Having an issue with my new Minn Kota Terrova iPilot trolling motor

So I just bought a brand new Minn Kota Terrova 55 iPilot trolling motor and have it mounted on my 1756 G3. The battery is new and fully charged and is the biggest Optima bluetop I could get. I connected the two via the existing wiring on the boat (which had a Minn Kota Riptide 55 on there before). So the issue is that when I run the TM at 80-100% throttle, it shuts down the TM after about 10-20 seconds. This happens all the time at the high throttle settings, but I have yet to see it happen at the low settings. Midrange throttle settings I am unsure of. The TM will only shut down. The inline circuit breaker on the existing wiring harness on the boat will not trip. After the TM shuts down, I just have to wait about 10-15 seconds and the TM is ready for use again, albeit the throttle resets itself back to 0%. I called Minn Kota and they don't have a clue. The guy I talked to said it did not have an internal "shut down" feature. So either he did not know what he was talking about (since he is probably a phone tech and not an engineer) or I've got some bad internal components. They recommend I take it into a service center 45 minutes away.

So with that, I'd like to hear your ideas for troubleshooting this issue.

So here are my thoughts:

1) Double check the gauge wire in the existing wiring harness in the boat. It looked similar gauge, but I only assumed.

2) Verify that no other system wiring is bleeding off power from the wiring for the TM. Most of the wiring in the boat is tucked under floor and side panels and bundled in looms, so this task does not look like fun at all.

3) Call G3 and ask for a wiring diagram of the boat.

4) Take the boat and TM into a service center.

5) Just return the TM to BassPro (another PITA to remove and replace the TM).

Anything I might be missing?

How many amps is your circuit breaker rated for? It should be at least 50 amps. Is it the self resetting type? Are all your connections clean and tight?

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Originally Posted by Barnacle Bill

How many amps is your circuit breaker rated for? It should be at least 50 amps. Is it the self resetting type? Are all your connections clean and tight?

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That was my first thought also. I have the same unit as yours on my 2000 Tracker. I replaced the old in line fuse with a 50amp resettable breaker after mine acted funky the first time I used it. (it would loose the sat. signal and cut on and off. no problems since I replaced the fuse,)
SeaRay

I would run it directly to your batterys with a 50 amp in line resetable breaker.

jigin4abigun

I have a 36v and a 24v terrovas. They both do the same thing except it trips my breaker.

I have a 24 v Terrova 80 pound thrust.....mine has never done this. I am using 6 guage wire though with a 60 amp breaker near the batteries as MinnKota recommends.

High tech electronics (which the I-Pilot is) are a wonderful thing but they have their drawbacks. One is that they are much more vunerable to poor voltage and bad connections. The old type manual motors just plowed on until there was not enough amps to turn the motor.
The new ones can't do that because they have all sorts of electronics telling them speed, direction, etc. Any degredation in the power supply will cause them to act up.
I agree with the above comments. Start with a new fuse and if that alone does not fix it, run new heavier guage wire to to the TM.
Once you get it going you will love it. It is a sweet piece of equipment.
SeaRay

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Originally Posted by "G"

I have a 24 v Terrova 80 pound thrust.....mine has never done this. I am using 6 guage wire though with a 60 amp breaker near the batteries as MinnKota recommends.

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You are right on!

My thinking is....its either too small of wire.....or too small a breaker, or possibly both.

I have the same TM/IP set as you do, and mine has never done what yours has done. I used the same oem wiring from the battery compartment at the transom to the new TM, but did put a 50amp re-settable breaker in the line where the oem in line fuse was, and has worked without problems from day 1. I would change the fuse out to a re-settable one, its really easy, and if the problem persists, then you either have to take the TM to the shop or return it, something is wrong with it. Steady volts is critical to the newer versions like SeaRay says.

Sounds to me like something in the line is getting hot and breaking the circuit. Could be the breaker if it's an auto reset. Could be a winding in the armature opening up when it gets hot. Could be any loose connection anywhere. The lower the gauge wire you run, the higher the voltage will be at the motor and the less current it will draw, thus the cooler it will run.

My V2 did this and it was the circuit board that was bad. Every time I had it set over 6 it would kick out.

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Originally Posted by "G"

I have a 24 v Terrova 80 pound thrust.....mine has never done this. I am using 6 guage wire though with a 60 amp breaker near the batteries as MinnKota recommends.

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Same here..
If your using the 3 prong system that comes on a lot of boats, make sure the 2 wires going to tm are on the 24volt side and not on the 12volt side. This motor will run on 12volts but not on high speed.

Member, Tri State Crappie Anglers

Okay, so I did forget to mention this is a 12 volt setup.

I did some investigating and the circuit breaker is labeled 50a 24v. Some of the connections could probably use a cleaning or replacing but they honestly don't look that bad. This boat has been used in saltwater before though I might add. Lastly, I tried operating the TM at full throttle tonight in my garage and it worked fine. Im guessing it needs to be in the water under a load.

PS the existing wiring harness in the boat is 10 ga.

Nevermind read it again

Member, Tri State Crappie Anglers

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Originally Posted by Ladykiller

PS the existing wiring harness in the boat is 10 ga.

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According to the MinnKota instruction maual for Terrova....It says for a 55 pound thrust 12v you need a 60 amp circuit breaker and 10 guage wire is way to small......get some 6 guage and replace the wireing and install the 60 amp breaker at or very near the battery.

Thanks for the info. I now see the 60a requirement in the users manual but I don't see where the 6ga requirement comes from?

I have a 55# 12 v. with #8 wire, I used to have a 40a. breaker and it did the same thing till I went to a 50A. problem solved. I really doubt your boat has 10 GA. from the factory. And dont run the motor out of the water for any length of time,that is what cools the motor.

Size matters--bigger wire is always better. Go for the largest size that will fit your budget and the passageways where you must snake the power leads through your boat.

Ok, in the book it says as you saw use a 60 amp breaker. Right below that it says use the ABYC Wiring chart to determin wire size. I can tell you (because I've been a electrician for 28 years) that you need #6 wire for 60 amps. If on a 12v system your voltage drops 1v (due to voltage drop in the wire) your amps go up 10%. That's a lot and enough to cause the internal circuit breaker to trip. Here's some resources for you to look at...
From terrova book page 10...
http://img.tapatalk.com/4838bd31-4d0f-e840.jpg

And here's a good website for wire sizing....
http://genuinedealz.com/voltage-drop.html

Member, Tri State Crappie Anglers

Thanks for the info Gator 1. I did see the ABYC reference, but did not have a copy of that booklet. I'm more mechanically inclined than electrically!

I just hope it helps you out.

Member, Tri State Crappie Anglers

Okay, so I pulled the old circuit breaker and upgraded to the 60-amp job and a few new connectors. I put the TM in a tub of water and did not have an issue. I'll take the boat out to a lake or river tomorrow though just to make sure that the motor is full stressed and hopefully my issue is fixed.

Problem solved!

Way to go, now get out there and play til your hearts content, you will love it.

Now if I could just get my SONAR back from Lowrance!!!! :mad: