12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

[carns]

I have a motorguide 12/24 switch 3 prong trolling motor. It runs off of 2 batteries in front of boat. I have 1 starting battery in back and a 3 bank charger that charges all three...I can't get it wired correctly!!! Any help many thanks!

 

[j_martin]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

The purpose of the 12/24 switch is to put the batteries in parallel so they can be charged by a single charger. If you have a multiple bank charger, it is not needed.

1. Discard the switch.
2. Connect the negative terminal of battery #1 to negative on the trolling motor.
3. Connect the positive terminal of battery #1 to the negative terminal of battery #2. Connect either end of that jumper to trolling motor 12V.
4. Connect the positive terminal of battery #2 to the trolling motor 24 V connection.
5. Connect the 2 charger banks, one to each battery (2 wires). Don't worry that the positive of one bank is connected to the negative of the other bank. It's isolated at the charger. They're made to run like that.

There is nothing in this connected to the engine battery or engine. The engine will not charge the trolling batteries.

hope it helps
John

 

[carns]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

John thank you but I think I gave you wrong information. the 12/24 switch is on the trolling motor pedal... This all happened when my existing 3 bank charger died, I put a new one in thinking I copied the wiring exactly as it was when I put a new 3 bank charger in. currently, the 3 bank charge has 4 wires going up front, 2 +, 2 - and are attached to each battery respectively, each has a fuse on it. The trolling motor cable is a 3 prong.... appreciate it. The charger lights light up indicating the charger is charging the trolling motor batteries (all green actually) but the silly trolling motor has very little power... thanks again

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

The purpose of the 12/24 switch is to put the batteries in parallel so they can be charged by a single charger. If you have a multiple bank charger, it is not needed.

1. Discard the switch.
2. Connect the negative terminal of battery #1 to negative on the trolling motor.
3. Connect the positive terminal of battery #1 to the negative terminal of battery #2. Connect either end of that jumper to trolling motor 12V.
4. Connect the positive terminal of battery #2 to the trolling motor 24 V connection.
5. Connect the 2 charger banks, one to each battery (2 wires). Don't worry that the positive of one bank is connected to the negative of the other bank. It's isolated at the charger. They're made to run like that.

There is nothing in this connected to the engine battery or engine. The engine will not charge the trolling batteries.

hope it helps
John

WRONG -- very wrong!! IF AND ONLY IF there is a panel at the front of the boat (not on the motor itself) does a 12/24 switch have anything to do with battery charging. If it did have such a panel it would be labeled 12/24/RUN/CHARGE or something similar. Many boats use a three terminal receptacle and plug to provide the capability of using either a 12 volt only motor or a 24 volt only motor. Those wired for a COMBINATION 12/24 volt motor (one that can operate from either 12 OR 24 volts) used a four terminal receptacle and had four wires running from the batteries to the receptacle. In those cases the 12/24 volt selector switch is ON THE MOTOR -- not a separate panel. There are a multitude of wiring possibilities for a setup such as yours and very likely someone has already mucked with the wiring so I have no idea what the situation is. You need to describe (in detail) what the wiring is from the batteries to the trolling motor receptacle on your boat. The wires in your motor plug are typically red, orange and black but there are others. Red/Black is 24 volts and orange/black is 12 volts. The selector switch on the motor determines which voltage is selected. But let us know what you have for wiring -- and pictures help.

 

[carns]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

ok....it's a 3 prong plug into the panel at the front...and in that panel is a tilt switch to lift engine up/down from the bow. The switch on the trolling motor pedal did enable the motor to run either 12 or 24, you could tell when it was working properly. I'm not concerned about the two batteries in the front running the trolling engine to be charged by the engine...just want to be able to plug my 3 bank built in charger to charge those two and the starter/acc battery. It appears the charger is charging the 2 batteries though as I'm not getting an error on the bank charger. Appreciate the help, and will take pictures but got to go work to pay the bills. thank you again... if you're not a lunatic and are game to email me, let me know. that would be awesome. In return, I can send you some presaturated wipers (i'm a manufacturer) like gojo wipes or something stronger...really good stuff every handy man loves them. again thanks, john... Chris..

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

So lets start over! What is the problem -- the trolling motor wiring, or the charger wiring? As for the charger, there should be three pairs of outputs -- one pair for each of three batteries. Observing polarity, connect one pair directly to each battery. All three should charge. The POS lead in each pair should have a fuse in it. If any battery is not showing a charge then check the fuse.

 

[carns]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

charger is working great...no issue. silly trolling engine. it's running off one battery i think...and it's draining it fast, so it seems. there a panel in the front of the boat wherre the 3 prong plug goes into for the trolling engine. in that panel is a 12v plug and tilt switch. thanks all!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

Then you probably need this wiring scheme. No guarantees here since I have no idea what has been done to the boat wiring.

 

[KVH]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

The purpose of the 12/24 switch is to put the batteries in parallel so they can be charged by a single charger. If you have a multiple bank charger, it is not needed.

John

I want to be sure I understand. With a two bank charger, and a black and red to each battery, it will make no difference that there is a jumper between the positive of battery 1 and the negative of battery 2? I hope that's the case, because I'm installing my batteries in series and hadn't thought of that issue. thx

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 12/24 volt switch trolling motor wiring diagram

I want to be sure I understand. With a two bank charger, and a black and red to each battery, it will make no difference that there is a jumper between the positive of battery 1 and the negative of battery 2? I hope that's the case, because I'm installing my batteries in series and hadn't thought of that issue. thx

Here is a diagram. Follow the current path. There is no way the two pairs can interact because they are totally isolated from each other. The jumper is of no concern.