trollor motor wires HOT

[texasfish]

My boat was equipt for 12/24, I bought a<br />24 volt motor so replaced the wires to 6 ga.<br />I'm connecting the two batteries together<br />(paralell) to get the 24 volts.<br />I'm using a three prong plug, my problem is<br />that the wires leading to my troll-motor<br />get HOT! is this normal??

 

[Down South]

Re: trollor motor wires HOT

Hi Texasfish,<br />Hot wires are usually a symtom of a bad connection or under sized wire. You say that you have replaced the wiring to 6 gauge. I'd check to make sure it's wired right and that the plug you are using is rated for the amps the trolling motor will be able to pull. Check that plug for corrosion too. A bad connection at the plug can cause trouble too. You probably have already checked the rest your connections to make sure they are tight. <br /><br />Just some ideas, Hope this helps.<br /><br />Good luck

 

[JB]

Re: trollor motor wires HOT

Howdy, Texasfish.<br /><br />Connecting 12 volt batteries in parallel will not give you 24volts. They must be connected in series.<br /><br />If 6ga. wire is getting hot, you have a problem. It may be your battery connections.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: trollor motor wires HOT

JB is right -- but it's easy to get caught up in the semantics. A parallel hookup is like jumping your car battery (+ to +, and - to -.) This gives you 12 volts, but the benefit of additional amps stored in the higher-charged battery.<br /><br />It sounds like you are running your 24 volt equipment with 12 volts, which would presumably produce some heat.

 

[texasfish]

Re: trollor motor wires HOT

JB I miss spoke before; the batteries are in<br />series, the troll-motor is running ok.<br />The 6 ga. wires are not getting hot, it's the<br />wires coming from the plug going to the<br />troll-motor.<br />DownSouth mentioned checking the connections<br />for corrosion at the plug. Guess I need to<br />replace male and female plugs to see if that<br />clears the problem up. Thanks for your quick<br />replys....

 

[Huddleston Bass]

Re: trollor motor wires HOT

Texas Fish,<br />I am glad that you verified that you do in fact have your batteries in series. If your running #6 wire you should be ok if your not running one of the newer HIGH POWER / POUNDS of THRUST Motors. One thing to remember, high current causes heat, low voltage causes higher current. I would suspect that a connection is not as good as it should be. Also make sure the motor itself is not the culprit. One check that you should do is to check the STATIC voltage at the plug. Start the motor at high speed and see what the voltage drop is. If the drop is more than 2 volts check the voltage at the connections on the battery with the motor running at high speed. If the drop is minimal then the connections or wiring are really suspects. Other ways (not technical) is to check to see where the heat is being generated. Check that connection. Each connection will create some resistance which will cause heat.<br />****