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4 wire trolling motor plug elimination #12599573 01/29/18 02:29 AM
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stapler101 Offline OP
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My 99 triton has a trolling motor plug that has 2 red and 2 black wires running from batteries to front of boat. My plug went bad.
Can I simply join the 2 red positive wires to the positive TM wire and the 2 black negatives to the TM negative and eliminate the plug?
Since each wire has a wire terminal I was just going to bolt them together.
This would be much easier than rewiring.


If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough! ------Mario Andretti
Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12599764 01/29/18 05:08 AM
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It is not recommended to hard wire the trolling motor. It should be unplugged when charging batteries.


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Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12599803 01/29/18 06:59 AM
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Bobby Milam Offline
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If you hardwire it you'll want to put a cut off switch between it and the battery.

Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12599832 01/29/18 11:44 AM
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stapler101 Offline OP
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thanks guys for the info.
I don't know which part of my plug is bad, the plug or the receptacle.
I am not finding a 4 wire in receptacle.
Without removing wiring, can I just connect both positives to the same side of a 2 wire receptacle and do the same with the negatives?
My inboard charger connects directly to the batteries and has a separate plugin for the charger. I do not use the trolling motor plug in to charge my batteries.

Last edited by stapler101; 01/29/18 11:57 AM.

If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough! ------Mario Andretti
Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12599863 01/29/18 12:51 PM
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fordnut Offline
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only if you have a 12volt trolling motor. New trolling motors these days are 24volt or 36volt my old trolling motor was a 12/24volt. All depends on what you have. This is a wiring diagram for a 12/24volt where you could convert to a three wire plug. It's not drawn in here but a breaker should be on each of the reds leaving the batteries.



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Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12599980 01/29/18 02:42 PM
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stapler101 Offline OP
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My two batteries are not jumpered together. There is a set of wires from each batteriy ran to the front of the boat. My existing receptacle has 2 12 volt hot and 2 negatives attached attached giving me the 24 volts


If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough! ------Mario Andretti
Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12600986 01/30/18 12:32 AM
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stapler101 Offline OP
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Problem solved. I replaced my 4 wire with 2 wires, hooked the batteries in series and installed a minn Kota plug


If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough! ------Mario Andretti
Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12601054 01/30/18 01:03 AM
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Bobby Milam Offline
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I was just about to post if you have 4 wires then they are old and probably not even the correct gauge and you should replace. Glad you got it fixed.

To address one thing that you said. "My inboard charger connects directly to the batteries and has a separate plugin for the charger. I do not use the trolling motor plug in to charge my batteries". Comments made about charging and trolling motor being plugged in. We understand that you charge from the battery but while it is charging, you should unplug the trolling motor. Leaving it in can damage some internal parts in the long run.

Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12601845 01/30/18 02:43 PM
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Just now saw this post and glad you got it fixed. For future reference and someone reading the is post in a similar situation, yes you can use the existing wiring if the gauge is correct. Todays trolling motors work better with 6ga wire over a 40' run (20' to and 20' back most common harness) then the older 8 or 10ga. Your plug you had made the jump in the male part of the plug and likely that jumper strip is what burned. Any way, using the wires paired as you said, and jumping the batteries would give you the 24V you were looking for. As mentioned above, when hardwired, you need to have a means of cutting the power going to the trolling motor else risk damage to the trolling motor control board if you're running a MinnKota. If you have a Motorguide, the on/off switch on the side of the footpedal disconnects it from the battery.
John


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Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12603336 01/31/18 04:22 AM
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stapler101 Offline OP
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Thanks guys!
BTW, the wire from batteries to front is huge,
I don't know the guage but ii was barely able to insert it into the Minn Kota plug I bought.


If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough! ------Mario Andretti
Re: 4 wire trolling motor plug elimination [Re: stapler101] #12603378 01/31/18 05:38 AM
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To use the Minn Kota plug with 6awg wire you should of bought the adapter MKR-18. I went with a beefier plug and bought a marinco 70amp trolling motor plug, it Accepts up to 4awg with out any issues.

Last edited by CraZyNOTRT; 01/31/18 05:38 AM.
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