A couple of days ago I was out in the middle of the lake and suddenly my pontoon boat stopped working.

It has a Minn Kota trolling motor with a 27DC marine battery.

The motor is only about 3-4 months old as is the battery. Everything has been running great all summer until this sudden event.

I waited a couple of minutes and everything started working again and I didn't have far to make it back to the dock but then the + side of the battery started sparking and I'd stop and let it cool down. Then try again and go and part under the nut with the red cable would become engulfed in a flaming circle.

Finally I decided that was enough and paddled back in. I took a better look at it and the end of the red cable from the motor connected to the battery is torched/melted and half of the top of the + side of the battery is melted as well.

Does anyone know if I need to replace either the battery or the motor or is it both? Or perhaps just the battery and the cable? Thank in advance.

Have you checked the rectifier? It can cause overheating, melting, and lots of smoke- you can guess how I know. I've made that paddle before.

cupofjoe04 said:

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Have you checked the rectifier? It can cause overheating, melting, and lots of smoke- you can guess how I know. I've made that paddle before.

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I have not and wouldn't even know how to (nearly failed Industrial Distribution because of the eletrcrical courses).

My buddy was over a minute ago and looked at it and said he'd not seen this before. Said I should just get a new battery for free since that toasted one has a 1 year warranty, snip the end of the melted red wire from the battery to the motor, reclamp, and get going again.

Could this have just been a result of leaving the pontoon boat out uncovered all summer in the Texas sun? I'd much rather be getting a free replacement battery than spending another $350 on a new motor that isn't even old.

I think we're supposed to put coke on it or something?

Only other thing that comes to mind is that the motor itself may have shlt the bed, shorted windings, etc. Definitely get it checked out before potentially sacrificing a new battery.

Wearer of the Ring said:

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Just to be safe better get a new boat.

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Sir-this boat was just built with everything shipped to me from Pond King as a DIY project and completed in conjunction with the installation of the motor and battery by my guy.

It's been a dream hammering bass all summer until this strange situation that I want resolved posthaste.

Also, I do have an old boat if anybody wants it. Check the snake thread.

Definitely get an in line marine breaker or fuse rated for just over the max trolling motor current draw. Something around 50-70 amp usually. The heat in a circuit that is drawing high current will be where the most resistance is. That is typically at the posts or connections. A battery internal defect at the post is possible.

P=i*v

Make sure also you have a 12v trolling motor if you are using a single 12v battery. 24v windings should dtaw half the current as 12v but if you have a 12v motor on a 24v battery setup then you can overheat it with too much current.


Also, running a trolling motor at max speed for extended periods will expose any deficiency in the setup. My 12v motor draws 42 amp at max, and that is quite a bit. I use 8ga wiring to keep the heat from resistance down.