Is it necessary to have a cut off switch going to your trolling motor, so u can turn main power off while charging. It says u need one in owners manual for minn kota but I havnt had one on my boat for over 10 years and havnt had any problems. Whats everyone's input about it

Same as you. Never had a problem without one.

News to me. Never had one...ever.

I just unplug mine

+1. Have done this for almost 30 years.

yep, unplug

Brand new info(to me). Is there some chance of the charger shorting out the trolling motor? I always put the speed switch on pedal to off on my Fortrex when stowing it for the last time at the end of a trip. More of a "safety thing" in case you accidentally hit the switch so I don't loose a finger. In many many years with many different motors I've never disconnected my trolling motor. With onboard multi-bank charger hooked up to all the batteries individually is there a need to disconnect? OFF on a Fortrex good as a power switch?

Never had a problem!Just unplug trolling motor from boat before charging batteries.

The issue is that the TM manufacturer can't know what your charger is doing (with respect to voltage and waveform it produces). There are limits for what electronic controlled TMs can tolerate. Some chargers could damage the TM if they exceed those limits either by design or if the charger experiences an electrical malfunction.

Those with any modern TM not disconnnecting their TM while charging are taking a risk. You may get away with it, or it may bite you one day - typically when it's most inconvenient. Another risk is that AC supply electrical surge events might go through a charger, frying it along the way to the TM, where it fries that too.

For a number of years, many boats have been built with a special breaker installed for the TM. In addition to being an electrical breaker, it has a lever that allows the user to manually trip it so that it is a defacto ON/OFF switch for the TM. Those are typically available for $30ish. I can look up a link if anyone needs an example.

EVERYTHING else on my boat is wired through a cut-off switch that disconnects both the positive and negative leads to the starting battery. This helps prevent an AC supply surge (lightning strike) from frying a lot of electronics via a connected charger.

When I want to connect the charger, I can isolate the entire electrical system by flipping one breaker, and one cut-off switch. This greatly reduces what may get fried if a serious surge occurs or the charger malfunctions wildly.

Yes, there is some chance of damaging the TM by leaving it connected while charging. Also many TM's will pull a small current just sitting there, so if you unplug your charger, you run the risk drawing down your batteries during storage.

Read my other long post for answers to part of what you ask. I agree that the OFF switch on the TM foot pedal is great for saving people from inadvertent bodily injury, but that is about all it does.

The main power to the TM does not run through that switch on the pedal. The switch on the pedal only disables the ability for the pedal button to make the motor rotate. There is still a main power connection to the TM head where the electronics are located. That can still be fried if you turn off the pedal switch.

This is correct also, especially for the ones with remote control FOBs or other wireless connections.

Bad things can happen. About 10 years ago I had an aluminum boat that I fished Spindletop reservoir with. One night while charging the battery my wife came screaming that the garage was on fire. Lots of horrible smelling smoke and a little fire. I ran out and unplugged the charger and opened the garage. When the smoke cleared I saw that everything electrical had melted. The minnkota motor had gotten so hot that the prop melted a little. The plastic/rubber that the motor sat on had a big "u" in it. I had to replace everything. I could never figure out where the fault occurred. After that I put a circuit breaker disconnect on the battery.

That is exactly why I take the precautions that I do. You were very lucky to be home to keep the damage/loss contained. A $30-$50 breaker or switch seems like a bargain in that it helps insure that type of nightmare doesn't happen.

Interesting info. My Ranger does have a switch in the bilge that cuts power to the trolling motor. Never thought of using it.