"Minn Kota DIY Trolling Motor Repair: From Dumpster to Water - BIG Surprise at the end!"

Welcome to my latest KZbin video! If you're a regular viewer of my channel, you've probably seen my old trolling motor hanging out on my work bench vice in the background of many of my videos. But with spring just around the corner and some free time on my hands, I decided to tackle the challenge of fixing up this old motor.
The repair process had its ups and downs, with a couple of BIG surprises along the way. But with very little money spent, I managed to take a motor that was destined for the dumpster and get it back up and running... well, sorta! You'll have to watch until the end of the video to see what I mean.
Join me as I dive into the world of DIY trolling motor repair, sharing all of the tips and tricks I learned along the way. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out with your own repairs, there's something here for everyone.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride as we bring this old motor back to life. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe to my channel for more DIY adventures and fishing fun!

[@danielohara2974]

Great video... some motors will run backwards if you put the magnet housing in wrong. All you have to do is rotate the magnet housing 180 degrees and that will put the magnets polarity the correct way and it should fix it.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Great comment. Thanks for helping everyone here and thanks for watching.

[@mick9850]

yep. It's exactly this. I learned this the hard way last weekend when I replaced my armature and got out to my fishing spot to find that my motor was in reverse. I drove home to fix it and headed back out. Lesson learned

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

@@mick9850 oh no!! Well we know better now! Lol

[@TheGravySluprinBaptist]

Hey, I wanted to let you know I know why your trolling motor is running in reverse. You put your magnet on backwards. You did everything correct -Don't worry! It's just you put the magnet on backwards and that is causing your directions to be off. Switch it around and it will be completely fine.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Ha ha. Yes. I did end up flipping it around. Work much better now. Thanks for the comment.

[@BPRescue]

Just learned more than I ever wanted on these motors and know what your issue is. Yay KZbin! While the videos did not identify my specific issue, it helped me understand how it works so that I could troubleshoot. Minn Kota did not help much other than to tell me to open up the lower unit to "look for water", then on the next call that I must have missed something, because I started at the battery, and tested voltage at every level from battery, to control board, to top cover, shaft, all the way to the brushes, and also tested the Armature for the appropriate continuity. But since they confirmed it "should be working" per my tests, I started trying to manipulate the brushes to confirm they were making contact with the armature. One stuck a hint, but the other would not move at all, and looking closer, I'm not sure if the wear of the brush melted the brush plate, but you saw melted material of some kind "welding" the brush to the brush plate. I could likely have just removed his extra material, cleaning up the brush plate with a file and brushes with 800 grit sandpaper, but for longevity and insurance, I decided to replace the brushes, brush plate and springs since once you take this apart, you need to replace the O ring between the center housing and prop end housing, 2 o rings at the bolts, and the gasket between the brush end housing and center housing. Since I needed to order parts from minn kota anyway, the parts I was looking at for doing it right was about $30 which is far cheaper than I anticipated spending. Maybe I need to give Minn Kota more credit. Their website has the schematic/parts lists, which allowed me to feel confident in pulling this apart and getting it back together properly, but also ability to order whatever component you want. I also found videos on the line (LOL) by Minn Kota explaining how to pull the lower end apart (mine was 3 5/8") and it was excellent in showing the removal process and what to look for. The only thing that bothered me is when he said "replace if worn", but did not explain what "worn" looks like. It's not like a tire where tread will tell you. But since everything he told me to do in troubleshooting looked good such as continuity on the armature, and I also decided to confirm all pathways from the the top of the shaft to the brushes, I concentrated on the brushes themselves and while they did not look worn, that is when I tried to move them and found no movement on one of them. So this video was immensely helpful, and helped more the technical support who after I told them I tested power to brushes, told me I needed to take it to a service center, it did help me understand how this works and troubleshoot further. In the end, since you should replace the seals once you pull the lower unit apart, the fix was anywhere from $6 just for the seals, or $30 for insurance to just replace the brush plate, brushes and springs as well. This would have been hundreds of dollars to bring to a service center and who knows how long. Anyway, to your reverse problem, your wires are probably fine since you say you paid close attention to this. The issue is likely your center housing on the lower unit. I noticed you did not mark alignment when you pulled the lower unit apart. It's a coin flip and you lost, LOL. If you mark the brush end housing, at the intersection with the center housing with tape, this will ensure proper alignment. If you pull the center housing off and rotate this 180 degrees (not flip), then your problem will be resolved. Since your seals are brand new, I'm sure you can just re grease and use them again. The magnets are what controls this and they are different, so if you put it on backwards, your motor will run the opposite direction. Also, the problem was likely just the water. Cleaning up and replacing the seals, maybe even the bearing you broke would have solved it.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Wow. I'm so glad it helped and that you we're able to get yours back together. I found the parts very inexpensive as well. I changed all the seals and did spin the armature to fix my reverse issue lol! Thanks for the comment and watching the video. This just made the time it took to make the video worth it if helped one person.

