Hey guys. I have had my 80# 24v Ultrex for a year now and it's been amazing. The past few times I've been out I've noticed my motor not working as hard. When I ramp it up to 10 I can hear the motor rev up really high like it should for about a second then slows down to a different speed (maybe 7-ish speed) - even right off the trailer with the batteries just fully charged. It just seems slower than it use to be overall. New batteries were bought in May. Thoughts?
Have you checked for line on trolling motor prop shaft ? Just a thought. FSHRMN1010
Sure haven't. I'll manhandle that TH Marine nut off this evening and check!Originally Posted by FSHRMN1010
Fully charged doesn't mean the batteries are good. Measure the voltage at the batteries after experiencing the problem.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Do I need to disconnect everything from the batteries to test with my voltmeter after running the trolling motor for a few minutes?
No,no need.
As Catfan said I suspect you have a bad battery. Need to check voltage at the troll motor when on the water and see what it reads. Should read above 24 volts. Then recharge and bring to a car shop and get the battery load tested.
The fact that it ramps up to the correct speed, then drops down makes me also suspect a bad battery. Sounds like it's surface charging, then knocking the surface charge off quickly. another thought would be water in the lower unit, but I would suspect the battery first. Take a volt reading of both batteries right off the charger, then check the voltage of both batteries when the motor drops to a lesser speed.
John
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Go to Harbor freight and buy yourself a battery load tester, they load anywhere from 100 amps to 150 amps and then check batteries. I have seen voltage on batteries read good but fail under a load.
Bruce Phillips
1995 190 DC champion ......1995 200 xri merc
Thanks guys. How do I test the voltage of the trolling motor while on the water? Put the voltmeter prongs on one + and the other on the second battery - ?
Last edited by chaseerry; 12-03-2018 at 12:50 PM.
Measure each battery separately.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Okay here's where we stand. Checked behind the prop nut and had some old crispy strands of grass. Removed that and moved onto the batteries. Went to unplug the Minn Kota charger but heard something. One of my trolling motor batteries had a slight crackling/gurgling sound going on and felt warm! Unplugged the charger and put the voltmeter on. Battery A showed 13.26V and the noisy one dropped like a rock down to 11.30. I can keep the probes on and watch it drop slowly now. Every five minutes it seems to lose .05 Volts or so. Think he's the culprit?
Yep
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Wonderful. Now to get Walmart to exchange it without a receipt. It's an Everstart and the sticker on it shows 5/18 so I should be okay? We'll find out.
Update! It was indeed one bad battery! Got it swapped out and took the boat out on the lake yesterday. Trolling motor is back to full power now. Thanks all!
Yippee!!!
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