Is My Trolling Motor Going Bad?

[Wolfie]

Ok guys i got a motorguide tour 71 and its on a tr17 triton trolling motor is 5-6years old I have new batteries and saturday I was on the trolling motor a fair amt and it was basically done by noon we had blastoff at 7. Brought it to the guy I got the batteries from he checked them after i charged them and they were full charge everything apears to be hooked up right he looked over it all (his buisiness is batteries,starters and alternators) and everything is as it should be I put these batteries in a few months ago and they used to go all day any advice?

[Neil McCauley]

It is possible. How many actual hours would you say you have put on the motor? How hard are you on it- ie do you jack it up to full speed from a stand-still, reverse it while it's still propelling forward, etc? The bearings do eventually wear out on the lesser brands of these motors. My MK C2 has burnt through 4 deep cycle size 27 batteries and is still going strong.

[Wolfie]

O im not sure i put about 12hrs a week on my boat from may-september and ya u just reach down bump it to 5 or whatever speed i need and hammer down

[slonezp]

Batteries should be load tested and voltage tested at the motor plug (if it's not hardwired to the battery) 

[Wolfie]

Ya the batteries are interstate he gave me some dekka's so im going to try those

[Way2slow]

Where are you getting them from.  One problem many don't realize, small dealers may have the batteries for months or even longer and by the time they sell them. they are already near the junk pile.   There's a marina/store on a lake I fish sometimes that had the same couple of batteries sitting and a rack for almost a year, I know for sure, and no telling how long before or after.  The reason I know at least one was there that long, I raked my finger across the dust on it, 10 months later, that same battery with my finger swipe was still there, with more dust on the rest, and some dust where I swiped it.

 

Deka is a good battery, and they normally place a date sticker on it with the month and year they were put at that location.  The month may be a letter of the alphabet A-L and last two digits of the year( like F/15).  That's not the manufacture date, just the date the warehouse placed it at that location, so you might want to check for that sticker, and see what it is.

[Wolfie]

Ok I will give that a shot thanks

[ww2farmer]

Ya the batteries are interstate

Say no more................Interstate are the worst IMHO. My battery issue went away years ago when I quit using Interstate. I am also not a fan of Motor Guides, I fish  A LOT and went through 2 MG "pro series"  trolling motors the first 4 years I owned my boat. the last 6 years I have had the same Minn Kota 70lb Maxxum with no signs of slowing down. The only problem I ever had with the MK was my own doing (bent the armature shaft running on 100 in a boulder infested area). To be fair to the MG though, I was using Interstate batteries with them, and switched to NAPA (made by Exide) brand when I switched to the MK, was it one, the other, or a combo of both??? I guess I'll never know, but I won't be going back.

[Smokinal]

I have had the exact same experience for years; couldn't figure it out. Then I did some reading about chargers. I purchased a ProSport ProMariner charger and everything changed after that. My batteries used to last 3-5 hrs and be done; even after "fully" charging them. Now, I can't get them to run down. I'm now a firm believer you cannot just charge a deep cycle battery with any old charger. An onboard marine deep cycle charger, like the one I bought, has 3 different charging cycles. And for the naysayers, I too thought it was a marketing gimmick but that conditioning cycle it goes through is something that a regular automotive charger, or a maintainer does not do; and it's made a night and day difference in the state of charge I now get.

So, what kind of charger are you using to charge them with?

Also, are you testing specific gravity with a hydrometer to test the state of charge or are you just using a voltmeter/load tester?

[WIGuide]

I am also not a fan of Motor Guides, I fish  A LOT and went through 2 MG "pro series"  trolling motors the first 4 years I owned my boat. the last 6 years I have had the same Minn Kota 70lb Maxxum with no signs of slowing down. 

You also went from an entry level MG to an upper end MK. That alone can be the difference. Had you stepped up to the tour edition Motorguide, I bet you would have been pleased as well.