Trolling motor doesn't work

[Teri C.]

Got to my tournament this weekend and the trolling motor decided not to work. Spent 9 hours fishing without it. Sucked. My tournament partner decided he doesn't want to do this anymore and I guess I don't blame him so I guess my career was short lived. Fine by me because getting up at 3:30am is not for me.



I tested the battery and all the wiring and there is power going thru so I has to be something in the actually motor. I was really looking forward to next weekend on Patoka and I bet there is no way I will have it back by then.



I'll make someone a deal on this boat. I have fixed just about everything on it since I bought it.

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

Teri,

Did you check the circuit breaker that is near the TM batts?



Carlos

 

[Teri C.]

Yes Carlos, I did. It's fine.

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

Huum,

If I had read your WHOLE post, I guess I would have seen that huh? Sorry 'bout that!!!



Bummer Teri. Hope that Brownies can hook you up.



Sorry....



Carlos

 

[Teri C.]

JR, you can help. Get me a fair trade price for my Nitro 185Sport with 115 Merc and then get me a good deal on the Ranger Reata 180. I am seriously thinking about selling my boat. I don't really want to but I can't imagine what problems I will have long term.

 

[Teri C.]

I did look it up on Nada and it was average retail $13500. That price is without some the extras I added that there was no selection for. I would keep the 9.9 but the plate would go with it.

 

[Michael Snow]

Teri, if the plug has power, then you can only blame the trolling motor. As such, you can't blame Nitro for that. ANY boat with that particular trolling motor would have the exact same problem at the exact same time.



Place blame only where blame is due... wiring, seats, fiberglass, etc is Nitro's problem. A bilge pump going bad, livewell pumps or valves, steering components, motors, etc aren't anything that you can pin on Nitro.



I'm sure you recognize that I'm not taking Nitro's side, just pointing out that sometimes we blame the wrong manufacturer.

 

[Tony Payne]

If you use your TM alot, there is a little rubber "boot" that is between the momentary switch and the pedal... mine broke...



THis is the 25cent piece that can stop a tm dead in the water.



Easy way to tell if that is it is to put the TM in the "allways on" or constant... if it works, it is just that switch (and possibly the boot).



If not, you need to check for power at the receptacle, and go from there.

 

[Jim B]

Teri, i would bet its most likly the microswitch on the pdeal. On motorguides those things fail constantly, even more so if they get wet. Back when i ran motorguides i must have replaced that switch like 20 times, not to mention all the other problems i had with motorguide motors. Thats the reason i have a minnkota now, motorguides arent very good. I used to carry a few spare switches, a steering cable and a pinion gear in the boat so i could repair it on the water when these things break and they broke often. i also carried a whole spare motor that i left in the truck. The only parts i carry for my minnkota is a spare prop and pins.





I also agree with mike, a lot of the parts on the boat come from vendors and if it fails you cant fault the boat maker. I have spent just as much if not more time replacing pumps, switches lights, batteries, bolts and screws, fixing the trailer etc... on my old champion and on my budies ranger then i have doing the same on my nitro. I say the word boat stands for "Break out another thousand" because thats what always seems to happen.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Hi, Teri!



Just a bit of word from someone who's been around.....



No matter what brand of boat you may buy, you are always going to run into these problems.....



Tracker Marine has a very strong "frist time owner" customer base. First timers expect the same ease of ownership and freedom from problems as they get from other products such as automobiles.



There are two things to keep in mind:



There are more automobiles made in this country in a single day than there are boats in an entire year. Every single item on an automobile is given the advantage of mass production and repeated testing allowed by the economy of scale.



But probably the biggest factor is the way we treat the boats. We stress them in ways that we would NEVER think of treating our cars..... The jolting that they and every component get as we bounce them from wave to wave would tear Mercedes to pieces. Even the Marines know that their Hummers need constant attention.



Years ago, I used to do a bit of dirt bike riding; we were constantly breaking things from the pounding. The same with the MG I used to race; it was a constant struggle to keep ahead of the parts that I'd break from pushing it to the limit. If you took your Jeep off-road, you would experience the same type of repeated component failures.....



To paraphrase Pat Goff, "It ain't the arrows, it's the way the tribe shoots 'em!"



me!

 

[Teri C.]

I clearly understand that the trolling motor has nothing to do with Nitro. I could list the number of issues I have had with the Nitro since I bought it. Maybe it's just not a boat I see myself keeping for a long time.



Staci, I am not a first time boat buyer. I understand the problems you are going to have with a boat; however, I haven't had near the problems with the other 2 boats I have owned and my friends don't seem to have the problems either and none of the have Nitros.



I am not Nitro bashing so everyone can relax.

 

[Texas Transplant]

Teri,



You seem to have very legitimate concerns with your boat. It's your experience and your money.



Hope that you get satisfaction with either Nitro or something else, regardless.



Tex

 

[gone bye bye]

Back to the topic....



Teri did you check the wiring in the plug for your motor? Not the boat side, but the plug side?



If it is not there you will have to open the head (not the end with the prop) to see if any wiring is loose. If everything looks good, you propbably fried a board, very common with MG's of that era.



Should be fairly inexpensive to fix. Shouldnt let a trolling motor make you want to sell your boat, especially at the beginning of the season.



But then again, the way you go through vehicles.....lol



Good luck,



Mini

 

[Teri C.]

LOL @ Mini. I do have quite a history since coming to this board. I am sure the Banana Boat will be with me for awhile.

 

[Teri C.]

Trolling motor is fixed. It was a loose wire in the plug. And who says girls can't fix things, although it wasn't me.

 

[Larry Harp]

I'm getting dizzzy. :>0



Harpo

 

[Teri C.]

What's wrong with you, Harpo? You been watching the Huskers air it out in their new offense?

 

[Larry Harp]

Are you saying they're going to have an offense this year? That should make the game a little more interesting.

]:>)



Harpo