24v trolling motor voltage....

[UFpwrLifter]

Looking for help from the forum's experts or someone who knows what may be going on. 

 

I am using a 24v minn Kota edge 70lb thrust trolling motor. After a full overnight charge, it runs on highest speed (5) for literally 60 seconds before it nearly shuts off in power or resumes at a speed of 1 while the switch is still on 5.

 

When I check the voltage via digital voltmeter, it shows 1.0 at the trolling motor plug as well as at the battery connection (positive of battery A to negative of battery B). I checked both after use and after a full charge and read out does not change. Shouldn't it show 24v?

 

Please help. Any idea what the problem is?

[riverbasser]

Sounds like bad batteries. They might charge but won't hold that charge. I would pull them out charge them individually for 24hrs and then remove for 24hrs and then check voltage of each one. It would also be good to load test them if possible

[UFpwrLifter]

Thanks RB. Individually, they show 14.4 while plugged in and 11.6 when unplugged. It's when I check for 24v that the readout changes to 1.0. 

[iabass8]

15 minutes ago, UFpwrLifter said:

Thanks RB. Individually, they show 14.4 while plugged in and 11.6 when unplugged. It's when I check for 24v that the readout changes to 1.0. 

that is a completely dead battery. Your batteries aren't holding a charge. 

[UFpwrLifter]

Appreciate the prompt responses. I love this place. 3 new batteries next week it is. 

[Angry John]

take them to the auto parts store and have them load tested for free.  If your going to replace them i would recommend Trojan or interstate.

[UFpwrLifter]

Ok, replaced and upgraded all batteries with brand new interstate AGM and same problem. At the trolling motor receptacle (where TM plug plugs into), digital voltmeter reads 1.

 

When I check the voltage in the back with 24v set up, same reading of 1. 

 

The problem isn't bad batteries. Trolling motor seems to spin just fine, but why is it reading 1.???

[Angry John]

Do you have a good tester???  Do you have a ground???  1V makes no sense.  I would test at the battery, then disconnect the wires every junction and find where you loose the 24V.  You either have a bad tester, a ground or a short.  Did you have your old batteries load tested.  Plug your tester into the wall and verify it reads 110 to 123v.

[Wayne P.]

Describe the connections at the batteries.

 

What boat do you have?

[Scott F]

Make sure your volt meter is set to DC voltage not AC.

[Angry John]

Final thought if it rus for a full minute and then slows you may have a thermal cutout due to lack of cooling.

[UFpwrLifter]

5 hours ago, Angry John said:

Do you have a good tester???  Do you have a ground???  1V makes no sense.  I would test at the battery, then disconnect the wires every junction and find where you loose the 24V.  You either have a bad tester, a ground or a short.  Did you have your old batteries load tested.  Plug your tester into the wall and verify it reads 110 to 123v.

 

By no means good, but the individual batteries test out at proper voltage. 

4 hours ago, Wayne P. said:

Describe the connections at the batteries.

 

What boat do you have?

2012 Lowe stinger 175. I'm going to see if I can identify then trace the trolling motor cable back to the batteries to verify how they're hooked up. 

 

The trolling motor seems to work just fine, the reading is just way off and I can't seem to find anything while google researching the 1.0 voltage. 

[Angry John]

If the motor is running there is positive indication your getting way more than one volt.  i was trying to read the scale to see what your in but if your getting a good reading at the batteries and then bad elsewhere that means you have the meter set right.  You have way more inline fuses that i would ever imagine, only need one per group, starting one on positive lead and TM one on the positive side leaving as 24v.  If the motor is working as you state then my first hunch is your not getting a good connection where your taking the reading.  Reality also says the fuses are good but you may want to look at each of the connections for corrosion and if your getting the correct voltage at each intersection.  The pictures help me a lot to see what is going on.  Thanks for those.  If you would like a phone call walk threw feel free to pm me your number.

The only explanation i would have for the one volt is some kind of induced voltage.

[Wayne P.]

10 hours ago, UFpwrLifter said:

 

By no means good, but the individual batteries test out at proper voltage. 

2012 Lowe stinger 175. I'm going to see if I can identify then trace the trolling motor cable back to the batteries to verify how they're hooked up. 

