72 lb thrust minnkota powerdrive autopilot not autopiloting

[spreadablephruit]

Hey everyone,

I have had trouble with my 72 lb thrust minnkota powerdrive ap ever since I got it. When I turn the autopilot on it will work for maybe 1 minute and then goes haywire. It will start turning in circles and just go all over the place. I had taken it in to have it tested and the guy said that motor was fine and it must be the way I hooked up the 24v system. I know the difference between parallel and a series so I need help with figuring what else the problem could be. Also, at certain times it will just stop running completely and go back on again.......it loses power and gets it back again within a second. The motor is around 5 years old.

Thanks!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 72 lb thrust minnkota powerdrive ap

Re: 72 lb thrust minnkota powerdrive ap

If the motor is turning off and turning on at regular intervals the circuit breaker is tripping and resetting. It may be too small (under-rated) for the amount of current the motor is drawing. The rating normally shows on the breaker. A 24 volt motor the size of yours can draw well over 50 amps so a 60 amp breaker is suggested. You might get by with a 50 since maximum current draw occurs at stalled rotor which will not happen unless a rope or weeds get tangled in the prop and it actually stalls the motor. Don't know what the issue is with the AP but I would start by disconnecting and connecting all connectors to burnish the contacts. Then try it. You may also have some loose connections.

 

[spreadablephruit]

Re: 72 lb thrust minnkota powerdrive autopilot not autopiloting

Thanks silvertip, the bigger fuse fixed the first problem. I still haven't figured out the autopilot however. I did have one person mention that having the batteries for the trolling motor in the bow would be wrong. Would this throw off the autopilot compass?