How to properly install wiring for a 24v Minn Kota Trolling Motor with a Circuit Breaker!
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2024
- We finally had a nice, sunny day so that means it's time to uncover the boat and install upgrades I planned over the winter! In today's video I do a complete how to walk-through on properly installing the electrical components on a 24 volt trolling motor setup with 6AWG wiring and a 60 Amp circuit breaker from Minn Kota.
My boat already came wired up, but with 40 Amp fuses and 12 gauge wiring - WAY under the specs recommended for a 24 volt setup and I was having issues with melted fuses and very hot wires. Time to upgrade!
PLEASE NOTE in the install I use bare copper connectors and have never had an issue with them, but it is recommended to use tin plated copper for your terminal connections and wiring, which I have linked to below.
Here's everything you need for this installation:
1. Minn Kota 60 Amp Breaker: amzn.to/2JHvZU7
2. 18 feet of 6AWG Tin Coated Marine Cable Red and Black: amzn.to/3agNvvw
3. 2 Pack of 5/16" 6AWG Tin Coated Copper Battery Lugs: amzn.to/2OwWe4e
4. Black and Red Shrink Wrap Kit: amzn.to/2MZGt5o
5. Heat Gun: amzn.to/2MR6vYD
6. PROPER Wire Crimps Battery Terminal lugs: amzn.to/2LIPlLY
Recommended Battery Charger - ProMariner ProSport 3 Bank Charger: amzn.to/3qeS3b6
My Minn Kota Terrova trolling motor: amzn.to/2LHwVdI
Want more information on what kind of batteries to use? Check out • What kind of Batteries...
Thanks for watching everyone, please be sure to subscribe, like, comment, dance for joy, that sort of thing...
A little tip for running those wires.....every time you pull a wire for ANYTHING in a boat (or anything else, for that matter) pull an extra para cord or poly cord so that if you ever need to add electronics or other type of accessory, you already have an easy way to install it without the tedious process of fishing through an existing harness.
That's a great tip, thanks!
Yep great tip.. I would have just left the black wire in haha but paracord is probably less alarming
And you should always add the negative cable last.
@@danhipps8747 it's ground, not negative 😁
Unless you have a nitro. I can go 18' in front to back in under 30seconds😂
who ever did the origanal install excedded the manufactures specs , the longer the run the heaver wire you need. great job on the fix.
Thanks, and yes the longer the run the heavier you need, I linked in the description to the wiring guide from Minn Kota with the exact specs.
I just found this tutorial because I just bought a new Minn Kota I-pilot 24 volt. Your tutorial was very helpful and clear. You should be a professional instructor! Thanks!
Wow thank you so much for the kind words and I am really happy to hear you found it helpful! Really appreciate your feedback.
Best video for hooking up a 24 volt system!! Hands down!!
Thank you so much!! :)
Nice, practical video but I do have a couple suggestions. It is recommended that you attach lugs to batteries with the wire carrying the highest amperage first. You put the battery charger on first, followed by the trolling motor connector. It probably makes no difference since you apparently use your boat 100% of the time in freshwater, but in saltwater it is recommended to use wire with individually tinned strands to reduce corrosion and resistance. Tinned wire costs more, but lasts longer. Lastly, my mechanic suggest always using lock washers or lock nuts to secure the lugs to the battery posts. Boats and everything in them are subjected to a lot of vibration, which may loosen standard nuts holding the lugs onto the battery posts.
Hey thanks for the suggestions! Please see the pinned comment on this video as well as in the description everything that I recommend is all tinned Copper for exactly the corrosion reasons you're mentioning. as you mentioned for saltwater it is especially critical, but for freshwater I've never really been careful about using tinned but I want to make sure I recommend the right parts. Also the cables for the trolling motor draw more amperage than the battery charger so the first cables to go on should typically be the trolling motor cables although if I'm being honest I don't really follow that order consciously. I'm actually getting some new terminal clamps for the starting motor I keep changing them every year until I find one that I like and I'll be doing a video on these new ones pretty soon and why I like them. I suppose you can use lock washers it wouldn't hurt but in the 30 plus years I've had a boat I've never had an issue with anything coming loose. I wouldn't be concerned about vibrations on a boat, you don't even use locking washers on battery terminals on a motorcycle and there's no way a boat vibrates anywhere near a motorcycle does. If it gives you more confidence in your install, then I say go for it! Thank you so much for watching the video and for your additional tips! 👍
Dont worry about critics, they usually dont have the balls to make a video. Your videos are very informative. Thanks.
