MK440 mounts/plastic ears failed

[78Staff]

Well, first trip out in the Skeeter and was mostly good, real good actually. Did the 2 hours of slow and go break-in, and started on the third hour where I could run it a bit. Fished a little, played with the electronics, realized Active Target is going to take some studying, got some seat time on the hull/motor, etc. All in all a great day.... until.

Got home, opened the hatch getting ready to charge the batteries and something just didn't look right...then it hit me.



WTH man, it's like the plastic ears just shattered/disintegrated. Not sure. I know it was mounted when I bought it, so can only assume it either let loose on the water or going down the road maybe.

I guess it's 6 years old, but man I hate seeing this on day 1 :(. Technically it still works as it is charging my batteries, but I think I need another solution before I get back on the water again. Going to look at Noco I think, unless I can figure out a way to remount it.

[Transom]

Gorilla glue it to something and screw that to the boat.

[Rip Bass]

Use the same screw holes but use large fender washers over the corners.

[78Staff]

yep looking at a few options, ie mounting to starboard or similar then screwing that back onto the plate, or maybe looping some SS pipe clamps around the whole deal. Will check out the fender washer idea as well - thanks.

[JACQUART21]

Whoever installed it went crazy with the 1/4" impact!

[McQuaig]

Like Ripbass says, remount it with larger washers if there's enough of tabs left. But also, bolt a small piece of angle aluminum to the bottom of the mounting plate to take the weight (those chargers are pretty heavy to be mounted on an angle like that).

[FrancoCialone]

you could always remove it from the boat and use it as a portable charger, I removed my MK from the battery compartment for added room and mounted it to a piece of plywood. Some on BBC have removed their charger and mounted it on the back wall of their garage, behind the transom.

[RazorCat]

If you can’t get a good hold using the broken portion of the ears then I would pilot drill small holes on one or both sides of the portion of the ears that are left (left/right of the factory hole). Use a #6 or #8 screw and flat washer per pilot hole. That looks like it was caused by over tightening during initial installation.

[fishing addiction]

not sure from the picture but you could mount it to another plastic board that extends out from the charger and use some 3m 5200 to attach it and maybe couple small screws

[bgibson]

I went through all of this multiple times! Tried everything listed and a few more, still broke the corners! Only thing that will fix the problem is getting the MK460 charger (4 bank 15 amps), it has aluminum bottom mounting plate.

[bgibson]

P.S. I finally got Minnkota to send me a MK 460 to stop the problem under warranty!

[mxmike]

Just put a battery strap, small ratchet strap or a couple of bungee straps on it to hold it in place.

[FES313]

Question is, why are we still riding around with our chargers in the boat? When I go to lithiums (soon), because I have to change chargers and it is a pain to get to, I will be installing some type of quick connects and hanging the charger on the garage wall. When I travel, I will just put the charger in the back of the truck if I am going for more than 2 days. Everyone says you can fish a couple of days on lithiums before you have to charge, right?

[granite]

you could always remove it from the boat and use it as a portable charger, I removed my MK from the battery compartment for added room and mounted it to a piece of plywood. Some on BBC have removed their charger and mounted it on the back wall of their garage, behind the transom.

I did this after being unable to answer the question "Why am I hauling this thing around in my boat anyway?"

[PJ-Rohlf]

I did this after being unable to answer the question "Why am I hauling this thing around in my boat anyway?"

Because it is easier to buy an extension cord you forgot than trying to find a charger you forgot

[granite]

Because it is easier to buy an extension cord you forgot than trying to find a charger you forgot

In my case my boat lives at home, I'm not a tournament fisherman. On the occasional overnight trip it's on my hard copy list of things to remember not to forget.

[78Staff]

Got it remounted - basically put it right back in it's place, it "slotted" right in for lack of a better description due to the way the plastic mount sheared. Then I wrapped around it and the mounting plate with a 3/4" velcro strap wrapped over itself so plenty of velcro to "grab", and then two 200lb zip ties on either side as well. Meant to take a pic but it's a temporary deal to get me on the water this weekend so I can keep working on break-in hours. We'll shall see how it holds up.

[fly by night]

Good ideas to fix it from several posters!

[granite]

Got it remounted - basically put it right back in it's place, it "slotted" right in for lack of a better description due to the way the plastic mount sheared. Then I wrapped around it and the mounting plate with a 3/4" velcro strap wrapped over itself so plenty of velcro to "grab", and then two 200lb zip ties on either side as well. Meant to take a pic but it's a temporary deal to get me on the water this weekend so I can keep working on break-in hours. We'll shall see how it holds up.

I'm gonna guess that will hold up well enough that you'll never need to work on it again and it'll be like that when you sell the boat!

[DewRonInc]

Always use rubber isolators will prevent that kind of failure