I have a used Motorguide Brute 556 12/24 volt that I am trying to connect to my boat. It has a switch to flip between 12/24 on the head of the trolling motor. I can't seem to locate a wiring diagram. I have three wires coming from the front of my boat to the two batteries in the back. They are labled 24(red), 12(red), and "-"(black). I also have a small jumper wire to connect the two batteries. I need help determining what wires connect to which post for a true 12/24 system. I just got two new batteries and don't want to fry them. I also have 50amp fuses on both red wires.

Let's call one of your batteries and call it "Battery 1". Obviously the other becomes "Battery2". 24 (Red) goes to the + on Battery 1. 12 (Red) goes to the - on Battery 1 along with one end of your short wire. The other end of the short wire goes to + on Battery 2 and the - (Black) goes to the - of Battery 2.

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Thanks...TX Champ

One other question. When I hook up the on-board charger do I hook the red wire from the charger to the + and the black wire from the charger to the - on each battery?



[This message has been edited by 5Keepers (edited 01-19-2004).]

If you have a 2 or 3 bank charger then there is a pair (red & black) of wires for each battery. The charger outputs should be isolated, so you simply hook up a pair to each of your batteries. If you have a single bank charger then you can only charge one battery at a time, unless it's a 24v charger.

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I have a three bank charger. It has three separarate black and red pairs. I will hook them Red to + and Black to - on each battery.

Thanks for your help.

That's the ticket!

Hey 5keepers, on at least some of those 12/24 units, the jumper is in the plug! If it is, you don't need the jumper at the batteries.

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Hold off for a minute. I am going to post the wiring diagram from the manual on here!
O.K. Here it is. I uploaded the pic NOT RE-SIZED so that you could see it plainly. Anyone that wants it had better save this picture to your computer because I am going to take it off after a week. Large file! Neither of the red wires goes to the -, only the 1 black goes to a - post then a jumper goes from 1 of the + to one of the -. LOOK CLOSELY! Also in the second post below you will notice that Motorguide recommends wiring it WITHOUT a charge/run panel. I do not like the jumper being in the panel. That is what burned out that Johnson on old red Reggie. Most older boats jumper up there is not heavy enough wire. Better to do it in the back at the batteries.


[This message has been edited by j.steve (edited 01-19-2004).]

[This message has been edited by j.steve (edited 01-20-2004).]

Here is the other for 12v and 12/24 with "Charge/Run" panel.

Steve, really doesn't make any difference which battery you hook the 12V lead to since the jumper makes the two posts the same potential.

Also, that's the way Red was wired to the front plug when I got her. Wasn't any different than wiring a plug and plugging it into the panel. You just never wanted to change the switch to the charge position. That put the batteries in parallel to charge them with a 12v charger from the panel.

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[This message has been edited by TX Champ (edited 01-20-2004).]

Thanks guys for all of the info. I will hook it up tonight and let you know how it goes.

j.steve: Where did you find the manual? Do you have a hard copy or did you find it on the internet? I looked on Motorguide's website, but it was not too helpful.

What is a Charge/Run panel? I don't think I have one of them. I took the plug off of my old motorguide and wired it to the new trolling motor the same way it was on the older one.

<12 (Red) goes to the - on Battery 1 along with one end of your short wire.>

Reggie, I just never liked hooking a red lead to a - terminal like you said, that's all. Just like doing it the way the book shows. The factory wiring on red was light(too light IMHO) and when the Johnson went out it was because the connectors where all the wires joined melted and crossed the 2 hot leads. The 93 I have now has heavier wire and has the jumper in the charge/run panel and has 4 leads back in the battery compartment with them coming out of the factory breakers, probably just like yours. If I ever re-wire it, it will be the way it shows in the book with the jumper on the batteries itself.
5keepers, I have the manual that came with a 556 I used to have. The same manual works for a lot of different models. The charge/run panel is up front if you have it and usually will be a 3 way switch next to where your trolling motor plug goes into it. Most older boats have that. A 98 model I used to have did not have it.

You might try to install a 12/24 switch instead of hard wiring it to the boat. I have a 12/24 swith and plate where I plug in my trolling motor. I do know some one who can definately tell you what you need to know and should be able to walk you thru it on the phone, call Greg Ives @ Gulf Coast Trolling motors in Houston @ 281-481-0832 or you might call one of your local trolling motor shops

Just wanted to update everyone. I hooked up the trolling motor tonight. I wired it like the diagram above and everything seemed OK.

I'll have to take it out this weekend for a test drive.

Thanks again for all of the help.