Just stumbled on to this video. Nice job upgrading your wiring for the trolli g motor, definately a safety hazard what was initially there. One tip for you, you mentioned not liking working around electricity so please remove all jewelry before doing so. All in all nice first how-to.
First time, great presentation, people watch these videos to learn how to do the wiring of their product.
Thank you so much!
Thanks Dan, nice tutorial. Just wanted to make a couple minor observations, as I hope others do for me when I'm brave enough to start posting content. I am about to install a Riptide Terrova, 24V 80# thrust model and the spec sheet states 8AWG for the wire, no biggie, you went higher. But the connector you're using up front shows "Max 40A". Again just an observation, and last but not least, if it were me, just incase, and I saw you had no load on the system, but I'd recommend making the connections with breakers open, or fuses removed if you're using fuses to avoid potential spark shows. Thanks again for a great tutorial.
Hi Bob, thank you so much for the comments and I absolutely appreciate all sorts of comments and critiques, it's how we learn!! So to address your comments, please note that the plug upgrade is a separate video on my channel, I actually upgrade to a 70 amp rated pressure prong style plug and get rid of the annoying twist lock you see in this video :)
For the breaker, you can't open a Minn Kota breaker aka "test" it. So you have no choice but to install it that way or I suppose you could try shorting it to trip it lol!
Thanks again so much for watching my video and leaving a comment, all the best!
Helpful video. What impressed me the most was that you took the time to respond to all questions and comments unlike some videografers that never answer any questions put to them. Especially the celebrities. Also nice to see you speed up through some of the processes unlike some guys that drag them out.
Thank you Larry, I REALLY appreciate the positive feedback and you enjoyed the way I edited the content! I'll be working on more tip style videos like this with fishing season over in my area and with everyone having to stay home. And YES I do try and respond to everyone, I am so appreciative of anyone that takes a moment to leave a comment or question. Thanks again and all the best!
Honestly this is the best video on this subject I’ve found on CZcams. And I’ve seen a ton. Well done sir.
Well thank you very much, I really appreciate the feedback and your kind words, thanks a bunch, you put a big smile on my face :)
Great video thanks fir the info . Your ring and watch scare the crap out of me working around the batteries . A ring grounded out will literally fry a finger!
I've never even thought about it to be honest, been messing with 12v systems since I was 16 installing car stereos and I've never been zapped by a battery. Great, now I'm going to be paranoid the next time I'm playing with a battery and I got my ring on LOL!
if anyone complains on this video chalk it up to a very stupid person. Great tutorial!!!! I am in the process of getting a Minn Kota for my 25 foot World Cat with the anchor feature. I may need to get one that is a 36 amp so I will look for a wiring video for three batteries. You are awesome and thank you for helping all of us.
Thanks Coach!! You are going to LOVE the Spot-Lock feature if you've never had it before. I sometimes wonder how I ever fished without it! YOu can definitely got to a 36 volt with that big boat of yours, and it's done the same way but with the additional battery you add to your series. Here's a nice easy diagram of your 36v 3 battery wiring: cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1073/9770/files/36v_wiring.png
I like the idea of color coding your crossover wire with red/black.
Super important for people like me lol! Thanks for the feedback! :)
Great tip on running all connectors through that protective boot. Not only clean , but safe
Thank you very much!
