Autopilot Fatal Error (RF Error)

[Koz]

After working the holiday weekend I was excited to have a day off to go fishing. Most of the tourists would be gone and the lake would be back to normal. I launched off my dock, turned on the iPilot remote and it shut down. I couldn't find any AAA batteries in mu house so I made a quick run to the nearby convenience store (weird that there's a convenience store in the middle of nowhere where I live), raced home, and inserted the batteries.

 

The iPilot turned on but said "motor not found" then the screen displayed RF error and I could not get to the pairing screen. I Googled the issue and it's a fatal error. Hopefully Minkota/Johnson Outdoor/Old Town will replace it for free since I bought the kayak last December. If not, it's $230 for a new remote.

 

It could have been worse. I was originally going to drive 2.5 hours to Lake Russell this morning. I would have been steamed if I got all the way out there and found out I had a dead kayak. And I did fish off my back yard this morning and catch a 4+ pounder.

 

I just hope I can get the replacement soon.

[Tennessee Boy]

Minn Kota remotes have a reputation for failure.

[BayouSlide]

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Minn Kota remotes have reputation for failure.

 

Guess I've been lucky. Been using MK remotes for Ultrex and Talons for years (6 total, currently have 4 fobs in operation) plus foot remotes (two), plus autopilot remote:  no problems with any of 'em.

[Jig Man]

Do you have Humminbirds?  If so did you try to run it from them?

[Koz]

35 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Do you have Humminbirds?  If so did you try to run it from them?

The Autopilot trolling motor does not connect with Humminbird units. You can run it from the iPilot or an app, but the remote needs to first be connected to the motor to run it through the app.

[TnRiver46]

A kayak is never dead if you’ve got a paddle 😂 

[FryDog62]

Contact Old Town customer service, I found them helpful and if under warranty should be covered. 
 

My motor wouldn’t fire up about every other time for about 8 trips this last Fall. Very frustrating to get all the way to the launch and have a dead motor. Over time, they had me replace both kill switches, test and re-test the battery, and then also replace the relay board inside the front hatch.  Again, frustrating because the motor would still go dead, and it was back to the garage to problem solve and sit on the phone with them (over a dozen calls in 2 months). 
 

I was in the 23rd month of a 2 year warranty so I had to do all of this to finally get the motor replaced. Was it a PIA? Yes, but I have to say OT’s customer service was good and in the end I got it all taken care of. 
 

 

[Hook2Jaw]

@Koz, are you fishing the GA BASS Kayak Series on Russell?  I'll be out there.  I'm terribly sorry to hear about your AP.  That's an awesome boat and one I wanted for a while.

[Koz]

17 minutes ago, Hook2Jaw said:

@Koz, are you fishing the GA BASS Kayak Series on Russell?  I'll be out there.  I'm terribly sorry to hear about your AP.  That's an awesome boat and one I wanted for a while.

Yes, I am planning to be there. I was going to fish the Clark’s Hill MLF that weekend, but there is another MLF there the following weekend so I will do that one instead.

 

I’m going to see if there is an open campsite and spend the weekend there as well.

 

Let me know if you want to meet up and do some pre-fishing. I’m planning to get out there twice before the tournament. Weekdays or weekends are fine with me.

 

I just spoke to Johnson Outdoors and they are processing my replacement iPilot. With any luck it will be here by Friday.

[casts_by_fly]

I'm pretty sure you don't need to pair the remote to also pair the app.  So far as the motor head is concerned, they are unique items and don't require each other.  Either way, you know to pair it at the first chance you get now for just such as issue.  Its not great using the phone app and trying to fish, but it will at least get you around.

 

And if you're fishing tournaments and require the reliability, I'd pick up the micro remote to have a backup that's usable.

[Koz]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

I'm pretty sure you don't need to pair the remote to also pair the app.  So far as the motor head is concerned, they are unique items and don't require each other.  Either way, you know to pair it at the first chance you get now for just such as issue.  Its not great using the phone app and trying to fish, but it will at least get you around.

 

And if you're fishing tournaments and require the reliability, I'd pick up the micro remote to have a backup that's usable.

I thought so as well, but the app gave me an error message stating that in order to use it that the remote had to be paired. Maybe it’s a one time deal as I had never used the app before.

 

Regardless, Old Town is processing my order for a replacement remote today and hopefully I’ll be back on the water by this weekend.

 

At least the fishing off my backyard was decent yesterday. 

[Hook2Jaw]

@Koz, great to hear Old Town is taking care of you.  They did the same for me when my Predator PDL's drive began having issues.  I only have the Friday before to prefish, but I'll be staying in a hotel that night with a friend of mine who has been fishing kayak tourneys with me for several years.  Wanna try to get together for supper, or are you packing that all to camp?

[Koz]

7 hours ago, Hook2Jaw said:

@Koz, great to hear Old Town is taking care of you.  They did the same for me when my Predator PDL's drive began having issues.  I only have the Friday before to prefish, but I'll be staying in a hotel that night with a friend of mine who has been fishing kayak tourneys with me for several years.  Wanna try to get together for supper, or are you packing that all to camp?

I’d love to get together for dinner. We’ll touch base again on tournament week.

[Koz]

It looks like I’m out of action for a while with my Autopilot. The replacement iPilot is on back order with no estimate when it will be available.

 

I may have to break out my old Seastream pedal kayak.

[casts_by_fly]

Just get the micro remote and be done with it. 

[Koz]

On 5/29/2024 at 10:27 PM, casts_by_fly said:

Just get the micro remote and be done with it. 

Got word that the iPilot shipped and will be here on Saturday. That’s perfect and now I can head to Lake Russell and pre-fish on Sunday.

[Koz]

On 5/28/2024 at 10:22 PM, Hook2Jaw said:

@Koz, great to hear Old Town is taking care of you.  They did the same for me when my Predator PDL's drive began having issues.  I only have the Friday before to prefish, but I'll be staying in a hotel that night with a friend of mine who has been fishing kayak tourneys with me for several years.  Wanna try to get together for supper, or are you packing that all to camp?

 

It looks like I won't be there on Friday. Work and life are getting in the way and I won't even have time to pre-fish. It looks like it's going to be 95 degrees out on tournament day. It will be brutal out there. I might end up bringing a bigger cooler than a bait crate!

 

But I will be at the tournament, so maybe we can grab a bite after that or at least meet when I pick up my check and trophy 🤣🤣

[Hook2Jaw]

1 hour ago, Koz said:

 

It looks like I won't be there on Friday. Work and life are getting in the way and I won't even have time to pre-fish. It looks like it's going to be 95 degrees out on tournament day. It will be brutal out there. I might end up bringing a bigger cooler than a bait crate!

 

But I will be at the tournament, so maybe we can grab a bite after that or at least meet when I pick up my check and trophy 🤣🤣

Oof!  Yeah, I may even take two bottles of water to this event.  About my trophy and check, you can hold it for a photo opportunity but I'm going to have to have that back.