Trolling Motor Reverse

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Rub-a-dub

Cadet
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Feb 13, 2014
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Has anyone tried installing a reverse polarity switch on their trolling motor ? There are many
situations I need to reverse the motor where I can't turn it 180* with the foot pedal.
 

Silvertip

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Sep 22, 2003
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A yes or no answer requires a little more detail. If your motor has a cable operated foot pedal system (not electronic) the answer is probably yes -- but with a qualifier. If your motor is electronically controlled (electric cable between foot pedal and motor) then the answer is also yes -- but with a more serious qualifier. If your motor is older and uses speed coils for speed control you can definitely add a reversing switch. But chances are it would already have one.

Any electronics in any device are polarity sensitive so the more modern a motor is, the likelyhood it has more electronics is high. Since you can't just reverse the polarity and still have motor control you must get past the electronics and get directly to the motor itself. I have not been inside every troller on the planet and you have not told us what you have so everything you read from here on is quesswork. But, if you remove the cover at the top of your troller shaft you should see two large gauge wires (red & black perhaps). Those are the high current conductors (the feeder) going directly to the motor. The speed control (electronics) would be the device those wires connect to at the top of the shaft and that device sends pulse wide modulated (PWM) signal to the motor. So a reversing switch would need to be inserted in those two wires going to the motor..

If the PWM circuitry is located in the actual motor housing at the bottom of the shaft, then the same technique applies but the wires to be attached to a reversing switch would need to be interrupted at the bottom of the shaft and routed upward to the switch. Much more work and perhaps not enough room in the shaft to do that. Outside the shaft is not an option.

Whatever switch you use would need to be rated for the maximum current draw of your motor or heavy current relays could be used with a lesser rated switch. I have a reversing switch diagram somewhere but will need to locate it. Stay tuned.
 

Famous 2

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Dec 21, 2019
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Installed reverse switch on motor guide 24 volt 70 lb thrust foot control. Don’t have much much experience in this kind of thing . First i reversed the connections on the battery. No smoke or sparks. Hit the on button on the pedal, motor ran backwards perfectly on all 5 speeds. Swapped the wires back to normal on the batteries. The wire from the batteries comes up through the floor in the recess that the pedal is in. I broke the connection there and installed a 4 way rocker light switch in a metal electrical box on the deck.that way i can switch from forward to reverse with my foot. I do not recommend that any one try this unless you know a lot more about this than i do. This set up had been working for 1 1/2 years fo me. I fish in central fl. Biggest benefits i found, you dont have to turn the motor when its buried in weeds, 1or2 taps fro forward to reverse loosens that mess up and you can actually back out of it. Good luck
 
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