I like the way you break it down u did it like u were teaching a child, and thats the way teaching is suppose to be done, great job Im about to wire my boat as well. Im running 2 batteries one 's for the trolling motor and the other is for the lights, live well, etc. Im also running a battery switch so that I can switch between batteries I found out I need to run breaker for the trolling. I want to add a charger as well. But guess what I have no idea how to run all this smh lol
Thank you, I'm glad you liked the way I broke it down :) For the switched power, you want to be able to switch between the main and trolling motor batteries to power your electronics? You don't want to use the main battery to power the trolling motor, you'll kill that battery pretty quick if you do as it should be a cranking battery. Plus if you power the trolling motor off the same battery you run your sonar, you're going to have horrible interference. If you want to do it for emergency purposes, just keep a set of jumper cables in the boat. The charger is very easy because you don't have to worry about switches and breakers etc. The charger will have a positive and negative terminal for both batteries and you connect it directly (you're going to want a 2 bank charger). I have a 3 Bank ProMariner I installed spring 2018 and it's working great and it seems like a real good quality charger. Here's the 2 bank charger you would need: amzn.to/2KqI8f0
I'm going to record a video soon about how the entire boat is wired, maybe that will help you :) Good luck with your install!
Got a subscriber here! Nice video. I'm planning on getting a trolling motor for my four winns sundowner 19 foot ski boat. My wife and I loves fishing but we need a trolling motor for our boat. I feel confident after watching this video.
That's awesome to hear, I'm glad you found this video helpful!!
Love this motor. Great power & torque. Very quiet. Doesn't faze my Optima battery. Minimal assembly. Gets me around the lake and pond nicely.
Thank you, finally I found a video that explains and shows the entire process from start to finish.
Very helpful, thank you.
You're very welcome, thanks so much for the comment!
This showed up in my search as in looking to connect a 24 volt system and this was really detailed and helpful! Thank you!
You're very welcome Eric, Im glad it was helpful :) Thanks so much for the comment!
I'm actually gonna tackle this same exact job in the next couple days with my boat great tutorial I'm gonna follow it step-by-step
I'll be doing the same in the next couple of weeks.
Awesome I'm glad you found this helpful and good luck with your install!!
Good luck!
I was gonna take my tracker to get motor put in at bass pro but after watching this video gave me the confidence to do it myself awesome video I followed u step by step and everything seems to be workin fine thanks keep makin videos beers on me from stockton ca!!! Delta bass fishing!!
haha that's awesome, it makes me so happy to hear you were able to do this yourself!! And you'll be hearing from me if I come down to Sacramento ;) Thanks so much for the comment!
Most informative video ive seen! My breaker from bass pro had the posts break the second time I connected the wires to it. Looks like I'll be ordering a Minn kota type now! Thanks Dan!
Thank you so much for the feedbacl MS, glad I was able to help! I can confirm that the MK breaker has taken a beating for a year and is still in perfect shape :) All the best!
Good video. I wasnt gettin 24 volt on mine and now I see where the problem is. Just got the boat 2 days ago and know nothing bout wiring. Bout to go fix it now tho. Thanks!
Awesome, glad you got it figured out!!
I think you just helped me solve the problem on the boat I just bought an hour ago! The guy bought a new trolling motor because the other one didn't work. Well I am 99 percent sure he hooked the breaker up wrong. He had the positive and negative going to the breaker from what I remember. I'm about to go outside and see if that is what is going on
Hi Trevor, so was that the issue? Typical circuit breakers won't have the negative attached, only positive. Let me know!
@@DanRichardFishing I guess the only issue I had was a bad battery. I would've thought it would spin even with one battery but it didn't. I replaced the one that was completely dead and now it works just fine. It turns out there were two wires on circuit on both sides of the breaker, but they were labeled battery 1 positive and battery 2 positive. Kinda makes me think there might be another breaker if it is rigged like that but I'm not sure. All I know is it works now and that makes me happy lol
Thanks I got a 24-volt trolling motor for Christmas for my pontoon boat this video is very helpful thank you
Great video, probably one of the best video tutorials I seen on CZcams
Why thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful! More to come this spring if all goes well :)
I have to agree with the others commenting. This was an excellent tutorial. The only thing that baffles me is the ease that you got that six gauge wire into the receptacle. I have the same marinco receptacle and there was no way I could get the wire to fit. Paid 28 dollars for the adaptor to accept the six gauge [someone in the comments bought one for 9 bucks off of amazon]. For right now the I pilot and batteries are off the boat and am back to using an anchor [saltwater guy].
