another ipilot signal problem

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)

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

calling canepole

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.

Does RAIN, SNOW, or CLOUDS affect reception of GPS signals?

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Originally Posted by hays47

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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I agree.

I got out Sunday afternoon to play with the i-pilot. Moving the battery to the bow helped. No extra wire between the battery and t-motor. This is all new equipment including boat, battery, t-motor etc. Only old thing in the boat is me. And I know a new battery can be bad.

At first the i-pilot would work ok till the motor speed got around 8 or above, then lost GPS signal still. I played around with it for about an hour then notice it was working perfect at any speed. Play with spot lock, record track, cruise, advance auto pilot. All worked great for about 2 hours running then started losing GPS again at high speed.

All the while I had a volt meter between battery ground and t-motor side of the breaker hooked to the battery. Voltage stayed ok above 12. I also got more speed out of the t-motor (old best speed 1.5 – 1.7; new speed 2 – 2.3) so I think the battery will stay up front.

I am going to have to play more after the snow melts and I have time for some full days on the water before I call minn-kota.

Ky crappie guy has a replacement coming because of GPS signal problems. I hope he post if the new unit fixes his problem.

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Originally Posted by WE16

I got out Sunday afternoon to play with the i-pilot. Moving the battery to the bow helped. No extra wire between the battery and t-motor. This is all new equipment including boat, battery, t-motor etc. Only old thing in the boat is me. And I know a new battery can be bad.

At first the i-pilot would work ok till the motor speed got around 8 or above, then lost GPS signal still. I played around with it for about an hour then notice it was working perfect at any speed. Play with spot lock, record track, cruise, advance auto pilot. All worked great for about 2 hours running then started losing GPS again at high speed.

All the while I had a volt meter between battery ground and t-motor side of the breaker hooked to the battery. Voltage stayed ok above 12. I also got more speed out of the t-motor (old best speed 1.5 – 1.7; new speed 2 – 2.3) so I think the battery will stay up front.

I am going to have to play more after the snow melts and I have time for some full days on the water before I call minn-kota.

Ky crappie guy has a replacement coming because of GPS signal problems. I hope he post if the new unit fixes his problem.

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I did'nt get it today like I was hoping! But my ipilot is doing exactly like yours, when I power it up I have a signal then loose it if I troll at a high setting like 8 or above. Haven't said anything about the speed not being what i thought it should but just as you said my old 71# thrust motor guide would push it 2.5 mph plus and this 80# maybe 1.1mph.
mine is a 24 volt system but could move the batterys if thats what it takes

Mine Doesn`t Have A Footpedal And Not Sure If It Is Doing It At High Powers. I Am Longlining And Trying To Go Between .8 To 1.2 Mph.

Talked to Dave a Minn Kota today and he recommended I try a 6 guage wire since my batteries are 20 ft away. I did run them direct and got the same results just as soon as I hit the 8 setting the signal was gone.
So I am going to have the batteries checked tomorrow, I expect that to be the problem. a battery going bad can cause a lot of unexpected problems with electronics.
they are older than I thought (april 2007)

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Originally Posted by ky crappie guy

Talked to Dave a Minn Kota today and he recommended I try a 6 guage wire since my batteries are 20 ft away. I did run them direct and got the same results just as soon as I hit the 8 setting the signal was gone.
So I am going to have the batteries checked tomorrow, I expect that to be the problem. a battery going bad can cause a lot of unexpected problems with electronics.
they are older than I thought (april 2007)

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Let us know what you find.. When I moved my battery (which is new ) to the bow used only the wiring that was on the t-motor and it helped but did not fix. I may swap my start (also new) and trolling motor battery next time to test the battery.

crappielimits, watch the top of your remote. It will tell you (1 to 10) the setting of your motor while your speed is down in the left bottom. Of course during the time the unit has no GPS signal, it can not tell you its speed. I think the 1 to 10 power setting will always display if the motor is running.

I Did Notice Today Mine Would Definitely Lose Signal If Moving At Higher Powers. So Gonna Get Battery Checked Out. Thanks For Help.

You boys got battery problems. Plain and simple. 6 guage is the way to go for a boat over 16 ft or above 12V. Neither of you mention the group size on your batts either? You ain't trying to cheat with 27s or 24s are ya?

Seriously, I suspect your batts in both cases. Borrow or beg a known good one. And a battery reading 12V ain't fully charged to start with.

Wannabe...

I had a bad battery, put two new on it and everything seems to be working good. I plan to find out tomorrow.
I am amazed at how well the 24v system held up trolling with one going bad I could fish for 9 hours and couldnt tell.
If this checks out WE16 you need a better battery! or two!

Wantabe you will be proud of me with those new interstate 29s, my motor sounds like a jet taking off compaired to before

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Originally Posted by ky crappie guy

I had a bad battery, put two new on it and everything seems to be working good. I plan to find out tomorrow.
I am amazed at how well the 24v system held up trolling with one going bad I could fish for 9 hours and couldnt tell.
If this checks out WE16 you need a better battery! or two!

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I hope that fixes your problem. My battery is just over 30 days old but it could be new and bad. My start battery is not a 29 like the t-motor battery but is new with the boat and I can swap them for a test. I will have to see what the weather is this weekend.

Good deal KY Crappie. That will probably do for a test WE16. Course, I wouldn't want to run it like that for more than just a day to see though.

I suspect you've got a cracked cell in that new battery. Might not be fully broken through, just enough to pull it down with some use. Might be a defect or rough treatment in transit. Upshot should be that you can have it replaced for free under warranty if I'm right.

Wannabe...

New batteries cured my problems! thanks to all who had input in figuring it out.
good luck WE16 it is awsome when it is working right

Anytime you have that far of a run on a boat you can NOT use 8gauge wire. It's too small and you WILL lose a ton of voltage. To be honest, 6 is really too small but it is what is commonly used in boats cause 4 is tough to get a regular supply of. 8 is cheap, that's why they used it.

Remember this too, just like your batteries, just cause it's new doesn't mean it's right. For that matter, you could have had 6 gauge wire and still had a problem because someone made a bad connection at either end.

When you moved that battery up front it made a difference because you shortened the distance, less volts lost. But obviously a bad battery was your trump card. Glad you got it fixed.

You other guys with small TM wires, rip em out and go back heavy. Your batteries and most important, your TROLLING MOTOR will last years longer. They are always under a strain.