 

The trolling motor seems to work just fine, the reading is just way off and I can't seem to find anything while google researching the 1.0 voltage. 

 

 

I asked about what boat you have to see if you have an older fiberglass boat that was rigged for a 12/24V motor

[iabass8]

15 hours ago, UFpwrLifter said:

Ok, replaced and upgraded all batteries with brand new interstate AGM and same problem. At the trolling motor receptacle (where TM plug plugs into), digital voltmeter reads 1.

 

When I check the voltage in the back with 24v set up, same reading of 1. 

 

The problem isn't bad batteries. Trolling motor seems to spin just fine, but why is it reading 1.???

 

 

You may want to check if your voltmeter is working correctly. Your original response when asked about the batteries voltage was 14.4 on a charger (which is good) and 11.6 off the charger (which is a 100% dead battery). By saying your TM spins just fine, is it now working normally for an extended period of time or is it still dying quickly? Wayne's question is also important to answer. 

[Angry John]

I would not leave the brand new batteries connected while your not working on the problem.  Be a shame to destroy a brand new set!!!

[UFpwrLifter]

13 hours ago, Angry John said:

If the motor is running there is positive indication your getting way more than one volt.  i was trying to read the scale to see what your in but if your getting a good reading at the batteries and then bad elsewhere that means you have the meter set right.  You have way more inline fuses that i would ever imagine, only need one per group, starting one on positive lead and TM one on the positive side leaving as 24v.  If the motor is working as you state then my first hunch is your not getting a good connection where your taking the reading.  Reality also says the fuses are good but you may want to look at each of the connections for corrosion and if your getting the correct voltage at each intersection.  The pictures help me a lot to see what is going on.  Thanks for those.  If you would like a phone call walk threw feel free to pm me your number.

The only explanation i would have for the one volt is some kind of induced voltage.

 

Really appreciate the offer and suggestions leading up to this point. 

 

3 hours ago, Wayne P. said:

 

 

I asked about what boat you have to see if you have an older fiberglass boat that was rigged for a 12/24V motor

 

Ah that makes sense why you were asking now. I thought you might have been in the market for an aluminum with a funky voltage reading ?  

 

2 hours ago, iabass8 said:

 

 

You may want to check if your voltmeter is working correctly. Your original response when asked about the batteries voltage was 14.4 on a charger (which is good) and 11.6 off the charger (which is a 100% dead battery). By saying your TM spins just fine, is it now working normally for an extended period of time or is it still dying quickly? Wayne's question is also important to answer. 

 

Good feedback. After I realized that 11.6v is actually bad (dead battery), I replaced all 3. Your feedback on the voltmeter got me playing with the settings on the voltmeter last night. 

 

TM spins just fine for an extended period, no longer draining the batteries like the old set. All of you guys were right about them needing to be replaced. 

 

40 minutes ago, Angry John said:

I would not leave the brand new batteries connected while your not working on the problem.  Be a shame to destroy a brand new set!!!

 

Good suggestion!

 

I'll start by thanking you guys again for the education and trouble shooting. I know it was really hard to trouble shoot on a forum with limited photos/descriptions, but in asking the right questions, you guys helped me solve the problem. 

 

1) we can all agree that original batteries were dead and needed replacement. 

2) couldn't get a good feel on why the voltmeter was reading 1.0 on the 24v set up (old and new batteries, same reading). 

 

In reference to #2 above, I inspected the trolling motor lines, even cleaned up some other wires that didn't need to be connected (original owner had a windless that I removed and didn't remove wires until last night). Wires and connections seemed fine, tight fitting, no gashes/kinks or corrosion, etc. 

 

So I played with the settings on the voltmeter itself and may have found the problem. 

 

Picture of individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

other individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

13 hours ago, Angry John said:

If the motor is running there is positive indication your getting way more than one volt.  i was trying to read the scale to see what your in but if your getting a good reading at the batteries and then bad elsewhere that means you have the meter set right.  You have way more inline fuses that i would ever imagine, only need one per group, starting one on positive lead and TM one on the positive side leaving as 24v.  If the motor is working as you state then my first hunch is your not getting a good connection where your taking the reading.  Reality also says the fuses are good but you may want to look at each of the connections for corrosion and if your getting the correct voltage at each intersection.  The pictures help me a lot to see what is going on.  Thanks for those.  If you would like a phone call walk threw feel free to pm me your number.

