Trolling motor circuit breakers

[Javelin_Venom]

I have a 50 lb. thrust Minn Kota trolling motor and where the wiring hooks onto the battery, there is a little circuit breaker (I think that's what it is anyway). A lot of times when I'm using the trolling motor for a while, it will stop working all of a sudden and I have to give it a few seconds or minutes and then it will take off again. I put in a new outlet and plug when I got the boat because the other one was really small, so I don't think it's the plug. It stopped working on me a while back completely and I replaced the circuit breaker that was on it when I bought the boat with a new one (the largest they had was 30 Amps) and it worked again, so I'm assuming that's probably what it is this time. My question is, what size circuit breaker do I need so my trolling motor won't cut out on me when it get's too hot or whatever it is that it's doing. Do I even need a circuit breaker or do you just hook it straight to the battery? Would 50 Amps be a sufficient one? Thanks in advance for your replies.

[scbassin]

Was the set up for the trolling motor a factory install?  If so you might of had a loose connection causing high heat.  If not the wire between the battery & trolling motor plug might be to small. I have 50 amp breakers on mine but they were factory rigged. The circuit breaker is to protect your equipment  so if you put one in there that is to big you are defeating the purpose. Another thing to check is when it stops pull it up & see if the motor is hot to the touch. You could have a bad motor.

[Ben]

You really should run a breaker. If that cable shorted, or the TM control shorted it could catch the boat on fire without it.

30 amp is too small, it will trip it every time you run very far at max, you need at least a 40 and if your boat is wire with 6 ga wire, I would go ahead a put a 45 amp

Please note: I did make one assumption, this is a 12/24 volt motor you are using, and not just a 12V. A straight 12 volt will require a bigger breaker

[Flatfish]

And check your prop to see if you have fishing line wrapped arount the shaft, that would cause excess drag. 30 amp seems low for a TM, what does the manufacturer recommend?????

[Cephkiller]

I have a 50 lb Minn Kota and I'm pretty sure I have a 50 amp fuse per the installation manual.

[Javelin_Venom]

Thanks for the replies.  I was going to use a 50 amp but wasn't sure if I should.  I don't have the manual for the trolling motor, the guy I bought the boat from must still have them or threw them away.  I have had line wrapped around the prop before and it's easy enough to remove but it's clear of anything right now.  I'll see if I can find a 50 amp and put it on.  Hopefully that will do the trick.

[hipster_dufus]

my tm plug shorted out and had to be replaced. i put a 50 amp breaker in line with it.the problem i have vad is trying to find the right terminal connectors. i went with 6 ga wire , but had to make copper standoffs for the battery and breaker because it was such a tight fit. i have spent a lot of time trying to get this hookup right.

[Javelin_Venom]

I have been looking for a 50 amp circuit breaker and can't find one in the style that I have on there now.  The biggest I have found is 30 amps.  Can anyone tell me what kind I should be looking for?  Links and/or pictures would really help out.  Thanks.

[Javelin_Venom]

I am starting to question myself about whether or not it is indeed the circuit breaker.  The motor will run for a while and then it will cut out.  If I sit there for a minute or two it usually starts working again without me doing anything other than waiting.  Does this sound like it could be the wiring being too small for the trolling motor I have or do you think it could still be a circuit breaker?  I wouldn't see how the breaker could trip but then start working again after waiting for a few minutes.  The trolling motor on the boat is bigger than the one that came with it but was put on by the previous owner and I don't have any of the manuals that came with it.  Any ideas?  Is there anyway to test and see if I'm drawing too many amps or if the wire is too small, and if so, how would I go about doing that?

[Yankee_Bassman]

If you don't have a manual, email Minn Kota and see if you can get one. It sounds to me like there's an overheat protector in the motor that's kicking out, then resetting when the motor cools. If that's the case, either something like fishing line as mentioned above, or defective/corroded/undersized wiring, or bad connection is causing problem.

Doubt it's a breaker, as that should stay tripped until manually reset or replaced.

[bassnleo]

Venom, both my boats have breakers that will trip if they get too hot. After waiting a few minutes, they reset after they cool. I was having the same problem as you with a 30 amp breaker, went to a 50 amp and haven't had them trip yet. The only time mine would ever trip is when I was on the TM full power for a long time.

I'm not sure of the brand, I bought them at a local boat dealer. If you want, I will see if they have any in stock and their price.

[Ben]

There are two types of those breakers, one auto reset, one that has a little button that pops out the end you have to press to reset, you probably have the auto reset.  Any dealer that has a descent parts dept. should have the circuit breakers, but I think yoiu will find 40 - 45  amp to be a lot more common.  I think 50 is going a little over kill, I don't claim to be a TM expert but just don't know of too many TM's that would draw 50 amps.  50 amps @ 24v is only about two hours run time on max with two good 115 AH batteries, plus most of the bow connectors are only rated for 35 - 40 amps.  I run 45 amp on my 72 lb motor quide with no problems.

