???I have a 12v Motorguide 46lb thrust on my 17' Triton 170 Mag II.  The motor quit working out on lake. Got home it started working. Quit again. Checked battery.Good. Bought new one anyway. Now motor is still working part time. When you turn it on it just winds down slowly just like the battery is low but its brand new. Anybody got any ideas?

                                            Thanks.

The first thing I would do is check your connections at the front and rear of the boat. It might just be as simple as 1 loose wire. I know once I forgot to hook up 1 stinking wire out of the dozens on my batteries and half of my electronics wouldn't work.

It took about 2 hours of messing with it before I found the 1 lone wire laying down behind my battery.

JT Bagwell

Also look under the foot control and make sure all the conections are well seated and check the plug in and make sure its still good. The quickest way to figure out where the power is being restrictive is to take a tester out and check from the battery on up to the trolling motor.

that same thing happend to me during a tournament this spring. it was one of the first couple times i had to charge it of the year. and during a tournament, my trolling motor wouldnt hold its charge, so i had to keep my lower unit running just to get the trickle charge off of it. it really hurt my day but i still managed a small limit.

after the tournament i found out it was only the bad connection i had, they must of gotten loose and they just wouldnt hold the charge.

duncast48TN,  Gotta love those Motorguides when they run.  

Had similar situation with my motorguide this summer and it was a real head scratcher for a couple weeks.  The local authorized reparman (JR Trolling Motor) in Vegas told me 90% of the time a problem like this either connections or bad batteries. John fishes the Angler Choice circuit and sees a lot of these situations.

Solved my problem with multitester, his bank of batteries and about an hours diagnostic effort.  Turned out the amperage draw starting the trolling motor (24v) was shorting out one of my deep cycle batteries internally.  The batteries tested good at the local autoparts store!

I have no affiliation with Trojan, but 2 new Trojan batteries solved the problem, but yours could also be poor connection(s).

link:  http://www.trojan-battery.com/TrojanPartNumber_2.asp

Thanks. Ihad the trolling motor checked. Checked out OK. Got a new battery so now I'll check all connections.

You may want to take it to a dealership!! Sounds like maybe your foot control switch is going bad!!! You may also want them to check your wire. I prefer 6 gauge it's plenty stout enough for a 12 volt trolling motor!!!!!!!!!

Well i took off the boat and back to the dealer where I bought it. They checked it and said they couldnt find any thing. So Im gonna hook up my boat and have them put motor back on and figure it out. Thanks ;D

duncast48TN,

This is list of Motorguide authorized service centers( from Motorguide site) in Tennesee.  If your dealer can't solve the problem then better try authorized service center. For this problem be sure to take the boat and motor mounted as they have to check the complete system.

Appliance Service Center

3560 Park Avenue

Memphis, TN 38111

Phone: 901-324-5898

Alternate Phone:

Fax: 901-324-3940

Linda's Lakeside Marine

436 Hwy 25 E

Bean Station, TN 37708

Phone: 865-993-4343

Alternate Phone:

Fax: 865-993-4862

Marine Electric Service

525 Savely Drive

Hendersonville, TN 37075

Phone: 615-824-3205

Alternate Phone:

Fax: 615-824-9295

Sport Outfitters

1152 Pine Street

Lebanon, TN 37087

Phone: 615-449-3515

Alternate Phone:

Fax: 615-444-6635

Swafford Electronics

6441 Friendsville Rd.

Lenoir City, TN 37771

Phone: 865-986-4455

Alternate Phone:

Fax: 865-986-4455

link to Motorguide Service:

http://www.motorguide.com/index.pl/service_centers

I had problems with the Motorguide Energy series - not related to charging and the Motorguide service people got repairs authorized.  Had to call several times. but finally satisfaction.

I had a similar problem with my 12/24V Minnkota.  It ran for awhile on 24v and died but would run on 12v.  I asked the trolling guru at the local shop who stated he thought it was the plug (worn/loose).  Put on a new pigtail...works fine ;D

I have a 12V 46lb MotorGuide and am having problems with the circular speed control dial.  

Sometimes the speed stays at a constant speed even if I turn the dial to the highest speed or the rabbit.

Other times the dial works fine.  Can these dials be replaced or has anyone had this problem

Thanks

Ftail

All good advice.  I'd also look at the fuse/fuseholder.  Sometimes they can go and produce similar results.

Ok Guys I finally got my trolling motor problem solved. Where the battery cables connect to the battery there is a circuit breaker. It went bad. It was a real head scratcher. The breaker was letting some power through some of the time. Other times it worked fine. It also has a reset button on it that I didnt know about. Took it out on lake today It worked like new. Got skunked on the fish though. Cost me 60.00 to get it fixed. :'( Mostly labor. The breaker is only 7.00. I know where it is now though! ;D 8) Thanks for everyones input ;D