dochollow Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 can somebody tell me why i couldnt run 2 wires from my starter battery to my trolling battery? i am running a 40 h bigfoot merc & minn-kota power drive, 55 lbs why wouldnt this charge the t-battery. ps i am not an electrician Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 It would if you left it running all day long and kept driving around. However, the average person fishes for hours upon hours drawing amps from their trolling motors and only driving a few minutes. The boat motor's alternator is not able to recharge anything more than its own battery and if accessories are hooked up to it then sometimes it can not maintain even that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 And you also run the risk of draining your cranking battery when running your trolling motor for extended periods of time. Like when the wind is blowing and your trying to hold the boat against it. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROWINGADUBAY Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 You could and I was going to but you need to put a battery isolater inline what it does is let "extra voltage to your trolling motor battery after your starting battery is charged I believe it will also protect your starting battery from draining when using your trolling motor I also thought of putting a switch in between but the problem with that is if you drain your T battery and flip the switch the t battey will pull alot of amps from the start battery in a hurry if ther is'nt a breaker and you don't use heavy wire they could melt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Good answers guys. Yes you could put an isolator in and it will work. However the amount of overflow charge to your trolling motor batteries would be so minimal, because like mentioned you don't use your big outboard as much so it can't keep charging. Unless you leave your OB running all the time but then you're wasting gas and still not getting that much extra charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROWINGADUBAY Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 most guys I see running this set up are trolling using there main motor as thrust and there trolling motor with I pilot or auto pilot to keep them heading the right way If you are just running for a couple minutes from spot to spot the effect will be minimal you would be better off spending your money on another battery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfart9999 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 You could use a phase charger, BPS sells them, but the only real benifit will come on long runs between stops. Rodney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 8, 2012 Report Share Posted July 8, 2012 I'd also want to keep my 2 electrical systems separate so the trolling motor doesn't interfere with my sonar unit - which it otherwise would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
