Minn Kota receptacle short

[Pat T]

I had Terrova I-pilot issues this weekend (80 lb. thrust). Just quit working while fishing using spot lock. Thought it was the remote, so change out the battery. No change. Plugged in and charged overnight. On board charger said batteries were full, but still no results. Had a heck of a time disconnecting. So thought I would take apart the receptacle and it appear to have been fried. Melted wires as shown in attached picture. Not sure what caused this, but when I contacted Minn Kota, they said I should go to a 60 amp receptacle. I think mine is a 40 amp. Waiting for a reply back from them as to what that part number would be, but wanted to ask my WC friends if they had ever addressed this issue and how best to resolve.

Thanks,
Pat T

[Farmerj]

your wires are undersized.....

[Huntindave]

I suggest an up grade.

power connector complete both ends

Marine wiring 6 gage

Resettable breaker 60 amp

[Hot Runr Guy]

^^^^^^^ Exactly what he said.

HRG

[KPKyllo]

You may or may not need heavier wire, but it looks to me like the negative wire connection may have gotten corroded. The connection gets corroded, the resistance goes sky high and heat is generated resulting in a melted receptacle. I've seen it before. Make sure your connections are good and tight when you install the new receptacle also. A poor connection can cause the same problem.


When you repair it, cut the wires off past the oxidized copper and make your new connection using clean, shiny wire too. Put some dielectric grease on the ends of the wires before you tighten them in the receptacle and some in the connection itself as well to prohibit corrosion. Be generous with it.
Also, replace your 40 amp breaker with a 60 amp circuit breaker if that's what you have. If you only have a 40 amp circuit breaker now, I'm surprised you haven't had issues with it tripping while using your trolling motor. Even if you do have a 40 amp circuit breaker, it's not the cause of your receptacle problem.
Good luck.

[Pat T]

Thanks guys. I am surprised Minn Kota doesn't offer this 60 amp connection, but they have referred me to Marinco products for the connection. My receptacle came with my Lund boat back in 2006. I have had this 80# Terrova for a little over a year and no issues until the other day. I was using spot lock on a pretty windy day, so probably pushing the limit. I think the wire is pretty heavy gauge but will try to confirm an run new wire if necessary.

[Farmerj]

No, it's simply undersized. Even my 2018 fishhawk came with that chinsy 8 AWG socket and wire. Why manufacturer's do this is beyond me. It's not hard to figure out correct wire size.

Minimum on this should be a 6AWG and appropriate socket .

60 amp load on a 10 foot run is 6 for safety and possibly even a 4AWG cable.

https://www.bluesea.com/resources/1437

[REW]

Remove your current trolling motor receptacle.

Cut off the end of the connector on the end of your trolling motor. Continue cutting until you get back to perfect wire on both the red and black wire with perfect insulation.

Purchase a new "Battery tender" plug and socket.
Install the new socket in your boat to replace your current panel, and put the new plug on your current trolling motor.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende...and+receptacle



Go fishing.

I doubt that you have undersized wire that would cause the issue.

However, I do completely believe that you have had a defective plug and socket connection that acted as a toaster and toasted the connector, plug and wire.

Also, when you replace the socket, check the wires coming from the battery and make sure that they have not been over heated and melted. If so, continue to cut back until you get perfect wire with perfect insulation. If you have to cut back very much, you may have to pull in a new set of wires or splice on some extensions.


https://www.amazon.com/Gauge-Heat-Sh.../dp/B00FHO9NCK

If you do use such a butt splice, be sure to use a crimping tool that will do an excellent job of crimping a splice of this size. If you don't have the tools, take it to a shop that does have the tools to do the job right.

[REW]

10-4 on the possible thought that you may have had "black wire" corrosion on your negative trolling motor terminal, in addition to the possible plug and socket corrosion.

Black wire corrosion is a type of corrosion that really only happens in DC power circuits. It only happens to the - or negative, or ground wire. i.e. it only happens on the black wire.

It normally only happens in an outdoor environment and it is more pronounced in a wet or in a marine environment.

This is one of the big reasons that most "marine certified" wire is tin or solder plated.

i.e. if the wire is tin plated - black wire corrosion will not affect the wire.

But, if it is a bare plastic insulated copper wire, the black or negative wire is affected by black wire corrosion.

You may often find this on a trailer ground wire. You grab the negative or ground wire and start stripping back the insulation. All that you find under the wire is a black wire. The problem with this black junky looking wire is that it is not very conductive and will tend to heat up. So, if you ever do run into black wire corrosion, you need to start stripping the wire back from the end of the wire, and continue to strip until you get back to shiny copper. If the black wire corrosion is bad enough, you may find that you can go from the entire end of the wire to the other end of the wire and find 0 good shiny copper wire. If so, then that wire needs to be completely replaced.

So, as I said originally - cut the trolling motor plug off your trolling motor and start strilling the wire insulation back on both the red and black wire - so that they stay the same length. Continue to strip the insulation until you get pure shiny copper wire to attach the new trolling motor plug.

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https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvis...nal-Tech-Specs

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https://www.practical-sailor.com/blo...n-10883-1.html

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http://www.batterybusiness.com.au/bl...wire-corrosion

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http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/for...?topic=31006.0

[NailsWI]

Originally Posted by Huntindave

I suggest an up grade.

power connector complete both ends

Marine wiring 6 gage

Resettable breaker 60 amp

that's the one I use and love it