I upgraded to a new trolling motor. I went to a 24v 80 pound from a 12v 42 pound trolling motor that came from stock.

I looked at Minn Kota's website and the wiring gauge is the same for both so I figured if it handled 12volts, it will handle 24v. The problem is I took a look at the stock trolling motor cable. It is a pathetic 8 awg and according to Minn Kota's website it needs 6 or 4 awg. My boat's 16 feet long and the cable runs the majority of that length. It must be at least 10 feet long. 8AWG!? What the heck Tracker!?

Will I be ok or should I replace the r 4stupid thing and go with 6 o

If you didn't die with the old trolling motor then you won't die with the new one. 😊

If you're like me and I'm sure most other folks, you don't spend much time with the trolling motor on its highest speed. I have an 80 lb Minn Kota and I've checked the current it draws. On 10 it actually pulls 41 amps, on 7.5 speed it pulls 20 amps. I would say 90% of the time the trolling motor is down it's on 3 or less. On 3 it draws 2.5 amps. So by having less than ideal wiring you are giving up a little performance at top speed. How important is that to you? If you just can't live without the extra 2% performance then go with 4 or 2 awg.

1 hour ago, Tennessee Boy said:

If you didn't die with the old trolling motor then you won't die with the new one. 😊

If you're like me and I'm sure most other folks, you don't spend much time with the trolling motor on its highest speed. I have an 80 lb Minn Kota and I've checked the current it draws. On 10 it actually pulls 41 amps, on 7.5 speed it pulls 20 amps. I would say 90% of the time the trolling motor is down it's on 3 or less. On 3 it draws 2.5 amps. So by having less than ideal wiring you are giving up a little performance at top speed. How important is that to you? If you just can't live without the extra 2% performance then go with 4 or 2 awg.

Thanks. I just wanted to confirm what I thought. I don't care about losing performance at the top setting. I was mostly concerned from a safety perspective. When I had a 42 pound trolling motor, I was at max all the time, but it's because it was pretty underpowered for the boat. I'm going to have close to twice the power now.

Just make sure that you have a good breaker installed.

I was told by one of the mechanics at my boat dealership when I asked him a while back that the 24volt system actually draws less amperage or something along those lines because it is split over two batteries and the old wiring should be fine for 24v but 36 would be too much.? However, he DID tell me that before I switched over to 24V I would want to get the wiring tested as all boat manufacturers aren't the same and use different quality wiring just to make sure. Sounds kinda weird to me but I am not a boat mechanic so. I ended up staying with 12V anyways as I got a good deal on a new 12V motor that was on sale.

Your trolling motor needs electrical power, measured in watts. Power equals volts times amps. Wire heating is mainly caused by current flowing through resistance, and it rises with the square of the current. So for the same motor power, a 24-volt system can deliver that power with about half the current of a 12-volt system, which greatly reduces heating and voltage drop in the wiring. Higher voltage does not automatically make the system fire-safe, but it does let you deliver the same power more efficiently through the wires. A 36-volt system would be even better.

What Tennessee Boy says. 6 ga, in theory would be better, but you will never notice the difference in the real world unless you run wide open a LOT.

In the 70's we ran them on 10 because that's what could afford, or scrounge. Don't !

Go fishing.

On 4/10/2026 at 6:49 AM, Jig Man said:

Just make sure that you have a good breaker installed.

yeah. I followed minn kota's recommencation and put their 60 amp on.

On 4/10/2026 at 5:19 PM, mcipinkie said:

What Tennessee Boy says. 6 ga, in theory would be better, but you will never notice the difference in the real world unless you run wide open a LOT.

In the 70's we ran them on 10 because that's what could afford, or scrounge. Don't !

Go fishing.

Yeah. I think 2 things are happening. Tracker went with the minimum gauge necessary and minn kota is over inflating the requirements.

Tracker historically does things on the cheap shooting for first boat buyers while MK is playing CYA.

1 hour ago, Jig Man said:

Tracker historically does things on the cheap shooting for first boat buyers while MK is playing CYA.

Makes sense. I definitely love my tracker and have no regrets, but it's definitely a no frills type of boat.