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Trolling motor woes!

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I have a Minn Kota trollling 46lb thrust transom mount motor for my canoe and it has slowed down a lot in the past years. I bought a new one this year before I took this one apart because I didn't want to rely on myself getting it back together correctly. Anyways what I have notice while messing with it is that it goes as fast as new when I reverse the battery connections and run the reverse gears as forward. My question is if anyone has had the same problem and if they have figured out why. I think maybe the forward gears have worn out or have collected enough crap that they aren't turning as easily. I haven't taken the powerhead apart yet but I think I'll just explore through it before getting rid of it. I'd hate to throw it out because it would make for a good back up or a good borrower for my friends. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

John

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There's no actual gears in the lower unit. The lower unit is just a housing for an electric motor. When you have it in reverse, the switch reverses the polarity and the actual motor turns in the opposite direction.

Did you check to make sure that when you turn the handle that it actually is turning the switch all the way? Sounds to me like this is the problem. If you're getting full speed forward with reversed polarity and the handle in reverse, The motor is still getting the juice it needs to turn at full speed.

Also, how old are the batteries? Old batteries won't hold as much of a charge.

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When I turned the switch on I can feel all 5 clicks so I think all the modes or speeds work. When I have the polarity reversed I have all 3 reverse speeds that work like new. I tested my battery and it is fine but it is now my backup so with my new battery the motor still does the same thing. The weird thing is when I turned the forward speeds from 1-5 I can't tell any difference in speeds but in reverse you can tell the difference from speeds. Do you think that the windings or something have failed within the motor? Thanks

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In theory that's correct. I took the head unit apart a while ago to replace the bracket on the shaft so maybe something happened since then. I'll take it apart and check all the connections hopefully this weekend. If it finally stops raining up here I'll go fishing instead but I'll definitely check it out the next chance I get. Thanks for the advice.

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JSC, good thought and I hope your right in a way and wrong in another. I haven't checked the prop in a couple of seasons. On one hand if your right that is sweet because it is a easy fix. On the other hand I will be kicking myself in the :censored: for buying a new motor because of something like that. Thanks I will check that out.

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When I turned the switch on I can feel all 5 clicks so I think all the modes or speeds work. When I have the polarity reversed I have all 3 reverse speeds that work like new. I tested my battery and it is fine but it is now my backup so with my new battery the motor still does the same thing. The weird thing is when I turned the forward speeds from 1-5 I can't tell any difference in speeds but in reverse you can tell the difference from speeds. Do you think that the windings or something have failed within the motor? Thanks

You have a bad switch. The switch is actually like a capacitor. The further you turn the handle, the more power the capacitor lets through. Replace that switch and you should be just fine.

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Well I pulled the prop off this weekend and all was good. Besides the prop having a couple war wounds I think it is safe to say that isn't the problem. Clamboni, thanks for the help I will call the tech line where I purchased the shaft bracket and order one of those switches up. All the other parts I got in the spring weren't that expensive so hopefully the switch is reasonable also. Thanks everyone for the help and I'll let you know if this fixes it right up.

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Here's another thought. I recently did this with mine because I use it more at the front of the boat, but if you don't mind less speeds and don't want to buy a switch, you can turn the head 180 degrees and basically make the "reverse" speeds "forward". It does sound like the handle switch is the problem though. Just my :twocents:

Jay

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Here's another thought. I recently did this with mine because I use it more at the front of the boat, but if you don't mind less speeds and don't want to buy a switch, you can turn the head 180 degrees and basically make the "reverse" speeds "forward". It does sound like the handle switch is the problem though. Just my :twocents:

Jay

Definitely not a bad idea. Though if you're using it as a secondary motor for moving from spot to spot, I'd personally just reverse the polarity and put it on high in reverse.......that way you still get the full thrust in forward. If you're running the motor on high in reverse, it's not nearly as efficient.

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