Probably Done with Motorguide

Motorguide History

2008 - Bought a new 24v Motorguide Tour Edition

2014 – TM started acting up and could not seem to get it fixed correctly
Bought another new 24v Motorguide Tour Edition

2017 – Found corrosion spot on side of TM. Allstar Marine said it was electrolysis in the motor (thankfully I bought the extended warranty) and replaced the entire lower end of the TM

2020 – Found a hot spot on side of TM (is still running for now) pic attached

Am I expecting too much? I use my boat 20-30 times a year ( 3 years = 75 times on the water) I got 6 years out of my first MG (not bad I guess?)

There are a lot of new TM’s on the market, any suggestions? I run Humminbird graphs and may use spot lock if I had it.

I am right there with you... I purchased an Xi5 this spring... out the box, the magnet was broken...luckily, I was able to get it replaced by a warranty claim... still missed a day fishing on my spring vacation...

Went to Fork this week... the release latch (button) started to act up... basically, making it extremely difficult to deploy...

I had to disconnect the battery while on the water to get the alarm to stop beeping... I have no idea what that was about.

This TM is only 9 months old!!

I love the way it performs when in the water... but, I will not be buying another one in the future.

I have had two tour models since 2008, first one went with the boat when I sold it, new boat came with one also. Had to have a new head unit replaced on the new boat because it was the old models that had the built in tranducer that leaked, head was full of water. Except for the second one with the transducer they have been great, zero problems. I recommend upgrading the pulley wheels from plastic to stainless, might save you some headaches in the future. Will definitely look at the new tour they have now when time to replace comes, Lowrance is too expensive, Garmin is too big and I just had bad luck with MK pre 2008. I will agree the X5 was a piece of junk.

Electrolysis and hot spots can be caused by other issues other then the TM..
- Electrolysis will also be showing up on your outboard motor's lower unit, jack plate and sometime even the prop.; if there is an electoral problem going on. There will be an excessive amount of white power corrosion and discoloration on these areas.
- Hot spots on the TM. foot and switches going out can be cause by leaving the TM. plugged in while charging the batteries. A power breaker is required in the back of the boat to kill power to the TM. if it is hard wired.
- Electrolysis can go all through the wiring system if a Power shutoff system is not used on the cranking battery and another for the TM. Batteries.
- If there is a Ground Wire problem Electrolysis forms when you are running the trolling motor and sends a small amount of current through the water to the next lowest metal object in the water, which will be the prop. and lower unit of the big motor. This causes the white power to form and prop. discoloration.
- This happens many times when someone tries to tie into a power source at the bow or under the console of the boat instead of running designated wires from the batteries to the bow.

Yes you are expecting too much.

If you bought it in 2008 and use it 20-30 times a year that TM doesn’t owe you a thing.

Disclaimer I am not a motor guide user haven’t own a MG for 20 years

This is right always unplug from the bow when charging, a friend had his boat catch fire because of this

If it makes you feel any better. My Ultrex has been in for warranty work twice in the last year. Purchased in 2018. 2019/2020 armature burned up, had to have foot pedal replaced.

Motorguide hasn't been good in close to a decade now. Their old Tour editions with the gator mounts were tough as could be. A lot of people liked them because the early model fortrex mounts were very plasticy and prone to breaking. But Minn Kota has been making superior motors for a solid 4-5 years now.

He bought one in 2008 that only lasted until 2014.

Then he bought another one that has lasted the exact same amount of time!

Well MG is consistent if nothing else.

Sorry love my Xi5 had 2 of them sold one of the boats.. was fishing around150 nights a year probably 400 + times on water only had (1) issue the gps module down one day and warranty took care of it. Motor worked fine just no spotlock or using my pre-recorded trails.
Prior to Xi5 MG Tour 109 hand control it was a beast also was reliable.

Prolly a good decision....

I have no signs of electrolysis anywhere on the big motor. To try and determine when the TM is getting hot, I charged the Trolling batteries without tripping the breaker and the TM never got hot. Then I ran the TM on "constant on" for 30 minutes and the motor got warm to the touch. Given this test had no "load" on the TM (I ran it out of the water), I have to conclude it is getting hot when running under a load. Therefore, I think the cause of heat is internal to TM and has nothing to do with charging methodology. BTW, my TM is the old style Tour Edition with the gator mount. Thoughts?

You need to contact jones trolling motor in Texarkana, he is the tour model whisperer. He will also answer your PM's on bass boat central in the trolling motor forums there

My first Motorguide was a Motorguide Super, it had two speeds, low and high. High was probably 15 or 20 lbs of thrust.
It came on a boat I bought in 1980.

I've used other brands, and I'm sure some of the new stuff is great, but Motorguide has always held up for me and done a good job.

Bought my first new bass boat in 1978, it came with a Ram Glide trolling motor which crapped out within a year. Replaced that with an MG and have run many of them over the past 42 years. Interspersed along the way have been several MK that have mostly been nightmares. I spent 20+ years fishing mainly in Mexico where reliability is the utmost concern. No place to buy a new trolling motor or get parts when you're 500+ miles into Mexico. I always carried two spare parts, a steering cable and the microswitch for the foot control. The only issue I ever experienced was the contact points in the foot control sticking when I got tangled in a net on El Salto. At that time I wasn't carrying a spare, so I pulled the switch, cracked the cased open, filed the points, epoxied it back together and in less than 1 hour was back fishing. That was 18 years ago and that old switch is still in a box in the garage. I tested it a few months back with a meter and she's still good to go. I currently have an XI5 on the bow of my BassCat and it's given me zero issues in the two years I've run it.

I had a MG in late 80's, early 90s that fried boards a lot. Haven't owned one since and never will.

I have an Xi5 I purchased in September for a boat I recently bought. I have had absolutely no problems with it.
I don’t are much for the remote foot control, I like the hand remote and how quite it is compared to the Ultrex on my other boat. (The ultrex was in the shop twice for warranty repair within the first nine months of owning it)
I am kicking around the thought of selling the Xi5 then purchasing the tour edition that has gps and spot lock.
My Xi5 is 36v 109t 48” has both hand and foot control. I may put it in the classified ads on here.

How quite is it? I'm not sure how to measure quite.

Good luck on the new tour pro. Been a year now since MG announced it and it still hasn't made it to market.

MG is all i have owned since I bought my 1st boat in 85. They have all been very dependable and durable. I'm very hard on equipment

It’s not a measurement it’s a comparison between my Ultrex and my Xi5, the Ultrex makes a lot more noise.


Thanks, I bet they sell fast when they are available (cable steering,HD sonar, pin point GPS, spot lock, adapter cables for electronics)

I have had both MG and Minn Kota. Like any trailer motor, I have had to have my MGs worked on occasionally. It seemed like my Minn Kotas broke down way too often. I'll stick with MG.