How to hook up my trolling motor.

[Newboatguy88]

I bot a boat from a guy and the way he had his trolling motor set up is weird. He has jumper cables attached to the batter and than hey spliced the trolling motor wire with the jumper cable wire. Is it possible to just hook up the trolling motor wire to the batter or will that damage the motor

 

[coolbri70]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

just hook it to the battery if you want, be sure to install a fuse or breaker in the + side

 

[Newboatguy88]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

How would I hook up a fuse and what would happen if i don't

 

[coolbri70]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

How would I hook up a fuse and what would happen if i don't

install afuse holder in line before the battery so if your motor shorts the battery wont explode, and so the wires dont melt or catch fire

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

Forget the fuse and use a manual reset circuit breaker of the appropriate size. Breaker (or fuse) size depends on the maximum current draw of your particular motor and the wire gauge you are using. Never install a fuse or breaker with a higher current rating than the wire can handle. Consult "Ampacity Charts" to determine what those ratings are.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

the breaker would be my first choice, it can be reset if it trips, where as the fuse has to be replaced. you will need one rated just over your max current draw and below the wirings ratings. you dont want it to trip just because you run the motor, but trip if the wirings capacity is exceeded

 

[colbyt]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

Everything others have posted is true but may be more information than you need for your situation. If you battery will sit within reach of the wires that came with the motor you are good to go except for fuse protection and a connection method.

If you need to run wire than you need to do some homework regarding sizes and ampacity.

My personal opinion is that an inline fuse is better than a breaker in the marine environment.

Please ask question if you have them.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

Everything others have posted is true but may be more information than you need for your situation. If you battery will sit within reach of the wires that came with the motor you are good to go except for fuse protection and a connection method.

If you need to run wire than you need to do some homework regarding sizes and ampacity.

My personal opinion is that an inline fuse is better


than a breaker in the marine environment.

Please ask question if you have them.

Why???

 

[colbyt]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

Simple. Cheap. Easy to use. Water tight container. Easy to replace when it fails.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

Simple. Cheap. Easy to use. Water tight container. Easy to replace when it fails.

Cheaper - yes. But then you need spares, and those so called "water tight" fuse holders are not water tight. Water resistant at best. Quality circuit breakers are sealed.

 

[Newboatguy88]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

My brother told me I could hook up some gator clips to the battery and trolling motor

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to hook up my trolling motor.

You can use bubble gum to hold the wires on the post if you wish. Seriously why spend money on alligator clips when ring terminals are cheaper and wing nuts make a more secure connection. Alligator clips are for jumper cables.