The only explanation i would have for the one volt is some kind of induced voltage.

 

Really appreciate the offer and suggestions leading up to this point. 

 

3 hours ago, Wayne P. said:

 

 

I asked about what boat you have to see if you have an older fiberglass boat that was rigged for a 12/24V motor

 

Ah that makes sense why you were asking now. I thought you might have been in the market for an aluminum with a funky voltage reading ?  

 

3 hours ago, iabass8 said:

 

 

You may want to check if your voltmeter is working correctly. Your original response when asked about the batteries voltage was 14.4 on a charger (which is good) and 11.6 off the charger (which is a 100% dead battery). By saying your TM spins just fine, is it now working normally for an extended period of time or is it still dying quickly? Wayne's question is also important to answer. 

 

Good feedback. After I realized that 11.6v is actually bad (dead battery), I replaced all 3. Your feedback on the voltmeter got me playing with the settings on the voltmeter last night. 

 

TM spins just fine for an extended period, no longer draining the batteries like the old set. All of you guys were right about them needing to be replaced. 

 

1 hour ago, Angry John said:

I would not leave the brand new batteries connected while your not working on the problem.  Be a shame to destroy a brand new set!!!

 

Good suggestion!

 

I'll start by thanking you guys again for the education and trouble shooting. I know it was really hard to trouble shoot on a forum with limited photos/descriptions, but in asking the right questions, you guys helped me solve the problem. 

 

1) we can all agree that original batteries were dead and needed replacement. 

2) couldn't get a good feel on why the voltmeter was reading 1.0 on the 24v set up (old and new batteries, same reading). 

 

In reference to #2 above, I inspected the trolling motor lines, even cleaned up some other wires that didn't need to be connected (original owner had a windless that I removed and didn't remove wires until last night). Wires and connections seemed fine, tight fitting, no gashes/kinks or corrosion, etc. 

 

So I played with the settings on the voltmeter itself and may have found the problem. 

 

Picture of individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

other individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

When I check voltage on 24v setup: 

 

now I change setting on the voltmeter and MAGIC happens!! 

 

so I am guessing it was user error all along with the 1.0v reading. Should've been on dcv200 instead of dcv20? What does the voltmeter do at dcv200, does it round down?

 

[Wayne P.]

2 hours ago, UFpwrLifter said:

 

Really appreciate the offer and suggestions leading up to this point. 

 

 

Ah that makes sense why you were asking now. I thought you might have been in the market for an aluminum with a funky voltage reading ?  

 

 

Good feedback. After I realized that 11.6v is actually bad (dead battery), I replaced all 3. Your feedback on the voltmeter got me playing with the settings on the voltmeter last night. 

 

TM spins just fine for an extended period, no longer draining the batteries like the old set. All of you guys were right about them needing to be replaced. 

 

 

Good suggestion!

 

I'll start by thanking you guys again for the education and trouble shooting. I know it was really hard to trouble shoot on a forum with limited photos/descriptions, but in asking the right questions, you guys helped me solve the problem. 

 

1) we can all agree that original batteries were dead and needed replacement. 

2) couldn't get a good feel on why the voltmeter was reading 1.0 on the 24v set up (old and new batteries, same reading). 

 

In reference to #2 above, I inspected the trolling motor lines, even cleaned up some other wires that didn't need to be connected (original owner had a windless that I removed and didn't remove wires until last night). Wires and connections seemed fine, tight fitting, no gashes/kinks or corrosion, etc. 

 

So I played with the settings on the voltmeter itself and may have found the problem. 

 

Picture of individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

other individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

 

Really appreciate the offer and suggestions leading up to this point. 

 

 

Ah that makes sense why you were asking now. I thought you might have been in the market for an aluminum with a funky voltage reading ?  

 

 

Good feedback. After I realized that 11.6v is actually bad (dead battery), I replaced all 3. Your feedback on the voltmeter got me playing with the settings on the voltmeter last night. 