Thanks Pat! I stripped the plastic sheathing and it did fit but only juuuuust lol! I should probably upgrade to the right receptacle although so far it's been fine.
watched this step by step ( again haha) as I did my system and it worked! thanks so much Dan; much appreciated again!!
Awesome glad to hear it! :)
Man bro I been looking for a video just like this!!! You are an awesome teacher, you made it look so easy, I just got a trolling motor for an old Jon boat, thank you very much
Awesome I'm glad you liked the video, thank you so much for the kind words!!
Dan, great video!! Thanks for making that super simple!! I really don't know how anyone could give this a thumbs down. Great video. Covered a lot of safety issues as well.
Thank you so much sir, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the thumbs UP!! :)
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. For a saltwater installation, I would add some dielectric grease to all the bare wire connections to help slow down corrosion.
My pleasure and thank you for watching! Excellent point for saltwater application, that's probably a good idea. I use dielectric on my light connectors on the truck (salt on the roads in the winter) so it would make sense to use it on saltwater boats. Thank you for the comment!
Had to "Like" and comment on and give props for "give it a shot" approach. DR. Fishing keeping it real.
I'm wiring my first 24v system to a 70 I pilot thanks for the video ver informative and I'll be keeping it on as I do it!!!
Awesome, happy the video is helpful and good luck with your project!
This was an excellent video thank you for sharing!
Good job only thing I’d recommend is soldering connectors to the wires. Will less likely have any issues with connections.!
Great tutorial!
The only thing I can find confusing is having the batteries flipped around. It's easier for me to visualise when positive and negative are the same side and so the joining cable runs diagonally across but that's just me.
Thanks again!
... that way, if i have a 36V set-up, I always know the positive is on the right (or left)
Sure that's fair! Honestly I don't have a preference, I think I'm just so focused on trying to squeeze the batteries in that tiny opening that I just deal with however they went in after the fact lol!
@@DanRichardFishing h. W
Thanks for this video i can now hook up the 24 volt TM to batteries.
One of the best videos on this very thing (how to connect trolling motor wires), well done and explained!
Great trolling motor and for the price you can't beat it. It's saltwater approved/rated but I have not tested it yet. Does great so far in lakes and rivers
Yep your right ...everyone wants to tear down your efforts ...good video
This was one of the first how-to videos I ever did and had no idea how it would explode with so many views! It's all good, I have learned a ton from the constructive feedback from viewers, which I really appreciate and use lessons learned in future videos. As for the haters, I've got too many miles to worry about folks that want to be petty, which luckily is a tiny fraction of a percentage compared to all the amazing support I get from the community. Good or bad, I am grateful
Thx for the tutorial Dan! Great job explaining the wiring diagram for a 24 volt set up......fixing to totally redo mine now
You're very welcome and thank you for the kind words, good luck with your install!!
Dan, I am also surprised you were able to get 6awg into that Marinco / MK receptacle without shaving off a few strands. If you are going to keep that receptacle, I strongly suggest you tape those wires to the receptacle itself to help provide support for them - experience has proven they will work themselves out at the most inopportune time.
I replaced my receptacle with a Battery Tender receptacle/plug. It is a bit more expensive but very heavy duty and will easily handle the amperage draw of your TM. It requires a slightly larger hole but should still work with the face plate on your boat. The Marinco receptacle you have on your boat has a max rating of 40a. I melted mine on a 70# MK SP model before I realized it was underrated.
Hi Jim! Thanks for commenting and for your feedback, and yes the wires fit easily. To be honest the ONLY reason why I didn't change it was because I didn't even see the receptacle rating until I was doing this video. The good news is that it's gone out all year with no problems but I do still intend to change the receptacle this winter now that I finally have a garage where I can park the boat when it's snowing outside.
