Help installing a new trolling motor

[Bob Soult]

I'm going to buy a Minn Kota Maxxum 70 and I have a few questions on installing it. It's going on a Tracker Pro Team 175. Will I have to drill new holes to mount it and will I have to modify the plate to fit the new plug. Also I'm going from a 12V motor to a 24V, will I need to run new wiring for it and if so what guage should I use. Also any tips on getting the extra battery mounted, it looks a little tight in there. I was going to get the 42" shaft, would that be the correct length for my boat. I presently have the original Motor Guide trolling motor that came with the boat.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any help.

 

[Jim in VA]

Bob - some Minn Kota mounts have two sets of holes so that you can use Motorguide mounting points. Even if yours doesn't, wouldn't it make more sense to drill new holes into the Minn Kota mount versus the boat?



On the plug, you'll likely need to modify depending on what your motor came with. Not hard to do - just make sure to keep track of the correct wires (+ to + and - to -). As for wire gauge, not sure what year Tracker you have, but upgrading to lower gauge is probably a good idea. Others will chime in on what gauge wire to use but I believe 6 gauge is a popular (and prudent) option.



On the extra battery, again, depends on what year PT175 you have. My old boat (2002 PT175) would fit in a third battery between the existing trolling and cranking motor battery, but it was a tight squeeze!



Finally - 42" shaft is what came with the boat (if memory serves). You should be good with 42" unless you fish choppy waters; then longer might be better to keep the prop in during rougher water.

 

[Bob Soult]

Thanks for the reply. I checked this evening and it looks like there is room for the 3rd battery between the other two. I don't think I've ever had any problems with the prop coming out of the water so 42" should be fine. My boat is a 1999 model. I can't wait to get the new maxxum on there and try it out. It should do much better than the one that is on it now. Plus I plan on fishing several electric only lakes this year and it'll come in handy.

 

[pete mitchell]

 

[pete mitchell]

Bob, I have a 99 Tracker PT 185 I just replaced the original Motorguide 12V trolling motor with a Minnkota Maxxum. The mounting holes on the Maxxun were tha same as on the Motorguide, The new Minnkota did not come with a plug, I had to buy one from BassPro, The question that I had was on the receptacle on the boat, mine has 12/24 written on it, when I took the cover off I found 4 wires coming from the receptacle a red, black, orange & black w/blue stripe, I did some research and I found out that you would have a red and black wire to battery one, and the orange & black wire with a blue stripe going to battery 2, you would have to have a plug that had 3 wires so that the jumper between the batteries would be in the plug, I could not find that plug locally so I checked two local marine dealerships and BassPro, all of them advised me to tape off the orange and black wire w/blue stripe, connect the red wire from the trolling motor to the + on batt. 1 and the black wire to the - on batt 2 and run a jumper wire from the 2 open terminals to make it a 24v system. I was concerned about the wire size, I talked with two electricians at work, they said that since it is now 24v the trolling motor will be pulling less amps and you would not need a larger wire. I installed it and carried it to the lake last week-end. I was really inpressed with the performance. I'm sure that you will like yours as well.

 

[Bill Kyte]

Just installed a Fortrex on my 02 PT175. Holes lined up just fine. My motor was installed with quick bolts. They are kinda like toggle bolts, slip them in the hole, start the screw and they pull up from underneath to tighten. They were quite a pain to get off. Minn Kota and connect pro are the same plug. Bought mine with the 6 gauge adapter from Amazon. I say yes to the wire upgrade. The 6 gauge is a lot bigger than 10 that comes stock. I am looking at having to take the front deck off completely to wire them inside the boat, though. You would also need a new fuse or new connector rated at 50 amps. Three batteries fit in mine. I have 3 29's squeezed in there and I added a 2 bank Dual pro charger. Any other questions feel free to email me.



Bill Kyte

[email protected]

 

[Bob Soult]

Should I use the Minn Kota quick nuts or just bolt the trolling motor down with regular bolts, lock washers and nuts.

 

[Gene B]

Oops, I hit the wrong button.

 

[Bob Soult]

Ok, picked up the maxxum 70 variable speed yesterday at BPS. I tried to remove the old wires but the way they have them installed it's almost impossible to remove them. Can I just leave them and route the new wire in a separate plasic conduit?

 

[Bob Soult]

A big thank you to everyone for your help. It took me four days but I finally got it installed and it works great. I don't think I'd want to do that again but I definitely learned a bunch. Tested it out on Thursday and it worked great.