[@leeproulx7412]

Loved watching your video. It was amazing that it was holding that much water for a few years and you finding very little damage. I’m surprised the water wasn’t frozen. Hi Ash!

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Ash says “hey what’s up!” Lol

[@leeproulx7412]

@@NorthernHomeGarage hahaha! He is such a sweet puppy.

[@bakervinci163]

Yeh. The battery is the rectangular looking thing with a red and a black nut on top

[@juslitor]

Out of curiosity, how has the forward prop shaft bearing fared ?

[@FattyMateo]

Anyone have an idea what I'm dealing with? I have a 2018 Terrova70, it was running super strong. Got a line wrap around prop. Tried to unwind it by hand. Probably pulled it super tight (to no avail). Took prop off, removed line. Put prop back on. Now i have almost no power when trolling. I can spotlock in a strong current and it holds, but at speed 10 I'm getting little to no thrust out of it when trolling. The troller reads full battery. Thoughts?

[@yurialvarez4854]

En caso de cambiar la polaridad al conectar el motor en la batería que pasaría??? Me compré un motor hace poco y está al revés 5 velocidad en reversa y solo 2 hacia delante

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

I’m not sure it work if connected to the battery backwards. The wires inside might be backwards if someone worked on it. I connected mine backwards.

[@justsnuggle]

Excellent video gives me the confidence to keep moving forward with mine. And I know it's not a competition but mine is way nastier inside than yours was ;) again thanks for the video

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

I didn’t think that was possible lol. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@bakervinci163]

I think the felt thing is where the shaft enters the motor

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

I think you are right!

[@charlesskinner3387]

Great job and video, you might be able to switch the leeds on the battery if it's not protected by a diode.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Hmmm good thinking. Thanks for watching!

[@jingsongli9346]

It happens to me as well. Simple fix is to reinsert 🧲 (out shell) reverse (upsidedown).

[@bakervinci163]

Did you consider your intrusion place being where the shaft attaches to the motor? It is a threaded attachment and can become loose from time to time. I have yet to confirm if water will get in from there, but I use these motors on my power poles as crappie brakes.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Hmm I never even thought of that. Thanks for the tip!

[@victorsimonsen921]

had the same thing happen with water getting in the motor fixed it but it only lasted a short time and it got water back in did it twice and gave up on the third time believe there was some sort of Manufactuing flaw in the housing but could not get it to stop leaking the thing was only 2 season old .

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

I think I figured out why mine had water in it. The whole motor was submerged a couple of years ago and I only took the top cover off to dry out the electrical parts. I didn’t know, or think that the tube was hollow all the way to the bottom. I suspect that’s when the water got in there. Well…at least I hope that’s what happened. Funny thing is, it still ran for a bit with all that water in there. Thanks for the comment.

[@victorsimonsen921]

mine kept running with the water in it also but it would stop running after a little while was not dependable so after three fixes gave up on it the motor was never submerged just must have had a leak somewhere put new seals and parts in it just could not get it to stop leaking water into the motor housing.

[@jj61051]

Twist the housing 180 it will fix it

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.

[@kingrichad]

I have no idea why but my minn kota is also reversed. You have to just switch the battery connections. Positive to negative and negative to positive.

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

I got mine fixed properly finally. Thanks for watching!

[@kyleransom2970]

I have that Stanley ratchet and it does the exact same thing. Works for about five cranks and flips back. Annoying

[@NorthernHomeGarage]

They drive me insane