HELP! Trolling motor hook on kayak

[kayak Dee]

Hi i have a predator 13 and just got the motor mount and a minn kots endura c2 30lb thrust motor and I thought the motor would have the connections on the wire and i would just connect to battery and go but not so. I purchased the clamps that look like jumper camble ends and they are silver the other ones i saw were brass. I have been using google to get some info and see that i cant just use any connectors and certain colors go for certain wire guages? and that i also need to put a breaker on one of the wires between the battery and motor. The closest i got to this was connecting my fish finder wires to the small battery and had trouble with that now i see its because i was not using the correct size connectors for the size wire. Can anyone help make this simple what does the breaker look like and where do i get it? what does the connectors look like that i should get?

[john from md]

Calm down and take a deep breath all is not lost.

First of all, your motor should have come with spade connectors so that it could be connected to a deep cycle battery. From what you have written, it sounds like you are planning to use a standard starting battery to power your motor as it has different posts than a deep cycle battery. If so, it won't last long because it is designed for starting and not for constant current drain. Depending how often you charge/discharge it, you probably won't get much more than a year of use from it. If you still want to use this, then you will have to change the lugs on the motor wire to either spring clamps or the type with a securing bolt. In either case I suggest soldering and crimping the connections for maximum current transfer.

As for the breaker, you can get one at Walmart for @ $9.00. The problem is that you have to wire it inline with the positive battery terminal. That will be difficult if you plan to use spring clamps.

The wire terminal ends and butt splices that you will need for the Minn Kota power wires are color coded yellow. Buy the gold plated ones in either Advance Auto or Autozone not the cheap ones at Walmart. Again I stress these should be soldered as well as crimped for maximum strength and current transmission.

If you google Battery University, it will take you to a site where you can learn all about batteries.

Regards,

John

[kayak Dee]

I purchased the motor as a open box special from walmart so the clamps must be missing. I don't want to do any soldering so should I just return the motor or is there another option with the clamps? The battery is a 55ah deep cycle marine battery I purchased from the kayak fishing store with my bass yak last year

[john from md]

Can you take a picture of the battery and the ends of the trolling motor leads? I can better advise you if I can see something.

You can email them to johnandnanc182@yahoo.com if you can't post them to this forum.

Regards,

John

[kayak Dee]

Can you take a picture of the battery and the ends of the trolling motor leads? I can better advise you if I can see something.

You can email them to johnandnanc182@yahoo.com if you can't post them to this forum.

Regards,

John

1403827279061battery.jpg

[kayak Dee]

1403826917027wire.jpg this is the wire I striped the ends but that's how it came with no clips and the box was opened. The pic above is of the battery and the package of terminal ends I purchased that will not fit around the bolts you see with the wing nut

[john from md]

Ok, that is the proper deep cycle battery with the proper bolt and nut type lugs for use with Minn Kota motors. If your motor leads have the U shaped terminal ends or the O type terminal ends, they will work with this battery. The only caveat is that the O type terminal ends have a big enough hole for the bolt to pass through. (disregard as I was typing this just before you posted the second post)

The terminal ends you are showing won't work because, while being the right size for the lead, the U shaped end is not wide or deep enough to go on the battery lug. If your motor leads do not have any lugs at all, then someone cut them off. You MAY be able to find the proper size at West Marine but again, they need to be soldered to give a good electrical connection.

If you can easily take the motor back and exchange it, that would be the simplest course of action.

Regards,

John

[kayak Dee]

John thanks I just looked at some youtube videos of unboxing of trolling motors and the had the leads alresdy on them so they were cut so I'm going to return it.