 

TM spins just fine for an extended period, no longer draining the batteries like the old set. All of you guys were right about them needing to be replaced. 

 

 

Good suggestion!

 

I'll start by thanking you guys again for the education and trouble shooting. I know it was really hard to trouble shoot on a forum with limited photos/descriptions, but in asking the right questions, you guys helped me solve the problem. 

 

1) we can all agree that original batteries were dead and needed replacement. 

2) couldn't get a good feel on why the voltmeter was reading 1.0 on the 24v set up (old and new batteries, same reading). 

 

In reference to #2 above, I inspected the trolling motor lines, even cleaned up some other wires that didn't need to be connected (original owner had a windless that I removed and didn't remove wires until last night). Wires and connections seemed fine, tight fitting, no gashes/kinks or corrosion, etc. 

 

So I played with the settings on the voltmeter itself and may have found the problem. 

 

Picture of individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

other individual voltage (fully charged, not plugged in): 

 

When I check voltage on 24v setup: 

 

now I change setting on the voltmeter and MAGIC happens!! 

 

so I am guessing it was user error all along with the 1.0v reading. Should've been on dcv200 instead of dcv20? What does the voltmeter do at dcv200, does it round down?

 

 

 

You were checking a 24V circuit with the meter setting at 20V.  With some cyphering, 24 is 4 more than 20=higher than the meter scale, and 24 is less than 200 so the 200 scale will read the 24 V.

 

You choose a voltage scale that has the voltage you are checking.

[iabass8]

I believe if the voltage your are checking is above the setting (im assuming you were checking the 24v series on dcv20) it will read 1.

[Angry John]

Thats why i was trying to read your settings as the red on red was very hard for me to read.  I use a fluke style so i dont have all the choices you do.  Now that is something you will remember for every.  Great to hear your back up and rolling.  Have a great time!!!

 

[DellPater]

Hi... I can’t tell if it’s the batteries a pair of 6 volt lead-acid batteries or the converter.   Are there ways to tell?  If I do replace the converter, it’s no longer in production (WFCO WF-8855). I’ve written to them to ask for the model that replaces it and I know there are many on the market. Can anyone recommend the steps to take to narrow down the issue?

 

 

[Angry John]

19 minutes ago, DellPater said:

Hi... I can’t tell if it’s the batteries a pair of 6 volt lead-acid batteries or the converter.   Are there ways to tell?  If I do replace the converter, it’s no longer in production (WFCO WF-8855). I’ve written to them to ask for the model that replaces it and I know there are many on the market. Can anyone recommend the steps to take to narrow down the issue?

What?  This is a long past issue that I resolved in person.  Do you have a new issue other than the op?

[MickD]

On 2/2/2017 at 6:56 PM, Angry John said:

if it rus for a full minute and then slows you may have a thermal cutout due to lack of cooling.

Sounds right, but most boats have a breaker than has to be reset after firing.  Check if you have a circuit breaker in line right at the batteries and if it does not have to be reset after firing this could be it.   But most likely it will be a manual reset breaker, and since you have not been resetting it, that is not the problem.

 

Regarding your tester, Harbor Freight gives good digital ones away now and then, so to buy one should cost almost nothing.  Nice to have one on board and one in the garage.

 

 The compelling data to me are the readings at the motor plug in point.  As I understand it you are getting good voltage at each individual battery but getting 1 volt at the plug in, which I think is after the malfunction.  I suggest you do this: 1. Measure the voltage at the plug before using the motor. If you don't have 24 something in the plugin or wiring to the batteries is bad.  2.  Measure the voltage across both batteries right at the batteries (batteries in series-it has to be about 24, UNLESS the wires connecting the batteries in series are bad).  These measurements prove you have good voltage BEFORE the malf.

 

Now repeat after the malfunction.  If the voltage across the batteries is not 24 the wiring between them is bad.  If the batteries have 24 but the plugin is 1V you most likely have a wiring problem either at the plugin or between it and the batteries.   If that is the case you have to find the bad wiring, which might be a corrosion issue that under high current goes open.  

 

I have found those plugins to be unreliable.  I hard wired my last boat, which is easy to do.   You can temporarily hard wire it to test the system.