Will a 36v trolling motor run on 24v?

[TonyM]

I've got a 36 volt trolling motor that is fairly new to me. It doesn't seem to last any longer or have any more power than the 24v motors I have had. I know there are some tests I need to do. In the meantime…Does anyone know if a 36v trolling motor will turn on 24v. Obviously it would have less power. Just curious if it would even spin. Thanks

[minnkotaman]

if it's a minnkota yes the boards are 24 or 36 volt.
but your amp draw will also increase. so your batteries
wont last as long.
voltage goes down amperage goes up

[TonyM]

Thanks Minnkota man. Yes…it's a Fortrex 101. Just has never had the power I expected moving up from a Maxxum 74. It was real weak after 5 hrs. on the Delta today. I suspect I might have one bad battery.

[Mitch]

Why would you even want to run a 36v on 24v ? You loose power and can even damage the motor. If adding a 4 battery is a problem, just incorporate the starting battery in and add a as you run battery charger. Pretty sure this will work. What do you think minnkotaman ?

[TonyM]

I'm not trying to run 36v on 24v. I have 3 trolling motor batteries. Like I said…I'm thinking one of my batteries may be bad. Still have some testing to do. Just didn't know if it would even turn if only getting 24v.

[minnkotaman]

check all of your connections for rust also, and tightness
and use a hydrometer to check each cell
in the battery. one bad cell drops the whole
system.

[Vernonn]

I came across a cheap battery tester: SOLAR BA5 100-1200 Cold Cranking Amps Electronic Battery Tester. It was about $50 on Amazon. It gives you a battery status reading. I have a small farm with lots of batteries and this device helps me determine when I need to replace them.

"Test 12-volt batteries from 100-1200 CCA, operating range from 7-15 volts
Test multiple battery types, including conventional, AGM, gel cell, spiral wound, and deep cycle batteries (with a starting rating)
LED indication of battery and system pass or fail (as applicable), plus derived reading for the battery tested
Easy to use--the device guides you through each step in the testing process
Bright 4-digit LED display is great for bright- or low-light settings"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Un32aQJq4

http://www.amazon.com/BA5-100-1200-Cran ... nce+tester

I'm not sponsored by this company - I could care less if they go out of business. It's just a neat useful tool that seems to work.

-vernon

[scottsweet]

I've got a 36 volt trolling motor that is fairly new to me. It doesn't seem to last any longer or have any more power than the 24v motors I have had. I know there are some tests I need to do. In the meantime…Does anyone know if a 36v trolling motor will turn on 24v. Obviously it would have less power. Just curious if it would even spin. Thanks

Tony, you may have a weak battery or cell in a battery. You really do not want to run a 36 V trolling motor system on 24V for an extended period of time. You will heat up your batteries and ruin them. The reality is that 3 12V batteries can get to 24V over use in the day and the trolling motor will run, albeit very slow.

The key to trolling motor batteries is that they are balanced. Balanced means they have equal voltage after a full charge and 12 hours to cool. They should be within 0.2 V of each other. When one battery is weak, more amperage is pulled from the other batteries and that will weaken them too. Over time, you will ruin them.

[TonyM]

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.