Now I am a little confused about using a battery tender receptacle because the ones that I have for my 4 bank charger in my garage are most definitely NOT appropriate for that kind of amperage as they really only use low sub-10 amperage generally, most are in the 2 amp range and the AWG rating is not even close. There is a marine one rated for 60 that I will upgrade to, it looks almost identical to be honest but seems to have a more robust area where the wires screw down. Can you link me to the tender plug you are referring to?
So I'll be doing that upgrade this winter and I'll upload a video on it do doubt :) I had planned quite a few more VERY exciting upgrades this winter, but with the purchase of the new house, looks like that will have to wait.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment :)
@@DanRichardFishing Congrats on the new house! The Battery Tender plug I was referring to is this one: www.batterytender.com/trollingmotorplug. I installed one on my KW 1720 (czcams.com/video/s_IRDSYtjGE/video.html), replacing the Marinco / MK receptacle. This BT assembly is quite robust.
I really like your videos you do a great job showing us exactly how to do something. I can real learn from your videos. Thanks
Thanks so much John!
I use a propane torch. Clamp the lug in a vice or pair of vice grips then heat it with the torch and fill it with solder then just take the stripped wire and insert it into the melted solder. It will be a very solid connection
Propane torch would work! I would still crimp the connection properly, and add the solder as insurance if you feel the need. I have NEVER in 30 years of owning a boat had a crimp pop out, but hey, nothing wrong with being extra cautious if it eases your mind about any possible issues. No one likes having electrical issues!
Great how to, what I would add is the wire sizes change with the requirements of the motor, in the Minn Kota manual (you can get on line) there is a chart with the required circuit breaker size and wire sizes. My motor actually required the 10 AWG. Make sure you cover both battery terminals, posts and wire nut connectors. Also consider for safety an emergency battery off switch.
Thank you for the comment Phil and you're absolutely right! Bear in mind the recommended wiring is the minimum recommended for the installation, I would still suggest going with the 6awg for the install as you are future proofing for possibly bigger power requirements later on, plus there is no drawback to using the heavier wire. However you do absolutely need to make sure you use the correct breaker size and change if needed. I do mention in all my videos related to battery work to make sure you cover the posts and terminals with protectors, it's crazy how many folks leave them exposed! Scott Martin had a fire on his boat because of this! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your comments, I really appreciate it.
Dan, you did a very good through job! Thank you.
Thank you so much!!
Very informative video thank you just mounted a 24 volt Minn Kota to the bow of my 1982 monark been thinking about the wiring and now well done video
Awesome, glad I could help and thank you so much for the comment!
Great video....thank you. Would love to see more boat electrical videos.
Hi David, thank you so much I'm glad you liked the video! Check out my other videos, I have quite a few dealing with electrical projects on my boat :) Tight lines!
@@DanRichardFishing Thanks. Will definitely check out the other videos. Would love to see one on installing a new onboard charger for a 24 volt system
Perfect tutorial Dan! Love your video and very easily to follow, thanks Dan! You really deserved a subscribed.
Thank you so much Ricky, really appreciate the kind words and the sub!
Thank you Dan. I'm getting ready to install a 2 battery trolling motor system on my boat and your video was very helpful. Awesome!
Awesome, I'm glad it helped!! I'll be doing another updated one soon, I've got a new motor on the way! :)
Thanks for this. Was actually interested on how you connected the circuit breaker to the battery. Helped a lot! Thanks again!
Glad to help, thanks for dropping a comment!
Man if nobody sees every video these days has dead trees in the background they are Geoengineering and killing everything. Excellent video as well
Thanks CM! I live in Canada so heavy duty winter here and this was shot in the spring when the snow was finally gone and I could get at the boat. The leaves all come back by mid spring :)
Yeah I believe you are in a little better shape than us. They are bombarding us with chemical here in the southeastern United States Mississippi Delta to be more specific. But next time you're in the lake test the Strontium Barium and Aluminum content of your water. As well as mercury. Then look at what it's supposed to be And what's more look at how much should occur in a natural ecosystem. I think you'll be shocked but when you get time Try it. And if you do next time I go in front of Congress if with you permission I'll site your results.
