Ever looked at your trolling motor with frustrating concern and chatted subconsciously that, why is my trolling motor losing power. If yes, then this article is for you. Throughout the article, we will elaborate on all the causes of why a trolling motor loses its power and how to get rid of this issue.
Before we get right into the core- this problem occurs due to the lack of a good-grade battery. Though some other issues might occur meanwhile. But, replacing the battery will render you the utmost comfort in using the trolling motor.
However, let’s dive deep and find all the probable solutions to this problem-
Do Trolling Motors Lose Power Over Time
Apparently, in terms of electric equipment, the rate of consuming power will not be constant. It’s an utter fact. You can apply this annotation not just for trolling motors but any kind of electric tool. Your trolling motor might experience light wear and tear for this imbalance of power. Don’t get freaked out, by the way. Taking some necessary precautions will clear you out of this.
Another thing is, a trolling motor never uses the power efficiently as some power gets wasted during the operation. If you let it continue, the health of your trolling motor will go down day by day. And you can’t do anything about this. Do you want to know the solutions? Go with the flow of this article, then.
What Causes A Trolling Motor To Lose Power
A vast range of inconveniences could occur and reduce the power of your trolling motor way more than ever before. In the preface, I have mentioned one. In this portion, I will elaborate on more reasons that cause this inconvenience along with the previously mentioned one. Let’s grind this, homie.
Bad Battery
This is the most common and dangerous thing that can possibly happen to you. However, if your battery age is more than three years, I will highly recommend you replace that and get yourself a new one as soon as possible. To make sure, you can go through having some quick checks-
- Checking the battery voltage
Charge the battery and keep it at rest for 1 or 2 hours. After this, attach a voltmeter to the battery and check if the voltage is okay.
- Testing the water level
For a typical lead-acid battery, the cells should have enough water in them. If you somehow fail to fulfill this very criteria, your battery will degrade, and the trolling motor might stop working. A hydrometer will let you know the water level along with the specific gravity of your trolling motors’ battery cell.
Loose Connection
Check all the connections of your trolling motor. It includes plugs, terminals and stuff that are directly involved in running the motor. If you find any connection loose, invest enough time and fix that. Don’t leave anything undone. If you do, the wire points might get hotter, and it will bring nothing but impeccable trauma for you.
Using the Same Old Battery
Everything has limits. None of us can deny this. Following this fact, it’s somewhat essential to replace the battery after a certain amount of time. According to experts, this time is around three years. However, there isn’t any hard and fast rule. If you feel like your battery is not adequate to run the motor, then you can change it now, right at this moment. But practicing a pseudo replacement after every three years is ideal all the way.
Corrosive Battery Terminals
Facing this scenario is pretty normal. You may have noticed that some tan is gathered in your battery terminal where the wire joins. If you see these types of scenarios, invest some time and clean that corrosive part. Otherwise, the current may get blocked and won’t be able to get to the trolling motor.
Degraded Ground Wires
If you feel like the ground wires are somehow bad, it’s better to consult a marine professional electrician than applying home remedies. If you don’t replace the ground wires with a new one, the risk of getting shocked will increase day by day and you won’t be able to do anything against this.
Bounded Up Shaft
If the electric system seems accurate from your end, it might be the propeller shaft which could get bounded up by marine wastage or even by fishing lines. If this happens, clean the shaft and remove every possible garbage from it. And run the machine again. Your issues might have been solved now.
More or less, these are the most common issues that might have happened to your motors. Check the motor carefully, find out which one your trolling motor is enduring, and take steps according to that. Go nuts!
How to Test Your Trolling Motor for Power Issues
For testing your trolling motor to find out the power issues, you can follow these simple steps illustrated down below-
- Firstly, put both the probes with the connector holes. Using alligator clips, in this case, might be efficient.
- Take the voltmeter and measure the voltage adequately.
- Check the voltage, and if it’s below 36 volts, you must recheck other power issues. If it isn’t, the motor is healthy enough to serve you more.
However, this is the most straightforward voltage checking technique you will ever find anywhere else. And, it’s very common among fishers. Go for this pseudo check and move forward with validating the result.
How do I increase the power of my trolling motor?
It might seem ironic to you, but it’s true all the way. Thing is, the most efficient hack that you can implement to increase the power of your trolling motor is to change the motor. Just replacing the previous model with a new one won’t result in anything for sure. To get the most out of it, you’ll need to have a larger motor that has more power than the previous one.
Apart from this ironic suggestion, you can replace the battery with another powerful one in order to get a constant and accurate voltage every time. Doing so will also render your trolling motor with a uniform distribution of power. You can try this out whatsoever.
FAQs
The shortest possible answer to this question is- the battery of your trolling motor is damaged. Check the voltage of your battery along with all the connections. If you find any defect, try to replace it with a new one.
Though I mentioned this earlier in the piece- a trolling motor battery lasts somewhat 2-3 years. Having it connected for 3 years could be a good deal. You can change it anytime if you feel anything is wrong.
Final Thoughts
We have already reached the verge of this article. Till now, I delivered some words to you regarding the power issues of the trolling motor and described some probable reasons why this thing causes. However, if you feel like anything is still spiny to you, you’re requested to reread the article once. This way, you might get out of confusion. And don’t forget to share this with your friends and mates who need to read this directory.
Anyways, happy fishing, and don’t forget to seize the day!
