bigger wire than minimum can in no way be bad....I didnt realize you had already purchased the 4 gauge since you already have it use it,
I doubt the vendor you purchased it from will want to take it back...especially if they cut it off a roll.

 

[brazman]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

Home Depot, where I bought it, said they'd take back any length of wire 6' or greater. So, they WOULD take it back if I asked them to, plus one of my buddies is a manager at the store.

So, I wired it all up, and nothing happened. Sigh. Motor wouldn't turn, and I really don't think that both batteries I tried it on were stone dead. Not sure what's up. Pretty sure I did everything according to all the directions I've amassed...think I'll get either my neighbor or my older/wiser fishing buddy to help me trouble shoot tomorrow afternoon.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

So, I wired it all up, and nothing happened. Sigh. Motor wouldn't turn, and I really don't think that both batteries I tried it on were stone dead. Not sure what's up. Pretty sure I did everything according to all the directions I've amassed...

It is time to stop guessing and put a Voltmeter on it to see how far the voltage gets.
Start with the battery voltage and work towards the motor.

 

[brazman]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

I unwired the plug and receptacle, and touching straight wires to battery, the motor works. So, apparently, I incorrectly wired up the plug and/or receptacle. Shouldn't take much to set it straight.

 

[brazman]

Re: Noob alert: Keep me from burning my boat down!

I figured it out. The receptacle has an A+, A-, B+, and B- wire hole. A post from another website indicated that I should wire my two wires to B+ and A-, but that was for a 24v system. Since mine is only 12v, and piecing together that A and B indicate two different batteries, I tried A+ and A-, and voila. Perfecto. Thanks for the help along this journey. ;-)