Minn Kota ss 3hp motor desperate to find one

[jeepwm69]

Crud, I've checked a couple of times for PM's and just noticed you've been doing a write-up here. Please forgive me for not seeing it before now.

Very cool pictoral, although I must admit that it is way over my head.


I'm excited that you were able to fix it. I bought this motor back when I was about 13-14 years old, and have a lot of fond memories using it while fishing the pond on our farm with friends (some who are no longer with us).


I can email you a return shipping label, and I have to say I have no idea what this repair should cost, but I would love to pay you for fixing it. Please let me know what I owe you, and thanks so much for not only fixing it, but doing a write-up on what you did. I'm going to reread it a few times and see if I can get more insight.

 

[jeepwm69]

Thanks for the heads up sam am i, I do know about ESD (my work days in repair), but the pictures were taken with everything sitting on a cloth on top of the bench. So carpet was nowhere near any electronic components. Yea I can see how the picture makes it look like a carpeted area.

On one of the repays, I can see the fine wire broken just short of the lead going out of the package (had to open them up). The other one a internal open inside the wrap. I thought it interesting that both were opened as well being how the driver circuit was good. IDK. VOO DOO Tronics?

Interesting enough, replacing the active components did not cost much at all. I know some of these PWM circuit boards can cost in the hundreds of dollars as replacement. But if you added up all the parts, it would even come to $45 dollars total or even less. I guess R&D kicks in.

I had a gut feeling the MOSFETS were going to be the problem even before seeing the board. And I was right as well. But that is usually what goes on a PWM circuit. The PWM driver chip could be good. But after researching that chip, it is a high failure rate part. And since it cost so little, I just decided to change it rather then built a circuit to test it. The datasheet explains how to test it with a circuit design. None of the parts were expensive at all. That was the good thing about it.

It was really fun to work on and find the defective parts again. I used to (decades ago) repair black boxes for military aircraft before going into Reverse Engineering, Circuit Design and Computer Programming.

A little history on this.

Worked fine for years. Went to fish one day a couple of years ago, and it wouldn't work. I've messed around with Winches and starters on ATV's and Jeeps, so I pulled the bottom end of the motor apart to check brushes and the armature and discovered that one of the magnets in the housing had come unglued and fallen on the armature, breaking the magnet in half. I expoxied the magnet back togther, and then expoxied it back into the housing. At this point, I still got nothing, so I took the top cover off of the motor and checked the board for loose connections (as in wires, not circuits!). Finding none, I removed the circuit board, and ran 12V straight to the red and black wires that run down the inside of the shaft to the motor. Prop spins fine doing so, so figured the board was burnt up, and since replacment boards aren't available, I set it aside and wrote it off as parts.

GM280, now that you've fixed the board, I don't suppose you can tell me off hand where the wires from the motor attach? I took this thing apart about 2 years ago, and I'd hate to not hook something up right and fry the newly rebuilt board. If I recall correctly there are two black and two red wires.

 

[jeepwm69]

Oh, and one other comment, my uncle retired from the USAF a few years back. He flew F105's, A7's, F16's, and F117's while he was in. He might have flown along with one of your black boxes.....

 

[gm280]

Hello jeepwm69, It is all done and ready to be shipped back to you. I already have your address from the box you sent the controller board in to me. So Once I get it all packaged up, It will ship. That could even be this afternoon as well. I have to say, I just really enjoyed fixing it and had fun, if anybody can understand that. So watch your mail for it very soon.

 

[jeepwm69]

Hello jeepwm69, It is all done and ready to be shipped back to you. I already have your address from the box you sent the controller board in to me. So Once I get it all packaged up, It will ship. That could even be this afternoon as well. I have to say, I just really enjoyed fixing it and had fun, if anybody can understand that. So watch your mail for it very soon.

Great! Sending you a PM.

 

[gm280]

Great! Sending you a PM.

Jeepwn69, It is coming to you now. I just came back from shipping it. Just let me know how it works. That way we saved another good trolling motor from the land fill. :thumb:

 

[gm280]

I just went back and reread this thread again from the start. And I am so sorry that I took over this thread from gabbysaslan.

Please please forgive me for hi-jacking your thread. I should have known better! I was too caught up in repairing the trolling motor board then who started this thread and why. I am absolutely sorry for making it about a trolling motor controller board repair and not about your situation. If you have any more issues about your trolling motor situation, please post them. I will try my best to help you out however I can!

Again, I am sincerely and genuinely sorry for the hi-jacking your thread. :sorry: :facepalm: