Anyone hardwire their trolling motor?

[Smokinal]

I've replaced the 3 prong plugs (male and female ends) for my TM a few times now due to corrosion. This year, I got looking at small tools and such to clean the contacts again and thought, why not just hardwire it to the wires inside the hull coming from the batteries, run them through a grommet so it's neat and water tight, and be done with this whole plug thing? I know plugs have worked for years but wouldn't you also get more amps to the motor in eliminating those poor connections? Anyone do this?

[Team9nine]

Don't know about more amps or any of that stuff as I'm not an electrician, but I did the exact same thing with my last boat (used waterproof connections similar to what are used for wiring well pumps, etc.) and ran for half a dozen years like that without any issues.

-T9

[Western-Mass-Bass]

I always run some sort of circuit protection. Incase of running through thick stuff and putting a heavy load on it.

[Choporoz]

I'm very thankful that my brother in law didn't.

I had his boat out last summer with his fancy new Humminbird (with seemed bigger than 24 inch TV) that was tied to his brand new remote controlled trolling motor.  Somehow, on the way out, I marked a waypoint on the gps.  Couple hours later I managed to convince the remote control TM to head back to the waypoint.....at top speed.  Only problem was this little rockpile the size of a VW bug up out of the water that just happened to be between me and the waypoint.  Panic-stricken, I could do NOTHING to convince that boat to go some direction - ANY direction other than right for the rocks.  I managed to pull the plug on the TM before we put a hole in my BIL's Tracker.  Me and technology pretty much rarely see eye to eye.

[buzzed bait]

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I'm very thankful that my brother in law didn't.

I had his boat out last summer with his fancy new Humminbird (with seemed bigger than 24 inch TV) that was tied to his brand new remote controlled trolling motor.  Somehow, on the way out, I marked a waypoint on the gps.  Couple hours later I managed to convince the remote control TM to head back to the waypoint.....at top speed.  Only problem was this little rockpile the size of a VW bug up out of the water that just happened to be between me and the waypoint.  Panic-stricken, I could do NOTHING to convince that boat to go some direction - ANY direction other than right for the rocks.  I managed to pull the plug on the TM before we put a hole in my BIL's Tracker.  Me and technology pretty much rarely see eye to eye.

i just lol'd pretty hard!  great visual!

[Fishing Rhino]

Dielectric grease is your best friend.  Use it on your trailer connectors.  Use it on bulbs and their sockets.  Use it on the plug for your trolling motor.  End of problem.  Put a light coat on all the male prongs of your plug, and squeeze a little into the sockets.  Do the same with the plug for your trailer lights.

If you have corrosion like that on your trolling motor you can be pretty sure that you have corrosion elsewhere.  I used it for all the plug connections and bulbs on my boat when I was a commercial lobsterman.  Never had a problem with any plug or bulbs that needed changing.

The plug provides a disconnect for the trolling motor.  Sure, you can put the control in the off position, but that can be bumped to the on position.  You want some way to kill the power to the trolling motor, and a plug serves that purpose.

[Scott F]

I've had the same trolling motor plug on my boat since 1988 and have never had one issue with it. Before I got an on board charger last year, I used to unplug the motor and plug in my charger in the same receptacle.

[WIGuide]

You could do that if you felt it was necessary. I've never had an issue with the plugs though. 

[Snakehead Whisperer]

My TM is hard wired to the batteries with a 60 amp breaker. Works fine. If I need to remove the TM for some reason, I can just detach it at the battery. 

[Way2slow]

Yes, you can do away with the connector, but there will be times when you whished you hadn't.

However, it you are using the three prong, round electric plug that says it's only rated for 30 amps on it, that's junk and I would have done away with that a long time ago. 

First, are you still running one of the 12/24 TM's? Those are the only TM's you need a three prong plug for.  If not an you are running a just a 24V TM, You should give serious consideration to doing some re-wiring of your boats TM system.  When those systems were designed, they didn't have the size TM's we are using today.  30 amps was one of the biggest bow mounted TM's used back then.

Here's the problem that 12/24, three prong systems creates.  They install a Run/Charge switch that places the batteries in parallel so the batteries can be charged by one charger plugged into that three prong plug.  To do this, they two positive and two negative cables from the front to the batteries.  When the switch is un the run position and you are running in 24 volts, both of those cables are placed in series, so you have almost 100 feet of cable being used for the current to go through from the battery to the TM.  Even if they used 6ga cable, that long of a run is only good for about 30 amps (which as I said, was about all they had at the time), and if they used 8ga wire, it's only good for about 20 amps without causing significant voltage drops.  Also, if you look at that pile of wiring on the back of that plug, you will see they used short pieces of 10ga wire to connect things.  With that small, 30 plug and receptacle, that extremely long length of wire required and the funky wiring they use to connect to that receptacle, it all adds up to a huge amount of loss in performance in any of the new, larger TMs you put on the bow. 

The very first thing I do with any boat that has that system is to eliminate it.  I start by getting a 24V or 36V variable speed TM.  Then, If it has 6ga wire, I get some #4 copper lugs with 3/8" eyelets and put both red cables into one lug on both ends, crimp and solder them.  This will give you the approximately the equivalence of one 4ga cable.  If the OEM wire is smaller than 6ga, I remove and replace it with 4ga.  I mount me a 60 amp breaker near the batteries and connect it in line with the positive cable with a short piece of 4ga cable with copper lugs crimped and soldered on it going to the batteries.  Make sure the jumper between the batteries is at least 6ga cable.

On the TM end, you may be a little short but that's not a problem.   I only use Anderson connectors or one made like them and get two SB-50s with 6ga terminals, a couple of feet of 6ga cable and a couple #6 copper lugs to crimp and solder on.  Use short 3/8" bolts and bolt the #6 and #4 lugs together and tape them.  Solder the SB-50 terminals on the cables and the TMs cable.  If you  screw the SB-50 on the boat down to secure it, put a spacer, like a SS washer under it to make it easier to plug/unplug.

This will give you a very efficient wiring system that will handle any of the new TM's you might ever want to put on it.

[slonezp]

Buy a better plug and receptacle.

[Fishing Rhino]

On ‎3‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 10:10 PM, Snakehead Whisperer said:

My TM is hard wired to the batteries with a 60 amp breaker. Works fine. If I need to remove the TM for some reason, I can just detach it at the battery. 

Just push the "test button" on your circuit breaker.  It will amount to the same thing as having a switch.  Just reset it when you're ready to go.

No tools required.

Okay, you'll still need tools for the disconnect, but you won't be dealing with live wires.

[Way2slow]

Snakehead Whisperer, apparently yours is not a bow mount or your batteries are in the bow or it's an open boat.  With a bow mount motor and the batteries in the back, that's a whole bunch of cable to have to get pulled out and put back in on you typical decked bass boat.  Not a job I would want to do on my Javelin they way I have it tie-wrapped in. 

I personally would not want to be using a small, outdated system if he has the older style with the 12/24 system and the RUN/CHARGE switch.  The lions share of those are 30 amp systems and are way to small and inefficient for the larger TM's used today.

[junyer357]

On 3/27/2016 at 8:04 AM, slonezp said:

Buy a better plug and receptacle.

Agreed. One with good, quality connections shouldnt be corroding. If you have sanded on the connections at all, they should be replaced.