[bassnleo]

There are two types of those breakers, one auto reset, one that has a little button that pops out the end you have to press to reset, you probably have the auto reset. Any dealer that has a descent parts dept. should have the circuit breakers, but I think yoiu will find 40 - 45 amp to be a lot more common. I think 50 is going a little over kill, I don't claim to be a TM expert but just don't know of too many TM's that would draw 50 amps. 50 amps @ 24v is only about two hours run time on max with two good 115 AH batteries, plus most of the bow connectors are only rated for 35 - 40 amps. I run 45 amp on my 72 lb motor quide with no problems.

my mistake, your right, I have 40 amp breakers not 50 amp as I stated above. Yes, mine are the kind that auto reset when it cools.

[Javelin_Venom]

I was having kind of a crappy night until I read the new posts! That makes me feel a lot better. I'm hoping it is just the breaker and not anything major. I was just sitting here thinking about the time I'd have to spend rewiring everything or even worse, the money I'd have to spend on a new trolling motor but now I have new hope. Thanks for the replies!

[Flatfish]

A lot of the over the road trucks have the Auto-Reset breakers in them, maybe a Truck Stop would be convient. They will have 2 #10 posts (Threaded) on then, just a matter of wiring them in on the power wire.

[zam]

I just bought a minn kota 65lb thrust and theres a tag on the cord that says it must have a 50 amp manual reset circuit breaker (if thats any help )

[Javelin_Venom]

Finally found what I was looking for at Gander Mountain. They had a 40 amp self-resetting circuit breaker and a 50 amp. I got the 40 amp because of the info from this post but then saw zam's post about the tag on his trolling motor saying it must have a 50 amp...so I decided to just call Minn Kota. I talked to someone and asked them what size circuit breaker should I use for a 50 lb. thrust trolling motor. She said typically on high, a 50 lb. thrust trolling motor will draw between 43-47 amps so I should use a 50 amp circuit breaker. She said the 40 would work if I hardly ever ran my trolling motor on high. Thanks for all the replies and tips. Just thought I would share what I found out.

[Yankee_Bassman]

Let us know if that solves the problem.....

[Ben]

Is this a 12V only motor?  My 24V 68 lb MG TM has no problems running on 45 amp breakers and I run it on high a lot when chasing schooling fish.

[BassinPreacher]

I just bought a 65lb thrust motor as well and that tag also said I needed 6ga wire and 50amp fuse.  My boat has 8ga wire run to the batteries will that be enough?  If so should I still go with a 50amp fuse?

[Javelin_Venom]

Well I changed out my circuit breaker on Tuesday and put on the bigger (50 amp) one. I took the boat out on Wednesday and everything worked great. Knock on wood, but the trolling motor didn't cut out once. Everything else fired right up and ran well too. Great day to be on the water, high near 70 and just a calm breeze blowing. Thanks for all the replies.

[Triton_Mike]

Somebody want to tell me how you would mount this 50 amp circuit breaker professionally??  

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_cluster?q=50+amp+circuit+breaker&pid=4884835772271097591&oid=1227632969545154859&btnG=Search+Froogle&oi=froogler&scoring=mrd&hl=en

T Mike

[hipster_dufus]

t  mike i have the same breaker, but mine has little mounting wings on it. i rran a small copper, heavy , standoff on my + post and then put a 6 ga wire to the plug i told u about.. i got the wire from a set of jumper cables and crimped on some battery terminals. i kept the run to 6 ft the plug is from marinco and they sell a 6 ga adapter. they had the plug and receptacle on sale at bps for 18.99, but the adapter was another 15. i too have been trying to make this as neat and professional as possible

[bassnleo]

Well I changed out my circuit breaker on Tuesday and put on the bigger (50 amp) one. I took the boat out on Wednesday and everything worked great. Knock on wood, but the trolling motor didn't cut out once. Everything else fired right up and ran well too. Great day to be on the water, high near 70 and just a calm breeze blowing. Thanks for all the replies.

Glad to see the new breaker worked for you! It solved my problem when I changed mine last year, no problems since.

[MyKeyBe]

T Mike,

Any idea how that thing mounts and where the reset button is? As far as the wiring goes, I would solder some ring terminals on the end of the wire, put some wheatherproof shink wrap on it, and bolt the ring terminal down. Use solder instead of crimping. Crimping leaves air gaps which create current loss and helps corrosion. If the wire is large enough, race car companies like Moroso and Taylor make compression style ring terminals. Very easy to work with.