Trolling Motor Peddle

[Teri C.]

Is there something in the foot control that you need to grease or lubricate for the pedal to be smooth and easy?? If so, where is it and what do I use.



Seems like I have to press on the peddle much harder with this trolling motor to get it to turn.

With a bum knee that is going to get old real quick.

 

[Al Greco]

Teri, Not sure if you have a Motorguide or a MK. On the MK's there is a tension adjustment in the pedal that you can adjust. In my old motorguide I don't recall any adjustment but I could be wrong.

 

[Mini]

Which motor Teri? MK and MG Tour you can adjust.



Mini

 

[Teri C.]

I believe it is a Motorguide.

 

[Mini]

If it not a Tour Edition the only recourse it to take it apart and see if anyhting is sticking in the gears. You may want to have it looked at by a service center. I do know of a few used MotorGuides and one new MinnKota for sale if you want to upgrade/switch it out.



Mini

 

[Michael Snow]

Is the pedal fixed to your deck? Is the big thick cable bent sharply anywhere? A tight kink would be my first check.

 

[Dennis K]

I just swapped out my trolling motor (MotorGuide) for a newer never used one (MotorGuide). The newer pedal was a lot stiffer than the other one. After using it in the wind all day Sunday it loosened up a little by the end of the day. I was wondering the same thing as you when I first started using it. I made sure there wasn't a sharp bend when installing. I had to pull the pedal further back from the front to insure this. I just attributed the stiffness to it being new and it will loosen over time.



BL

 

[Bill Gintzel]

The motorguides do loosen up in time and there is no adjustment available on foot control models except the Pull...Pull(two cables) Tour Edition models. If yours is older then look for a kink.

 

[Thad Fineran]

Teri,

There is actually a way to adjust the steering tension on the Motorguide models. (I found this out while dismantling mine last summer)



You need to let the trolling motor full down, and remove the screws underneath the head of the motor (where the cable from the pedal goes into the head/shaft). Take the top cap off, and you'll see some wires running down the center of the shaft top. There is a tension screw somewhere underneath that wire mount, I believe right where the cables attach to the steering on the shaft. It should be straight up and down. It takes a while to adjust and figure out the right tension, and it's difficult while the boat is on the trailer because the tongue gets in the way of the trolling motor lower unit. The tension screw adjusts with the shaft itself, tightening or loosening the shaft attachment in the head, so if you loosen it too much, the shaft will wobble out the bottom of the head. It took me a while to adjust, but it's definitely possible.



Thad

 

[Teri C.]

Thanks Thad! I will play around with that when I have a little time.