Great video, I need to upgrade the wiring in mine also. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure, thank you for commenting!
I just purchased a new motor. And in the Minn kota manual gives the ampasity per wire lengths to determine wire sizes. But great video anyway
It sure does, I actually link to that document in the description of the video :) Thanks for the comment!
got to do this exact thing to my boat today. great tutorial! referenced this video multiple times.
That's awesome Bruce, I'm so happy to hear this video was helpful, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment :)
Thanks for taking the time to do this video, very informative, I just needed a few things from this, because I get confused on the 24 volt system lol. But watched it all / great job.
Awesome, I'm glad it was helpful and thanks for watching the entire thing :)
Hi Dan. Great help. I would like to recommend that you put the accessories closer to the battery than the charger. I have seen issues with the charger connector lug failing under heavy amp load. Make sense? Battery post. Accessory wire lug. Charging wire lug. Nut.
interesting I never heard that before but I'll keep that in mind the next time I take off my terminals to clean everything I'll put them in that order. Thanks for the tip!
Great tutorial!, I’m looking at the 12v Terrova for my boat and your tutorial helps with the proper way to actually install it. Well done!
Thanks so much Jason, glad I could help with your install! :)
Hey Dan, I ended up upgrading to the 24v terrova, upgraded minn kota plug, onboard charger, changing plug, 60amp minn kota fuse, etc. I just wanted to say thanks for your tutorial. I referenced it a few times during my own installation and everything is working great. Keep up the good work!
You just saved my ass man. Thank you for keeping it simple!
My pleasure glad you enjoyed the video and it was helpful!
Seem a little nervous😮 nice job!😊
Great job !! Thanks I am getting ready to wire the same trolling motor and now feel well equiped to do the proper wiring job ! 😎😎👍🏻👍🏻
Awesome! Please be sure to check the description on the video for the equipment list where I specify the right parts to use :)
I would like to see a video 24V system without running the batteries in parallel using breakers
Hi Michael! In this video they are not running parallel, they are in series with breakers. Only way to run a 24v system in parallel would be running 24v batteries.
@@DanRichardFishing I think you may have misread my comment. I'm not talkin about running in parallel or series. I'm talking about running two 12 volt batteries separately to a 24 volt plug. This is how I have my trolling motor hooked up so I do not have to connect the batteries together
Great video-exactly the project I am just about to do on my boat! Fantastic:)
Awesome, I hope it's helpful!
Great video, excellent job!
It would be great to hear from the community that has experience with the Ultrex.
Almost all the feedback I've heard from Ultrex owners is that there has been little to no interference like on the Terrova and they love that motor. I am upgrading motors for this coming fishing season and only reason I'm not going to am Ultrex is because I want the seamless integration with Garmin.
Learn something and appreciate the info deserves a sub!
Thank you so much for the comment and the sub :) Tight lines!
Very good explanation on how to hook up 24 volt trolling moter. 👍🏻
Just subscribed !!
Thank you so much for the feedback and subscribing, I really appreciate it!
Great step by step tutorial.
Awesome job
Thank you so much!
Great video! Made my Terrova install much easier. Thanks Dan!
Thanks for a great "how to" video. Just bought a new Terrova 55 lbs and this was exactly what I was looking for! 👍
Awesome, glad I could help! Thanks so much for leaving a comment :)
Great video , glad you upgraded wiring , could have had a fire, i have a breaker arrangement on my current boat as well for the 24 volt system I have along with a 3 bank charger hooked up
Good stuff! Next step I need to change the plug!
Bass Pro has a trolling motor plug that uses crimp sleeves that the #6 wire will fit easily
Need to replace mine to a 60 Amp receptacle for this season for sure!
Great stuff! 🎉
They actually make a crimper for those cable ends. It requires you hit it with a hammer to make the crimp.. it really works good.
