another ipilot signal problem

**WE16** · 02-06-2010, 07:03 PM

Ok just had to try out the new I-pilot today. Weatherman said the wind was 15-20 so I ran out to the lake to an underwater tree I had marked on GPS. Found the tree and a lot of fish around it. Hit the Spot lock and watched the i-pilot start to work. I was thinking this is going to be fun. Then I noticed I was drifting. Spot lock had turned off. OK I must have goofed. Hit return to spot and the motor takes off and … then shuts off. Ok use the remote to hit myself in the head trying to think what I am doing wrong. After playing with it for a while I noticed I hit spot lock, Motor start up, lose GPS signal, the motor would shut down, and GPS would be back. This is not good because my garmin had full signal. After much playing around, found the GPS would lose signal if the motor was run at 6-7 or above. Lucky I had a volt meter on the boat. Battery voltage was good. The boat is a Lund 1725 rebel with the batteries in the back. Found that the voltage at the trolling motor was falling if the motor was run at high speed. The magic voltage seams to be about 11.5, fall below that and the GPS shuts down.

I did get out of the wind and the i-pilot was fun to watch and it worked just as long as it did not have to kick the motor up on high.

This is on a 12 volt terrova so I bet the i-pilot has a built in voltage regular since the same model is used on all terrova’s and this problem will never show up on a 24 or 36 volt system. I think my first attempt to fix the problem will be to move my t-motor battery to the bow right under the terrova. The voltage on the battery never fell below about 12.5. Get rid of all connection and hook direct (via a fuse)

**crappielimits** · 02-06-2010, 07:23 PM

I Have Been Having Problems Keeping A Signal On Windy Overcast Days. Not Sure What Is Causing It Yet. Wondering It I Got A Bad Remote Or Something.

**WE16** · 02-06-2010, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by crappielimits

I Have Been Having Problems Keeping A Signal On Windy Overcast Days. Not Sure What Is Causing It Yet. Wondering It I Got A Bad Remote Or Something.

It would not be the remote because the GPS receiver is in the controller on top of the trolling motor. After today I would ask if the problem is with the motor running, or turned off, or running slow. It was windy overcast today but with the motor running slow, it never lost signal.

**Drifty4** · 02-06-2010, 07:42 PM

What gauge wires are you running?

Are your connections tight?

Sounds like you are loosing to much voltage in the wires. You should be using 6 ga. wire or larger to run that far.

**WE16** · 02-06-2010, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by Drifty4

What gauge wires are you running?

Are your connections tight?

Sounds like you are loosing to much voltage in the wires. You should be using 6 ga. wire or larger to run that far.

Boat has 8 ga. This is a less then 30 day old boat so factory wiring. The Lund has an opening under the "deck" that the trolling motor is mounted on. You can reach inside and put washers and nuts on the bolts mounting the T-motor. The area is big enough to put the battery right under the trolling motor and only use the wiring that came on the terrova. Since I am lazy, and for a quick test, it will be faster and cheaper to move the battery then rewire.
I checked all the connections while on the lake.
I deleted the trolling motor while ordering the boat cause I wanted the minn-kota. All the boats I see with the factory t-motor have a 46 lb motorguide. The 55 lb terrova probably draws more current.

**crappielimits** · 02-07-2010, 07:33 AM

We16 Mine Is Not A Wiring Issue. I Have Been Fishing It For Over 3 Years Without A Hitch. After Adding The Ipilot I Still Haven`t Noticed Any Issues. My Ipilot Just Doesn`t Keep A Signal On Windy Days.

**Jason Halfen #511** · 02-07-2010, 07:58 AM

Are you sure that you're not accidentally bumping your foot pedal or remote while you're fishing, causing the i-Pilot function you're using to turn off? (The foot pedal will override the i-Pilot)

When I received my i-Pilot in August, one of the first tests I did was to see how it performed in wind and rain. I ran a Spot Lock field test in 20-25 mph winds, gusting to 32. You can read the results of that field work at the site below:

Introduction to MinnKota's i-Pilot

The unit performed flawlessly then, and still does to this day. On Thursday of this week, I fished in horizontal snow and freezing rain on the Mississippi, and the i-Pilot tolerated those conditions much better than I did. The results (below) speak for themselves.

If your problem persists, my recommendation is to contact MinnKota customer service, 800-227-6433, and see what they have to say.

**WE16** · 02-07-2010, 09:25 AM

crappielimits
Do you lose the signal if the t-motor is not running or running very slow?

My foot pedal was at the bow and I was behind the console holding the remote in my hand watching it as all the GPS bars disappeared.
Must not be an ATT remote (I think ATT had the more bars in more places cell phone add):D

I could turn on advance autopilot and slowly increase the speed. It would work fine till I hit 6-7 on the speed control. The trolling motor worked fine, even with the voltage below 11 volts at full speed. I was surprised to see the amount of voltage drop that I had.

I hope to get back this afternoon and run it again with the battery up front.

Jason, it is not to late for them fish to go south for a winter vacation. Just follow the river.

**Billbob** · 02-07-2010, 12:28 PM

calling canepole

**hays47** · 02-07-2010, 01:52 PM

Before troubleshooting too much more I would suggest trying a good known battery. Batteries can display correct voltage but fail to provide necessary amperage. Placing a load on a battery and then taking a voltage reading will help detection of a problem.

I used to use a car headlight lamp for a load. Then compare voltage reading with load ( the light ) and no load. One cell going bad in a battery will cause havoc with electronics. The more complicated they are the more severe reaction. A cell going bad would limit current flow and a voltage drop under load.

Most of the time 12 volt circuit problems can be traced to a faulty connection or bad battery. If the circuitry has been good up to the point of the I-pilot motor. I would suspect the battery before I would the motor. As my old electronics instructor used to tell me " always eliminate the easiest and cheapest fix first. " Its not impossible for a new motor to have problems but its unlikely. The older the battery the more likely it is the culprit.

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