What amp size do I need for a minn kota 36v? Reading online minn kota recommends 60 amp. But the 60 amp will trip every now and then. It was really windy today. Not sure if that will cause it. And also since TM and batteries were just installed, batteries weren't strapped down. Will batteries sliding around cause the breaker to trip? TIA.

Sliding around? maybe short if da ternimals touched sumting.

too small a wire will cause the breaker to trip, what ga. did they use?

which tm is it? ulterra, ultrex, fortrex etc.

check all battery grounds.

does it plug in or is it hardwired?

60a should be the right size

Ulterra. Battery to battery is 2 ga. To the trolling motor is 8 ga. Got some.battery tie down straps now. Will install it tomorrow.

You should have a 60A breaker. Theoretically, the wire should be 8 gauge minimum, even per Minn Kota. But, I wouldn't like doing that (margins too close); I'd go with 6 gauge, which is what's in most any decent boat. A high resistance connection (think loose here) could cause the amps to soar, tripping the breaker. Batteries sliding around can work the wires loose on the terminals. Assuming your wiring is 6 gauge, there's some fault causing your issue. If you are using wing nuts on batteries, you need to ditch those and get stainless steel lock nuts. Put them snug, not torqued hard as you don't want to shear off the battery stud. Even then, sliding around can loosen the terminals as the batteries pull against one another.

Got the straps installed today. Check terminals and checked to make sure nothing was bumping into the terminal but the breaker still popped. I noticed when the TM was struggling to hold in this wind and try to get the TM to do something else or when the wind blows boat off anchor, the breaker pops. So I'm thinking I'm dealing with a crappy amazon breaker. Going to get the minn kota brand breaker. Hope that solves the problem.

Try a new circuit breaker. Sometimes they just don't hold up to the amps their suppose to. If that's not the problem then it may be the TM motor.

Minn Kota doesn't make breakers. Most of the legit ones are made by ONE company. Get Blue Sea, Bussman, HiAmp. Step 1 is just stay away from the chi-name ones.

What gauge are the jumper wires? Are you sure you have 3 batteries properly connected in series, with + of one battery to the - of the next battery? Post us some pics. You may be missing something since this is all new. Were new connectors crimped onto the wires? and who did those crimps and how? Also, is it tripping the breaker if you run the TM with the motor not in the water? (This means there is 0 load on the TM, so amps are very low. A tripping breaker makes me think you have done something wrong. This is actually more likely than the breaker being an issue.)

How long is the 8 gauge run from the battery to breaker and then to the bow. I don't like 8 gauge with 60 amp breakers, but technically it won't burn. (but you will have more voltage drop and therefore less TM power than you would with 6 gauge.)

The batteries are connected correctly in series. It worked fine when tested inside marina where we were protected from the wind. Breaker only popped when we tested out in the main lake with what seems like hurricane forced winds. Lol. But even then, it shouldn't pop. The jumpers are 2 gauge cables. Cables to the TM are 8 ga which are about 6 ft long that I could shorten another ft or so. I only went with 8 ga cause the TM plug we got, that is rated for 36v, says for cable sizes 8 ga and smaller. This is the breaker in planning to get. Says minn kota but its not printed on the breaker itself in the pic. So who knows.

The gauge from the battery to the breaker is 8 ga. Should that be 2 gauge as well? And it was crimped by me I have a lug crimping tool.

get one you can manually trip while charging, shuts down everything from breaker forward.

https://www.elecdirect.com/fuse-hol...e9pWPIEmRbKiWlRoGkTg0-Ss1NYaAqTZEALw_wcB

6ga. will work, 2 if you have the cable laying around already.

I used 4 I think to make my jumpers but it was extra from some work on our side by sides.

I have some 4 ga laying. Ill try that too when I get the new breaker installed.

60a tripping indicates some other issue other than the 8gauge you’re using. Check all your connections and crimps. A bad connection causes the wire to heat up when running. It’s a thermal switch tripping. This happeneded to me. I found a bad crimp to the connector. Voltmeter is required to troubleshoot.
Tim