Issues with new TM

[83Sterling]

Recently replaced a Motorguide Brute 12/24v 41lb thrust with a Newport Vessels 62lb 12v motor. I changed out the plug/receptacle and all tests went as planned. Fully charged battery and the meter on the motor indicated that. Took it out on the water and it works initially, but after a few minutes the meter is all the way down to 3 bars (out of 10). I am hoping it is just a battery issue, but the Motorguide never seemed to have a problem and I can play around with it for a few hours without hardly depleting any battery. Is the 62lb pulling that much more draw from the battery? The boat has only had 1 TM battery since I got it. The old motor was always on 12v setting.

[wmitch2]

I would suspect it's the battery. Is it a wet cell ? Is the water level at the bottom of the plug hole ? How old is the battery ? What size is the battery ? We need much more info !!

[83Sterling]

I would suspect it's the battery. Is it a wet cell ? Is the water level at the bottom of the plug hole ? How old is the battery ? What size is the battery ? We need much more info !!

Thank you. I will try to get more info. No idea on battery age. It was in there when I got the boat. I believe it is a wet cell. and I believe it is a group 27?? Maybe? I will take a look tomorrow night when I get back to where I have it stored.

[Bradrodfish]

Recently replaced a Motorguide Brute 12/24v 41lb thrust with a Newport Vessels 62lb 12v motor. I changed out the plug/receptacle and all tests went as planned. Fully charged battery and the meter on the motor indicated that. Took it out on the water and it works initially, but after a few minutes the meter is all the way down to 3 bars (out of 10). I am hoping it is just a battery issue, but the Motorguide never seemed to have a problem and I can play around with it for a few hours without hardly depleting any battery. Is the 62lb pulling that much more draw from the battery? The boat has only had 1 TM battery since I got it. The old motor was always on 12v setting.

The new 62# troll motor will draw more amps out of the battery than the old Motor guide. As mentioned above I would check the battery by doing a load test. Auto zone or O'Rielly.
I would step it up to at least a 100 ampere hour battery. That would be a group 31.

[83Sterling]

I would suspect it's the battery. Is it a wet cell ? Is the water level at the bottom of the plug hole ? How old is the battery ? What size is the battery ? We need much more info !!

So a little info on the battery. The one in there is a Marathon M12V90F battery. It appears to be an AGM based on what info I can find on it. It is a 90 Amp Hour rating so I would think it shouldn't give me the quick drain that I am seeing. The wiring in the boat is a mess, but I do know that the accessories battery is only powering the trolling motor. I have a voltmeter on the front that I can click up the switch and it is always above 12v. I am just not sure why the trolling motor seems to be laboring when the motorguide didn't seem to have any issues. Could it be too small of wiring?

[billnorman1]

It could be wiring, but the problem should turn up soon all by itself with the additional draw. You need to check the battery voltage when you initially turn it on and a couple of minutes later.
Feel around for hot spots like splices, plugs, battery connections etc. How much does the new motor draw (amps) and what size is the wiring?

[83Sterling]

It could be wiring, but the problem should turn up soon all by itself with the additional draw. You need to check the battery voltage when you initially turn it on and a couple of minutes later.
Feel around for hot spots like splices, plugs, battery connections etc. How much does the new motor draw (amps) and what size is the wiring?

The motor is a Newport Vessels NV 62lb saltwater motor. Input says 12v 58a so I am guessing the draw is 58 amps if I am reading it correctly. All I did was pull the motorguide 3 prong receptacle and install a new 2 prong. Not sure of the wiring size that was originally in there, but it does seem smaller than 8g. I will order new wire and run it from battery to the switches and then to the plug that is the recommended 8g and see if that fixes the issue. Eventually I need to rewire the entire boat, but that is going to be something I do down the road when I am ready to park it and pull everything out.

[Dropdeadfred]

definetly need bigger wire,, and just making an approximation but your new motor is quite a bit bigger and gonna pull more juice, Hit up the group 31 samsclub, or Walmart deep cycle,,, about best bang for buck.

[83Sterling]

So I ran new wire from the battery and it is working much better. My issues with the motor now seem to be just the battery meter going from 10 out of 10 out of water to 3 out of 10 in the water. Strange, but it worked for the past couple days.

[bobcoy]

Worn out/damaged batteries charge fine but the don't last long. The new/bigger motor needs a bigger battery to run the same amount of time. You wires could be the issue but it sure sounds like the battery. Get it load tested. JMO Bob

[billnorman1]

Your meter is probably just a dolled up voltmeter. If it frops to 30% when you put it in the water (and I presume you activate the propeller) your battery may be toast. Either that or there's still a high resistance in the wiring somewhere. Voltmeter readings are necessary for me to make another edumicated guess.

[83Sterling]

Your meter is probably just a dolled up voltmeter. If it frops to 30% when you put it in the water (and I presume you activate the propeller) your battery may be toast. Either that or there's still a high resistance in the wiring somewhere. Voltmeter readings are necessary for me to make another edumicated guess.

I will try to get a picture this weekend if I get it out. The battery meter on the motor goes from 1-10 with little lights. Out of the water it is all the way up to 10, when in the water and using it drops to 1-3. I have another voltmeter on my front panel that will drop off when I use the TM in the water as well. I do plan to change out the battery. I have no idea how old it is, but it looks old. Will be replacing the starter battery as well and picking up a 2 bank on board charger. The last thing I want is to get stranded out in the river.