iPilot Owners - Question about Chords wrapping up on the Shaft

[Mumpy]

Does anyone else have this problem? When I use Spot Lock sometimes the Shaft will spin and spin until the chords are wrapped up around the shaft to a point where it almost looks like it's going to break and then it will shut off.

I am using a PowerDrive V2 55# 12v Trolling Motor

Thanks in advance

 

[Star]

Re: iPilot Owners - Question about Chords wrapping up on the Shaft

Mumpy,
I have heard that the Ipilot is sesitive to low voltage causing problems. connect a volt meter to the plug or conection at the motor. See if the 12vdc drops to 11.5 when this happens. Then check that your main buss is also at 11.5. If not redo your connection to the TM. Call minn Kota directly the number and SN are on the underside of the head. They may have a recall they are a very good company and they support there products WELL! High current connection can go bad in a hurry on the water.

 

[Mumpy]

Re: iPilot Owners - Question about Chords wrapping up on the Shaft

Star - Thank you for your reply - I called the Dealership while I was on the lake and they called me back like an hour later and said that if the Boat isn't completely stopped when you push Spot Lock it throws it out of whack. Basically they said those few seconds from the point of you pushing Spot Lock and the Letter Flashing and Stop Flashing, if the boat moves outside of that 5' Radius that it's supposed to keep you within the iPilot gets confused.

The day this happened the winds on West Point was like unreal!!! They asked me to get in a Cove and bring the boat to a stop and try it. I did and it worked fine. I took the boat out on Sunday and it was also VERY VERY Windy but i took special care to make sure I at least kept the boat within the 5' Radius and it seemed to work great.

I just got this boat last Thursday but I can tell you right now, it's not going to be long before I replace that 55# PD V2 with a 101# Thrust Terrova. I don't like it when Mother Nature pushes me around on the water, hehe.

 

[shinbob]

Re: iPilot Owners - Question about Chords wrapping up on the Shaft

I have the exact same thing happen on my ipilot Terrova. As you found out, the best thing is to make sure you are stopped (or going backwards due to the wind) before hitting spotlock. And I also make sure the cord is unwrapped beforehand as well. Otherwise, the head starts spinning and the cord gets wrapped up.

Though I've seen a few times where the cord gets completely wrapped up, the turning motor stalls, and it rotates the motor a full 360 degrees to unwrap the cord automatically. But it doesn't always happen that way.