Helpmeimdumb Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 Looking to change the trolling motor on my 2020 Nitro Z18. There is currently a Minn kota Maxxim on the boat and I am trying to swap the ultrex on this weekend. Under the front panel there is currently a 4way junction with A+, B+, -, net. I am thinking the wires will be a direct swap for the motor but the question comes into play on the GPS puck. Can the wiring for the GPS puck be attached the the B+ and net slots? I apologize for the lack of proper terminology as electrical work is not my specialty. Quote
Russ E Posted September 3, 2020 Posted September 3, 2020 the gps puck just needs 12 volt. red to positive black to negative.. the puck communicates with the trolling motor via bluetooth. it does not have any physical connections to the motor. If your maxim was 24 volt, do not connect the puck to that power. it will burn it up. if there is a fish finder on the bow, you can connect the puck to that power. Quote
Super User Tennessee Boy Posted September 3, 2020 Super User Posted September 3, 2020 The GPS module is built into the Ultrex. The puck is a heading sensor. It doesn’t draw much power so you can connect it to any 12V source. It has an electronic compass so it needs to be mounted with the arrow pointing straight ahead and should not be mounted near any electronics that might generate a magnetic field. You can use a compass or the electronic compass in your phone if it has one to check for magnetic fields. Mine is mounted under my console and work great. Quote
Helpmeimdumb Posted September 3, 2020 Author Posted September 3, 2020 25 minutes ago, Russ E said: the gps puck just needs 12 volt. red to positive black to negative.. the puck communicates with the trolling motor via bluetooth. it does not have any physical connections to the motor. If your maxim was 24 volt, do not connect the puck to that power. it will burn it up. if there is a fish finder on the bow, you can connect the puck to that power. Ok that makes sense. Assuming the power is all 24V up there as the existing power is that would mean running power from the batteries in the back? At this point I am thinking the best plan of action is to have someone else install that when I cam having the graph installed up front. the whole motor will work without the puck just not spot lock correct? Quote
Super User Tennessee Boy Posted September 4, 2020 Super User Posted September 4, 2020 The trolling motor including spot lock will work without the heading sensor. Only the jog function and the circle a spot function will not work without the it. 1 Quote
Russ E Posted September 4, 2020 Posted September 4, 2020 47 minutes ago, Helpmeimdumb said: Ok that makes sense. Assuming the power is all 24V up there as the existing power is that would mean running power from the batteries in the back? At this point I am thinking the best plan of action is to have someone else install that when I cam having the graph installed up front. the whole motor will work without the puck just not spot lock correct? Most bass boats have 12 volt somewhere on the bow. for fishfinder, running lights, etc. As @Tennessee Boy mentioned the puck is just for the spotlock jog, with the remote control. the jog will still work. It just might go in the direction you intend. In 4 years I have used the remote and spotlock jog 2 times. Quote
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