I believe yours will be fine especially since you heat shrink wrapped the terminal ends to the cable
Thanks David, I think they'll last as well, I really squeezed them down as hard as I could lol! I put a link to the proper crimpers in the video description, but at the time I had to work with what was on hand. Thank you for commenting!
Hubby was curious about the way the wiring works from the charger. Since the jumper is in place, doesn't that actually make the batteries 24v instead of 12v on the battery and since the charger is only charging at 12v, how does that work. PS Thanks for a great, easy to follow and see video.
Very nice video. Certainly helpful!
Awesome I'm glad you liked it!
Thank Dan you so much for taking the time to create this. This definitely answered a lot of my questions.
You're very welcome, thank you for the comment!
Great video. Instead of crimping the lugs I recommend soldering them for a more secure connection.
I wouldn't really recommend that INSTEAD of crimping... they are made to be crimped and soldering something of that gauge requires a LOT of heat and a good soldering iron. A lot of people would probably melt the solder on and not get enough heat on the thicker metal to get the actual solder to adhere well. It doesn't hurt to add some after crimping, but I would definitely not do this instead of crimping.
@@DanRichardFishing you don’t heat the wire. You heat the lug and use plenty of flux in it and then just feed the solder into it.
I want to make sure that I understand correctly: It will take 2 12 volt batteries for the 24v trolling motor and then 1 more 12v battery for the outboard and accessories.......Is that correct?
That's correct, that is the setup for my boat. Generally you want a separate power source for your trolling motor than the power source for starting your main engine and accessories.
You should always inspect your fuses and fuse holders at least once at beginning of the year. Multiple times a season is better. Clean the fuse's legs and the socket connectors and remove all corrosion. Any corrosion will cause high resistance and generate heat due to poor connectivity. Before putting the fuse back, coat fuse legs and socket connectors with dielectric grease to protect the connection from moisture. This will eliminate fuse and holder from overheating and melting. Once I started doing this I have never had a problem again. I even started doing this to all the fuses in my main fuse panel. I would rather have a fuse than circuit breaker for the trolling motor protection. They react to over current 100's of times faster than a circuit breaker. This is far better for electronic components such as the motor speed control circuitry.
Interesting note JP, thanks for posting it. I definitely clean all of my connections on the battery and battery posts at the start of each season but not the fuses. If fuses are better, why does MK recommend a breaker over fuses? Personally I think the fuse setup that used to be on my boat was not robust enough for a 60 amp draw and that's why it melted.
@@DanRichardFishing Fuse holders have a max amp rating too. It is very possible to have a undersized fuse socket. 60 amps is a lot of amps. There are larger fuses and sockets for this kind of current draw. Look at automotive store fuses and holders. Fuses just react faster to over current than a breaker can. Breakers are nice because you can reset them but shutting off a current draw of more than 60 plus amps is better done faster. You can weld with 60 amps of current. I prefer a fuse for high current DC marine applications. Mainly a circuit breaker will corrode and fail due to being a mechanical device with moving parts that could seize. A fuse is far less maintenance and more reliable long term. If a fuse gets corroded you can see it has and then clean it. You can't look inside a circuit breaker to see if it is healthy or not years down the road. Just my thoughts an reasoning. Good luck.
Awesome informative video 👍... You explained the process perfectly!!
Thank you so much Mike!
great video but always stack terminals so the biggest (most current) is on the bottom.
Thanks, that's actually already been discussed quite a number of times in the comments and really it's just a matter of trying to record and install everything at the same time and remember everything, it's quite difficult. I've discussed this in installation videos such as the installation of an onboard bank charger that are a little more recent. Thanks for checking out the video and for the comment!
Thanks for a great tutorial. Enjoyed watching.
Thank you so much, glad you liked it! :)
Absolutely great video showing how to do these electrical connections! However I am wondering since you're creating a 24 volt system how is this not frying other components in the system that only require 12 volts?
