How long does your co-pilot last before it needs replacement? I went through 2 complete units within 4 years. I do take care of the unit as instructed in the owners manual. I love the feature and the benefits of wireless remote with the PDAP. Question,, am I expecting to much to have them last longer than 2 years? I never had any issues with other products from MinnKota,,, knock on wood.


N.T.

I wish they could be repaired....

I had a unit on my last boat and used it heavily and never once had an issue. My new boat aslo has copilot and no issues with that one either

I'm on the third season with my original Co-Pilot and no problems at all so far- might need a new battery for the remote control at the end of this season.

I use my Co-Pilot on a 55# bow-mount. I use the bow-mount to troll plugs and crawler harnesses, so it has been run for many hours. I use the remote for all steering and speed adjustments.

Mine is probably 6 years old and works perfectly.

I believe mine is 6 years old as well, I have never had a problem with it, so far.

I had an intermittent short in mine. I believe the unit came with a 1-year warranty.

My short showed up in month 13. The prop on the TM would simply stop working.

Took me a while to isolate the cause for the failure -- was it the TM, the foot pedal, connections, or the Co-pilot???? Turned out to have been the Co-Pilot. The fact that it was very intermittent meant it took me about 3 or 4 week-long fishing trips over a couple months to isolate it, despite a visit to our local MinnKota repair guy. It simply would not recur frequently enough to find the source of the problem. By the time I figured out what the problem was, the warranty was expired.

I won't buy another.

My first one went out in the first year. The warranty replacement is going on it's third year.

I talked to the Minnkota factory service. They said to send it back with a letter of explanation and they will see what they can do. Nice people they have there in Mankato and very helpful too!! I'm glad to see that most everyone likes their Co Pilot,,,, I do as well and cant imagine being with out one.

N.T.

I've had mine for about a year now - no problems with it - although it seems my 24v 80 US/AP doesnt last as long? Does the Copilot pull more juice - or are my 2 yo deep cycles going south on me? I have load tested them - and they show ok....but pulling plugs at 2.5mph - I cant get more than 2-3 hours out of the system.

I've had mine for about a year now - no problems with it - although it seems my 24v 80 US/AP doesnt last as long? Does the Copilot pull more juice - or are my 2 yo deep cycles going south on me? I have load tested them - and they show ok....but pulling plugs at 2.5mph - I cant get more than 2-3 hours out of the system.


Ryan, my Co-Pilot did NOT have that effect. My batteries lasted as long with the Co-Pilot on as they did after I took it off. And, I am on my TM batteries 6 hours a day.

Sorry I can't help you further. If your batteries were load tested ok, that would mean your charger does work to charge them properly, your batteries do accept a full charge, and your batteries should stand up to a full load for their rated capacity. I would not know where to look from there, assuming you don't have anything else hooked up to those batteries and that you charge them fully before using them.

Batteries DO self-discharge and Deep Cycle batteries self-discharge faster than regular starting batteries. I am assuming you charge your batteries and then use them right away. If that is not the case, maybe you need to charge them with a trickle charge between uses and make sure they are fully charged when you take the boat out and not just before you load test them.

Thanks labs.

I didnt think the Copilot should have had any additional effect on my batteries. Likely just coincidental. I tried an off brand deep cycle this last time around - and shouldnt be surprized that I'm only getting 2 years out of them.

I always plug in my on board 5/5 as soon as I get the boat home, cleaned up, and backed in the shed again after a trip. I will try plugging it in prior to taking a trip to see if that makes a difference - before I replace my batteries.

I troll with my 74AP with Co-Pilot for up to 8 hours before I notice a battery drop off.

Thanks labs.

I didnt think the Copilot should have had any additional effect on my batteries. Likely just coincidental. I tried an off brand deep cycle this last time around - and shouldnt be surprized that I'm only getting 2 years out of them.

I always plug in my on board 5/5 as soon as I get the boat home, cleaned up, and backed in the shed again after a trip. I will try plugging it in prior to taking a trip to see if that makes a difference - before I replace my batteries.


I hope that makes the difference. BUT, be sure to top off your batteries after you get back from the fishing outing, too. You do still need to do that. THEN, also put the charger on them the night before going out for your next outing. Even "off brand" batteries can be good. If I remember my coaching from "Batteries Plus" correctly, there are only like 3 (or was it 5?? ... it was a relatively small number, anyway!) companies that make batteries, so the so-called "off brand" may not be as bad as you think.

I agree labs.

The batteries in question are the big CarQuest "Marine" series deep cycles. Yes - I have the boat plugged in the night after the trip religiously. I have a pretty stout routine when I get home from a trip - nothing is neglected.

My appologies for hijacking the thread....