Add Battery for Trolling Motor

[83Tractors]

My 93 Tracker Pro 17 has single battery. Lost power to front 30 LB TM. Everything else works fine. Instead of tracing wire issue down, thinking of adding second battery in bow storage compartment for trolling motor.

Has anyone else done this?

Any potential issues?

Thank you!

[83Tractors]

Also, is a fuse needed? Thanks for any help.

[Princeton_Man]

My 93 Tracker Pro 17 has single battery. Lost power to front 30 LB TM. Everything else works fine. Instead of tracing wire issue down, thinking of adding second battery in bow storage compartment for trolling motor.

Has anyone else done this?

Any potential issues?

Thank you!

Yes, you can add a battery to a forward compartment. Rather than do that, I'd track down the reason for your power loss. Generally you would have a breaker instead of a fuse on the trolling motor. Circuit breakers can be reset easily while you're on the water. Sometimes auto resetting breakers are used.  Perhaps that's the reason for your power loss. You might have an old auto resetting breaker that no longer resets.

[83Tractors]

Thanks PM! Any thoughts on where the breaker might be located? I checked by the battery and there's a good 30 amp fuse. Would there be a breaker under the console? Thank you.

[FD]

Thanks PM! Any thoughts on where the breaker might be located? I checked by the battery and there's a good 30 amp fuse. Would there be a breaker under the console? Thank you.

Not for the TM. You likely have a bad fuse, it may look good but still be bad, or a bad plug. Could be a broken wire at the plug. The worst case is the TM is toast.

Do you have a volt meter?

[83Tractors]

Yes, I have a voltmeter. Battery is new and plenty of power. Checked voltage at TM Plug and nothing there. Issue seems to be between battery and TM plug.

[Princeton_Man]

This may be a tough question to answer but, was the 30 amp fuse/fuse holder something added on by a previous owner?


An easier question; is there a socket up front that the TM plugs into? If so, pull it out and check the back side for both a breaker and to see if you have voltage back there.


Where up front are you checking for voltage on at the TM, Pedal or TM?

[83Tractors]

This may be a tough question to answer but, was the 30 amp fuse/fuse holder something added on by a previous owner?


An easier question; is there a socket up front that the TM plugs into? If so, pull it out and check the back side for both a breaker and to see if you have voltage back there.


Where up front are you checking for voltage on at the TM, Pedal or TM?

Yes, it looks like the in line 30 amp fuse was added by previous owner based on the tape and location.

Yes, there is a socket up front that the TM plugs into. I pulled off the socket panel (4 screws), disconnected the 2 wires to the socket and checked voltage directly on the wires. No voltage there.

Thanks!

[83Tractors]

Pic of TM Socket Wiring

[83Tractors]

Found the issue. Negative wire from 12V TM had red connector and therefore was hooked to positive battery terminal. Corrected and TM working fine now.

Next step will be to add a separate battery for TM. Should I wire in parallel with starting battery or keep separate for trolling only and charge after each use?

Thank you!

[Bud Kennedy]

Keep the battery for the trolling motor separate. Use the other battery for your cranking battery and to run your electronics.

If you are staying with a 12V trolling motor then one battery will do the trick but to parallel an additional battery will give you extra capacity.  In most cases you will have to charge your trolling motor battery (s) after each outing.  The trolling motor gets a lot of use and will drain them fairly quickly.  You should be able to get 4 hours at least out of a single battery as long as the battery is up to operating specs.  It will be less as the battery heads towards end of life.  A typical battery will last 3-4 years if properly maintained.

Most of us here with bass boats run a 24V or 36V system with the batteries running in series to bring the voltage up to what our motor requires. 

[83Tractors]

Thanks Bud! I plan to keep the 12V TM for now. Will add TM battery and keep it separate.