TM Problem

Dshow28 · 03-17-10, 10:25 PM

Hey guys, I have a 74lb thrust 24v Minn Koto on my Stratos. When running it at high speed for more than say 20 seconds it starts to kick in and out and sometimes kick the curcuit braker on the battery post. Any ideas whats going on? BTW as far as I know there isn't a Minn Koto service center anywhere near me.

bassintom · 03-17-10, 10:31 PM

It's not your motor.. Dirty connection in the wiring or quite possibly the breaker is bad or not big enough. What size breaker do you have? I use a 50 amp. Have you had this problem before or did it just start happening?
You should check the connections to the trolling motor plug. Both sides, the motor side and the boat side. Also possible the plug is bad. I've had that happen. You an usually tell if the plug is the problem, you will see the wires fried a little at the connection. And check and clean the battery terminal connections. Let us know how you make out.

Dshow28 · 03-17-10, 10:42 PM

Tom I replaced the braker that was kicking at first, now the other one kicked today (not sure of the size off hand) I think my next move will be to replace the plug on my bow and the other braker. The problem just started this year.

bcklash · 03-18-10, 12:02 AM

Dshow we had the same problem with our TM. Also our plug-in would get hot, we had loose wire in the plug-in. Still connected just loose, tightened it up and has worked great since then.

jasonfish320 · 03-18-10, 08:28 AM

I put my money on a partially burnt wire going to the armature, these are notorious for this problem (is it a max74?). This would explain why it runs for a while then quits, or kicks the breaker. I had the same thing happen on my boat, it can be a pain to fix yourself, but it's possible. Fortunately for me one of my good friends is the head tech at the local marina and also Minn Kota certified, he fixed mine for around $50 and it took us about 45mins.

Dshow28 · 03-18-10, 09:07 AM

Jason it is a Max74, what is the armature? (excuse my ignorance)

jasonfish320 · 03-18-10, 10:07 AM

I had no idea what it was either until i had to work on it, here's a diagram similar to what you have, number 1 is the armature. It's a bundle of copper wires that spin inside the housing of the lower unit...in my unit there was one ground and one positive that was hooked on the armature, the ground had gotten chewed up pretty bad and was only grounding out when the wire hit the side of the housing, which is why it ran sporatically(sp?)..the diagram doesn't show the wiring, but it there should be a pos&neg running to the armature

http://www.profisherman.com/minnkota/74pd.pdf

Dshow28 · 03-18-10, 11:45 PM

Thanks for the input guys.

bassintom · 03-19-10, 08:17 AM

Check your wiring,plugs and connections before you condemn the motor...just sayin'..

Dshow28 · 03-19-10, 09:11 AM

OK, so I talked to a guy from Minn Kota. He said it doesn't sound like the problem they were having with the max74s. He said the 74s need a 50 amp braker, I checked mine and they were 40s. He also said it could be a bad spot in the wiring from the power supply, or bad plug, (pretty much the same things you guys are saying). I checked the plug it looked good so I upgraded to 50 amp brakers. After todays trip if it isn't better I'll start tracing the wiring to see if I can find a bad spot. Again thanks for the help.

jasonfish320 · 03-24-10, 08:27 AM

Dshow, any update? did the 50amp fix the issue?

Dshow28 · 03-24-10, 09:19 PM

The 50amps seem to have done the trick, no problems after making that change

03-17-10, 10:25 PM	#1
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	TM Problem Hey guys, I have a 74lb thrust 24v Minn Koto on my Stratos. When running it at high speed for more than say 20 seconds it starts to kick in and out and sometimes kick the curcuit braker on the battery post. Any ideas whats going on? BTW as far as I know there isn't a Minn Koto service center anywhere near me.

03-17-10, 10:31 PM	#2
bassintom BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: washington(northwest) N.J. Posts: 3,958	It's not your motor.. Dirty connection in the wiring or quite possibly the breaker is bad or not big enough. What size breaker do you have? I use a 50 amp. Have you had this problem before or did it just start happening? You should check the connections to the trolling motor plug. Both sides, the motor side and the boat side. Also possible the plug is bad. I've had that happen. You an usually tell if the plug is the problem, you will see the wires fried a little at the connection. And check and clean the battery terminal connections. Let us know how you make out. __________________ A man's gotta believe in something...I believe I'll go fishing.

03-18-10, 12:02 AM	#4
bcklash BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Elliston, Va. Posts: 4,372	Dshow we had the same problem with our TM. Also our plug-in would get hot, we had loose wire in the plug-in. Still connected just loose, tightened it up and has worked great since then. __________________ The soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box. keep us free:

03-18-10, 08:28 AM	#5
jasonfish320 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: MAINEIAC Posts: 585	I put my money on a partially burnt wire going to the armature, these are notorious for this problem (is it a max74?). This would explain why it runs for a while then quits, or kicks the breaker. I had the same thing happen on my boat, it can be a pain to fix yourself, but it's possible. Fortunately for me one of my good friends is the head tech at the local marina and also Minn Kota certified, he fixed mine for around $50 and it took us about 45mins. __________________ "If at first you don't succeed; have another beer"

03-18-10, 10:07 AM	#7
jasonfish320 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: MAINEIAC Posts: 585	I had no idea what it was either until i had to work on it, here's a diagram similar to what you have, number 1 is the armature. It's a bundle of copper wires that spin inside the housing of the lower unit...in my unit there was one ground and one positive that was hooked on the armature, the ground had gotten chewed up pretty bad and was only grounding out when the wire hit the side of the housing, which is why it ran sporatically(sp?)..the diagram doesn't show the wiring, but it there should be a pos&neg running to the armature http://www.profisherman.com/minnkota/74pd.pdf __________________ "If at first you don't succeed; have another beer"

03-17-10, 10:42 PM	#3
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	Tom I replaced the braker that was kicking at first, now the other one kicked today (not sure of the size off hand) I think my next move will be to replace the plug on my bow and the other braker. The problem just started this year.

03-18-10, 09:07 AM	#6
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	Jason it is a Max74, what is the armature? (excuse my ignorance)

03-18-10, 11:45 PM	#8
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	Thanks for the input guys.

03-19-10, 08:17 AM	#9
bassintom BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: washington(northwest) N.J. Posts: 3,958	Check your wiring,plugs and connections before you condemn the motor...just sayin'.. __________________ A man's gotta believe in something...I believe I'll go fishing.

03-19-10, 09:11 AM	#10
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	OK, so I talked to a guy from Minn Kota. He said it doesn't sound like the problem they were having with the max74s. He said the 74s need a 50 amp braker, I checked mine and they were 40s. He also said it could be a bad spot in the wiring from the power supply, or bad plug, (pretty much the same things you guys are saying). I checked the plug it looked good so I upgraded to 50 amp brakers. After todays trip if it isn't better I'll start tracing the wiring to see if I can find a bad spot. Again thanks for the help.

03-24-10, 08:27 AM	#11
jasonfish320 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: MAINEIAC Posts: 585	Dshow, any update? did the 50amp fix the issue? __________________ "If at first you don't succeed; have another beer"

03-24-10, 09:19 PM	#12
Dshow28 BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Harrisonburg, VA Posts: 105	The 50amps seem to have done the trick, no problems after making that change

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