Terrova I-Pilot 80 Broke down on me Sat With my fix.

[saltyDawg88]

We were Fishing a tournament On Saturday and Mt Terrova 80# I-Pilot gave out on me. It was acting really sluggish and then I happen to run over a marker and got it wrapped up in the prop. This seemed to kill it. Made for a tough day fishing.
On sunday I take the head off and find a blown 3amp fuse. I replace it today and now the motor and prop turn, but it does not have near the power that it had before. I can stop it with my little finger. It now makes a whining sound and on the first power level .5 of 10 it barely moves and kind of humms and growls. The prop shaft does not look bent as the prop turns nice and strait. It is 4 months outside the 2 year warranty.

So I find a post on another forum and the guys states the info below.

Grrrrrrr, from me, too. Just got back from a two day trip to Sumner and Santa Rosa (that's in New Mexico for all you CO folks :-). My Minnkota Terrova stopped working during the last hour of fishing. Not that it totally quit, but would only run if you kicked it with the Rabbit button. And then it vibrated very badly like an engine missing on a couple of cylinders. It's still under waranty until Aug! Since we don't have a repair place in NM and I didn't feel like boxing it up and sending it off, I decided to look into (literally) it.

When I removed the prop, the first thing I noticed was that a steel washer, a nylon washer, and the "C" clip shown in the parts list behind the prop were not present? When I removed the two long screws that hold the thing together two or three ounces of VERY rusty water came out of the motor. Not good. From the amount of rust, I'd say it had to have been in there from last fall.

There was so much rust on the brush assembly that the top brush was stuck in its holder and the spring was not pushing the brush against the armature. I sprayed the heck out of it with a can of tv tuner cleaner (<= remember those days?), wiped all the rust I could off of everything and put it back together. It's running fine now, out of the water. The question, of course, is, "What leaked?"
It's interesting to hear that the transducer seal may be the problem. That kind of makes sense since no grease was washed out of the rear bearing seal where you would expect it to leak.

I've emailed (I don't have time to hang around on hold) Minnkota with these details and have asked them to provide me with whatever it takes to properly reseal the motor. Online, I have found retailers that sell a "brush kit" ($50) that looks like it may have everything one needs to seal it back up. I told them I won't charge for the labor

I'll let you know how I make out. I, too, love iPilot. The new and much improved remote control ($138 online) is a worthy addition. With that SpotLock feature, I've taken the anchor out of the boat.

I figure I have nothing to lose at this point so I decide to go out into the shop and take the TM apart. Sure enough I have the same thing! Black greasy water comes pouring out. So, I will be de-grease the motor and connections and cleaning it all up tomorrow and then see what I come up with. Then I can grease, oil, and put it everything back together and see what I get.

****Update****

I had a little time this morning since i got up early.
I took the Tm out in the yard and with the motor taken apart I soaked it all down with Mean Green Degreaser/cleaner. I let it soak for 15 min and then washed everything off with a hose. this washed off all the grease and oil and muck that was in the motor and the housing. I then took my Air hose and compressor and blew out the components and housing till it was all dry. I then greased and oiled everything. I cleaned the contact on the brushes and the motor contacts wiht steel wool. I inspected the seals and cleaned them and put them back on all looked good. I gently put everything back together very carefully (Followed the online Schematic http://www.northlandmarine.com/image...va%2080-09.pdf) to be safe. Connected it up to the boat and turned it on. It once again ran liek new. I put it in a trashcan and filled it up with water and ran it and it ran great. Better than it has run in months. I then opened up my top and sealed up my airline to the shaft and applied 10 PSI of air.. there were no leaks! Can't wait to test it out onthe lake... Now just gotta find time.

BTW I think the water got in when I knocked the TM off the boat 3 months ago when I hit a BIG stump. Yes it did fully submerge for only a few sec and was only hanging on by the transducer wire. It seemed to work fine after that.

Yeah, I thought it was all sealed as I never opened up the Top of the Tm. I am wondering if I should seal it up and maybe put a nice plug of silicone on the shaft right at the head. I do not expect it to happen again, but what if a nice wave splashes under the Tm head and water leaks into the Tm head or while traveling in the rain? Really thought it would be sealed a little better!

I hope this post can help some of your guys JIC you have issues on the future.

[gabowman]

Sounds like you found the problem. I hope you got everything fixed up and dont have anymore problems.

[rnvinc]

Dang... That big ole stump prolly nearly threw you outa the boat...
Rickie

[slabkeeper]

prolly get u a job at minnkota!!!

[crappielimits]

I have found water in the lower unit to be my problem also. I haven't got the courage to attemt cleaning myself yet. How did yours turn out?

[FAADAN]

Taking apart the lower unit on a Minn Kota is not at all intimidating. Simply pull the prop, the pin for the prop an take out the two long screws. Mark the position of the magnets in relation to the front of the unit and the position of the wires on the brushes. If you put either together the wrong way, the motor will turn backwards. Ask me how I know that.

[saltyDawg88]

I have found water in the lower unit to be my problem also. I haven't got the courage to attemt cleaning myself yet. How did yours turn out?

2 months later and it is still running just a good as it did when it was brand new! Save yourself some cash and if nothing else buy the seal kit ($50) and fix it yourself. If you can turn a screw driver and have a little common sense you can do the repair.

[crappielimits]

Thanks for help. I opened mine and found one of the brushes burnt bad. Gonna order brush kit and see how it works.

[crappielimits]

Taking apart the lower unit on a Minn Kota is not at all intimidating. Simply pull the prop, the pin for the prop an take out the two long screws. Mark the position of the magnets in relation to the front of the unit and the position of the wires on the brushes. If you put either together the wrong way, the motor will turn backwards. Ask me how I know that.

Clockwise the right direction? Right?

[crappielimits]

Prop turns counterclockwise. I got it all back together after changing brushes, cleaning and replacing seals. Seems to be running good we will see tomorrow.