What should I do about a trolling motor?

[Thad]

I have a 14' v bottom john boat that I got last Christmas and I've been working on it to get it ready to fish. The last thing is getting a trolling motor.

My dad gave me a broken 2006, 42lb Motorguide. It would be perfect for my boat but the last time we used it the wires got crossed and the motor burnt up. I called a couple certified Motorgiude places and they estimated, for a new part and labor, it would cost about $170 to fix. I could almost buy a new one.

Thing is I'm broke. Should I be able to get it fixed cheaper? Should I just buy a new one?

I built a deck for the boat so a foot control is what I want.

[Jig Man]

If you want a foot control, then save your money and be patient until you can afford one.

[Catt]

Buy a hand control they are cheaper or you could try fixing it yourself

[Thad]

Buy a hand control they are cheaper or you could try fixing it yourself

Never been much of a mechanic but just in case one of my friends can fix it, do you know what part they would be talking about for $90 that I would need to buy?

[Grey Wolf]

Save your money.

[gabassman]

I have a 14ft aluminum and just got a brand new Minnkota 40lb Endura for $133 total off of Ebay. Had to watch a few auctions but it paid off in the end. Motor has plenty of power for the boat and for about $45 you can get a new motor over repairing the old. Just a thought. Got it from websbestdeals and I think he has more up now.

[ArcticCat500]

If you want a foot control, then save your money and be patient until you can afford one.

this is great advice, your going to dump a few bux into that older motor and come to find out your not happy with it..hang in there a little longer and get what you want.

[K_Mac]

A trolling motor that doesn't work properly, or is under-sized can just make you crazy. I agree with saving your money and buying a new unit sized for your boat.

You will never regret having more power than you need IMHO.

[suenrod]

If your SURE the motor is bad, then the armature of the motor is probably what burned up. It could have destroyed the brushes as well. Check around locally and see if anyone in your area rebuilds electric motors.

It might be cheaper than a new one.

You might be able to rewind the armature yourself if you don't mind tedious work. I did it once on an old trolling motor. All you do is count the number of turns of wire on the armature's poles as you unwind it. Then go to a rebuild shop and purchase enough enamel wire of the correct guage and rewind it to specs. Cost is just a few dollars, but like I said, it's tedious, time consuming work :-)

Unless it's an electronic's controlled motor, just reversing the positive and negative leads  to the battery should not have hurt the motor itself. Make sure the "actuall" motor is bad and not the controls leading to it. It's a whole new ballgame if the controls are bad and not the motor itself.

Hope this helps,

RoD

[flechero]

check craig's list in your area... there has been a lot of small boats and motors (outboard and trolling) on it lately.  For half of your repair estimate, you can buy a better, lightly used one.

[Thad]

If your SURE the motor is bad, then the armature of the motor is probably what burned up. It could have destroyed the brushes as well. Check around locally and see if anyone in your area rebuilds electric motors.

It might be cheaper than a new one.

You might be able to rewind the armature yourself if you don't mind tedious work. I did it once on an old trolling motor. All you do is count the number of turns of wire on the armature's poles as you unwind it. Then go to a rebuild shop and purchase enough enamel wire of the correct guage and rewind it to specs. Cost is just a few dollars, but like I said, it's tedious, time consuming work :-)

Unless it's an electronic's controlled motor, just reversing the positive and negative leads to the battery should not have hurt the motor itself. Make sure the "actuall" motor is bad and not the controls leading to it. It's a whole new ballgame if the controls are bad and not the motor itself.

Hope this helps,

RoD

The wires crossed where the female plug plugs in, as in they touched each other. It got really hot and hasn't worked since.

[suenrod]

Are U close to Norton, Virginia? I can't promise anything but I would be happy to look at it for U.

I did 2-way radio repair for 25+ years and know my way around a volt ohm meter pretty good.

If the wires crossed going from the battery to the motor, I would check the wires really well for continuity from the battery connection point to the control head. I've seen times when the wire burned apart inside the insulation and hardly even bubbled the insulation on the wires. It could have a fusable link somewhere along the line that popped.

RoD

[done]

Save and buy new man. You can easily get up to half the price in parts when all is said and done and then you get a used TM that may still have other issues.

I would say keep saving, and get it eventually. The wait for the new one will be nothing compared to spending money on a crap motor that gives you more grief than helps ya.

[bassfisherjk]

Wait,save your money and get the foot control.Good Luck!

[Wayne P.]

If the short occurred at the plug, just cut if off along with any additional damaged wire and install a new plug. The motor cannot be damaged when the problem occurs at the power source.

[DawsonH]

Take the advice of those people saying that there is nothing wrong with the motor, it costs nothing to get a straight answer on it, and it may have nothing more than $10 worth of materials needed to fix it.