Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Thread subject: Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos :: Trolling motor electrical question

Posted by Turpin on 04/05/13 - 10:48 PM

I have a 13 foot sport and have ran a trolling motor on the bow but when at top speed my breaker will kill the power after about 15-30 seconds (which it should) as the wiring gets very hot.
I think I'm running 8 ga wire (roughly 10ft) and am thinking of going with a 4ga wire (I found laying on my shelf). Does the ground need to be of the same size or can I go smaller and if so what ga would be recommended.

Posted by saumon on 04/06/13 - 5:18 AM

Mine (a Minnkota PowerDrive 55lbs) call for 6 gauge if needed to extend beyond the 4 ft. provided.

Personnaly, I have a 10 ft. run and used 6 gauge. Anyway, that's all I can fit in the TM plug and receptacle, and it's tight.

Posted by tmann45 on 04/06/13 - 9:15 AM

Turpin wrote:
Does the ground need to be of the same size or can I go smaller...

Both the hot and the ground need to be sized for the amp draw of the motor. If you over size the hot I guess you could have a ground that is sized correctly and be smaller than the hot, but I'm not an electrical engineer.

Posted by BillDemers on 04/06/13 - 2:39 PM

Might want to check for bad connections, or that something might be binding the trolling motor propeller. Just a couple things that can cause an over current situation making wiring heat up and trip circuit breakers.