Troll motor & Depth finder on same battery

[yakvan]

How should I connect trolling motor and depth finder to same battery?<br /><br />Hear there may be interference problems if not done right. The battery is an Exide deep cycle with 2 positive posts (1 lug and one with a wing nut) and 2 negative posts. Should I just connect the motor and finder to the separate posts. Is a fuse or RF choke needed? Its a small portable boat and I normally just connect troll motor spade connectors direct to the wing nuts on battery. Now I got depth finder and need to connect it to same battery (its actually a portable that can run off AA batteries but I got a 12v cable cause figured the AA would drain rather quick)

 

[DuPont Spinner]

Re: Troll motor & Depth finder on same battery

Not being an expert on the subject, I've had no problem by hooking both to the same battery. I've had two different brands of trolling motors and two different brand of depth finders and have never had a problem. That's not to say you won't. Some people may tell you differntly and have had to purchase a separate battery for the depth finder. If that's the case for you, you can buy a small 12 volt at Cabela's or wire up a couple of 6 volt lantern batteries from Wal-Mart. Best advise from me, for what it's worth, is to hook'em up and give it a try. DuPont

 

[perchjerker]

Re: Troll motor & Depth finder on same battery

I have 2 group 24 deep cycle batterys, one is wired to the trolling motor only (also you can get a circuit breaker for it and not have to worry about finding the right fuse.) I blew a fuse on my trolling motor circuit and couldnt find one to fit it. The other deep cycle is wired to run the live well and running lights also runs the fish finder. The motor starting battery is wired only to the outboard. I do a lot of night fishing and got an extra trolling motor plug and unplug my trolling motor and plug in the floating lights and overhead lights. Ran my battery down and had to get another boater to jump me off a couple of times. Also lost a prop and had to use trolling motor to get back to the ramp which was a mile and a half away. Also carry a set of jumper cables. A trolling motor can get you in and maybe save your life. Also dont charge the trolling motor battery with the trolling motor plugged in, dont know what this does to it but the owners manual said not to do it.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: Troll motor & Depth finder on same battery

Pretty unlikly to get noise from your electric trolling motor. The motor is all dc and runs quiet without noise. YOur problem will lie in your outboard motors alternator. This creates noise spikes and harmonic distortion that can effect your depth finder. If you experience this they make resistor spark plugs to reduce this harmonic frequency.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Troll motor & Depth finder on same battery

I get noise from my electric and can't run it and my fishfinder off the same battery. I could with a cheaper electric but it seems the variable throttle causes problems. I have a Motorguide 46 lb and an Eagle Fishmark 240. I am going to find some kind of noice conditioner from Radio Shack and see if it helps.