So two reasons... the 24 volt system is made up of two batteries and when connected to the trolling motor, they are configured in what's called "in a series". This is what allows the batteries to combine the overall voltage of 2 12v batteries to single 24v one. But you can technically still wire something to one of the batteries and you can draw just 12 volts of power. Second, the only thing I have wired to my trolling motor batteries is the trolling motor. You shouldn't wire any electronics to your trolling motor batteries as it can cause interference and if you drain your trolling motor batteries, anything else connected to them is dead. Hope that helps!
Is your charger 24 v ? Hooked up pos of one battery and neg of other battery.
@@vbarranch4424 the charger is 12v and charges each battery individually. A 3 bank charger would be necessary for a 36v trolling motor battery set up, 3-12v connections from the charger.
Using tinned wire connectors are much better because when water touches copper it immediately starts to corrode not so with tinned wire.
Tinned is definitely recommended for better corrosion resistance but I've been using regular for 25 years and never an issue. The key is to keep your terminals clean with regular maintenance. Even the factory wiring in my boat from 2005 is not tin plated and it's in top shape. Please note that I do mention that tin coated copper connectors are recommended in the description and I link to tin plated ones in the equipment list :)
I like your videos , they’re based on my interests and very straight forward and instructive, thank you.
Great video. I needed this to do my boat. Thank you!
Thanks Eric, glad I could help!!
Great video! Thank you
I just got a Terrova and 10 gauge is standard for it. May have changed since this video was made fyi.
Great job, Thank you so much!
You're very welcome, thank you for the comment!
Great video! Thank you!!
Looks great. I’m going to put on pontoon but I think I need a third battery to put in line. I can’t put the two existing in line without risk to starting the main engine. I think.
Yeah you might want to have the engine and accessories on a separate battery in case you drain the TM batteries :)
@@DanRichardFishing I have a solar panel and was thinking I could hook to the second and third that are inline. Recharge would be slow but I’m hoping would mean I don’t have to take it off the boat to recharge. Pontoon sits at dock all summer without a power access.
@@andrewwylie2117 How many watts is the charger? Would definitely work as long as you don't need the boat on back to back days... would probably take a few days for the panel to recharge the batteries if it's in the 100 watts range.
WOW! This was a awesome video!
Thanks so much! :)
Awesome video, thanks dude!
You're very welcome!!
Fairly informative you should have soldiered your connection to provide a better connection
I'm not sure which connection you mean but there is a lot of debate on soldering marine connections because of the constant vibrations and impacts of a boat, the risk is that the soldering points can break, so it's better to crimp marine connections. It's funny because you can't really win as someone that makes these kinds of videos because if I solder something I get told that's wrong, if I don't I get told that's wrong lol! So now I get the best of both worlds, I use heat shrink with built in adhesive, wire glue and solder in one and they work amazing and are impossible to pull apart if done correctly. I use them in some of my newer videos :) Thanks and tight lines!
Great video thank you
Thank you so much!
Your trolling motor direct plug into the the boat is 40 amp a 24v 80 pound thrust has a 56 amp draw. If it's going good then great but I'd watch it.
You're absolutely correct, and I actually noticed it in the middle of making this video so I'll be upgrading it shortly before the fishing season starts in the summer.
awesome video very very very helpful you did a fantastic job and thank you for your help and taking the time to make this video very much appreciated
Amazing video, upgrading to a 24volt trolling motor, so was perfect tutorial how to wire, just one question do I need to build in a breaker , and if not what could happen worst case scenario? Many thanks 👌👍
Hi Matthew, thank you so much! You absolutely need to build in a breaker like I did on the positive wire going from the battery to the TM. Worst case scenario is your boat catches on fire and is totally destroyed. This can happen when a short or other electrical issue causes arcing or wires basically turning in to red hot elements like a toaster. Without a breaker or fuse, nothing stops it so it just melts the sheathing on the wires and will light anything flammable on fire. Other potential ramifications from not fusing or having a breaker on any of your electronic components are fire damage, completely destroyed electronics (including your trolling motor), damage from arcing or melting components, damaging wire harnesses, fried charging system on your outboard etc. You can literally prevent tens of thousands of dollars damage with a $60 part. As Nike says, just do it :)
@@DanRichardFishing thank you very much Sir 👍👍💯