cable on troller broke..any ideas?

[Wags]

One of the turning cables broke off the heal of the foot-plate on my motorguide yesterday. The little stopper broke off the end and the cable frayed to the point where it will be too short to try to repair the end and re-use. Can you splice,fuse, or connect and small piece of cable to the existing cable in any way?? Or must the whole cable be re-placed? Is replacing the cable very costly or difficult for a non-mechanical guy to attempt himself??

[Dave Smoot]

It's time for a new one. There are two different length cables on that motor. The one in the back of the foot pedal is the long one. You should be able to pick one up at a Mercury dealer (since Mercury Marine bought out Motor Guide)or at another boat dealership that sells Motor Guide. If you don't have a dealership close by you can call Mercury/Motor Guide and they can take your order on the phone. 1-920-929-5040. Also look up MotorGuide.com/au and it should take you to a web site that will give a Service Center for Motor Guide in your area...

[Wags]

Hey Dave, am I supposed to trust the advise of a guy with 3 posts??? j/k my friend, welcome to the forum !! I assumed that was the case, is it a difficult endeavor to put the cable on yourself, or should I let a marina do the work?? I am not great at these sort of things,....but since owning the boat for a couple of years now, I have been getting my hands dirty and learning as I go......

[bamabassman]

dave is right my friend, time to buy a new cable pal. take it to your marine shop and they will replace it for you bud. not too bad on price i don't think. but then again....i haven't had to replace one either.

[Dave Smoot]

Wags: You will need a philips#2 screw driver ,a set of allen wrenches, a pair of pliers and a little patience. I have pulled the new on in as I pulled the old on out but only if the factory did not tape the electric wires and control cables togeather. Even if they did its not that difficult. I sell a lot of cables to customers and they seem to have no problem installing them. Take a look at the job and decide for yourself if the task is or is not to hard. I got faith in ya that you will do just fine. Yea I only joined your group a couple a weeks ago but have serviced trolling motors for nearly 30 years. Been there, done that!!!!!!!!!!

[Wags]

well Dave, I ordered the cables,...should be in tomorrow. I will give it my best shot, worst case scenario, I just take whats left of my pride and the cables and head to the marina....

[bamabassman]

hold your head high if you do,lol. no shame in trying and failing. i do it ALL the time, hhahaha.

[Abbeysdad]

Originally Posted by Wags

well Dave, I ordered the cables,...should be in tomorrow. I will give it my best shot, worst case scenario, I just take whats left of my pride and the cables and head to the marina....

It's okay Wags, service guys just 'eat-it-up' when you come in all humble and tell 'em it was just to hard to do .... they'll smile, pat you on the head and say 'well, it takes some practice'....
hehe

Seriously, take yer time and look things over carefully - go slow and see where you get - like you said, worst case is you have to pay to have someone else do it. Just don't have any 'spare' parts when you finish.

[Wags]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

It's okay Wags, service guys just 'eat-it-up' when you come in all humble and tell 'em it was just to hard to do .... they'll smile, pat you on the head and say 'well, it takes some practice'....
hehe

Seriously, take yer time and look things over carefully - go slow and see where you get - like you said, worst case is you have to pay to have someone else do it. Just don't have any 'spare' parts when you finish.

I think I could make a fully-functioning robot with the "spare-parts" I have amassed over the years...lol

by the way...I am a "Abbey's Dad" also, even spelled the same, I have to look twice every time you post something lol mine turns 7 in November

[Abbeysdad]

Originally Posted by Wags

I think I could make a fully-functioning robot with the "spare-parts" I have amassed over the years...lol

Okay...but sometimes those China-men toss in extry parts jus to mess with us!

Originally Posted by Wags

by the way...I am a "Abbey's Dad" also, even spelled the same, I have to look twice every time you post something lol mine turns 7 in November

That's great - tends to be a somewhat unique spelling. Mine is now 11 going on twenty something with a lot of spunk 'n attitude! I chose the handle because she actually got me back into fishing whe she was about 5 years old. I always enjoyed it, but one of life's twists/turns caused me to stop. She palled around with a youngster that bragged about fishin with his grandpa, so out of the blue Abbey asked if she could go fishin sometime. So I dug up some basic gear, got some worms and hid it all in the trunk of my wife's car. Then, under the veiled ruse of just going for a ride, we went to a small park next to one of my old favorite fishing spots and surprised her with the fishing gear. She caught 3 sunfish as was proud as a peacock - even exclaimed 'I'm a natural'. Like all kids (big and small) it's not as much fun when they're not biting...so her enthusiam has wained some.

Anyway, that was the spark that got me back into it. Now between the bait monkey and the boat gorrilla, considering most of the 'real fish' are still in the water saying, "you know, you gotta wonder what's in it fer him?" as they eat the bait I serve, I dunno fer sure if I'm making the right investment! haha

[Wags]

that's excellant, great story. I have gotten her to fish some, she actually caught her first keeper bass a few weeks ago. I still have a hard time keeping her focused enough to fish for more than a half hour at a time, but she is making progress.

http://www.bassfishin.com/bassfishin...ad.php?t=21287

parts still not in, looks like next week before I tackle this.....

[Abbeysdad]

That's just the kid of it. I remember when I was a kid fishing with my dad, who had a short fuse at times, used to get so PO'ed at me cause when I got a bite, I tried to set the hook (he didn't think I waited long enough). When I got older, he'd fish the river not far from the car and I'd walk up river a ways where few went...One time I came back with several trout, when I came back he said "Well?" and when I held up the stringer of fish he said "so that's what they look like."
A couple of times fishing with Abbey I've seen my father in me and kick myself later (I'm still a work in progress).

[Wags]

I am one HAPPY dude!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got the cable from the parts dept. of the Marina and to my suprise, I installed it in no time!!!!!!..I even made some adjustments to the way it sat in water (directionally) and even got the goofy arrow on top lined up and working!

[bamabassman]

GREAT! now i know who to call when mine breaks. hahahahahaha.