knotthereelworld Posted August 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2019 7 minutes ago, fishmanjj said: I’m surprised that Bass Pro didn’t just take it back and give you another one. They have big $$$$$ buying power and MK won’t argue with them. My local MK dealer here in Savannah told me to never charge the batteries with the motor plugged in. So, I never have. My 110 lb 36 v MK I Pilot is going on 4 years old and never had an issue and the spot lock works great. It’s used at least 5 times per month. Mine is the first generation and is not the Terrova or Ulterra or whatever the fancy ones are called. Thanks, I've read from numerous folks that said not do charge with it plugged in and others that have said it doesn't matter. What I find interesting is I specifically asked the MK reps if this was something I could have done to harm the motor. I figured a common response would be, well "Did you charge the batteries with it plugged in???" Out of four MK reps and one manager, not a single mention of that potentially causing harm, which tells me it isn't that big or common of a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted August 15, 2019 Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 Or maybe they don't want to talk about it. From my limited knowledge the problem comes from spikes in the voltage during charging as many new chargers have various programs built in. I have had more than one board fry over the years and it was when they were left plugged in. Related or not I would rather be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted August 15, 2019 Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 I am not sure if the new boards are any different but there are plenty of sites to buy them. I would raise enough heck until they sent a free board. No reason it couldn't be there the next day. There are many forums such a THT to also research and talk about your problems. Over the years I have never seen the head go bad, it is always the one in the base. I have bought boards from northlandmarine.com and they have always been helpful and can probably give you some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotthereelworld Posted August 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 4 hours ago, smilemaker said: I am not sure if the new boards are any different but there are plenty of sites to buy them. I would raise enough heck until they sent a free board. No reason it couldn't be there the next day. There are many forums such a THT to also research and talk about your problems. Over the years I have never seen the head go bad, it is always the one in the base. I have bought boards from northlandmarine.com and they have always been helpful and can probably give you some advice. Thanks Smilemaker, I got off the phone earlier with Andrew at Northland Marine. He explained a bunch of things to me and said that keeping it plugged in could result in frying the motor. Super nice guy and very helpful. However, Motortech in Suffolk, VA called me back and said that it most likely isn't a fried motherboard, something has gone wrong with the head. They are ordering a new head and motherboard to be safe and are going to get me fixed Monday or Tuesday. Going to cost me an extra $30 to get it mailed by then. I'm going to ask MK to pay for that $30, but I highly doubt I'll ever see that money. Motortech guy seems to know his stuff and I have confidence in him to repair it. This certainly has been quite the saga, hopefully I'll only miss out on three trips because of it and have the boat back and operational by Tuesday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rckeat Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 Tom at Motortech knows his stuff and has always done me right. You found the right guy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 Hopefully they will get you back on the water. Please let us know the final outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted August 16, 2019 Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 On 8/12/2019 at 11:02 AM, knotthereelworld said: Has anyone else had this issue? Yep. They replaced head, shaft, lower unit and boards. 3 times on one and once on another. Sold it after that while it was under warranty. Someone told me to keep my old ipilot as a spare and I did so wasn't stuck but very frustrating. Problem solved 👇🏼and though I haven't needed it, "power pole like" customer service. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotthereelworld Posted August 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2019 28 minutes ago, triplec said: Yep. They replaced head, shaft, lower unit and boards. 3 times on one and once on another. Sold it after that while it was under warranty. Someone told me to keep my old ipilot as a spare and I did so wasn't stuck but very frustrating. Problem solved 👇🏼and though I haven't needed it, "power pole like" customer service. Good to know, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotthereelworld Posted August 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2019 Went to see Motortech in Suffolk, VA as they got a motherboard and new head in yesterday afternoon. John handled the warranty claim and had my motor fixed in literally three minutes. Five star service by him, he's a super nice guy. The issue was water getting into the head and frying it, which is rare he said. The new one powered right up and connected to my old remote. We tested it for steering and power and she works again. Back to guiding the next three days, finally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McTarsney Posted August 8, 2020 Report Share Posted August 8, 2020 Did anyone figure out the solution to his I pilot head not picking up blue tooth or making the beeping sound. I am having the same issue. Neither my remote or iPhone link works anymore. Will not connect to blue tooth. When I press the I pilot head for pairing, I hear no beeps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ntty1@aol.com Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 On 8/12/2019 at 11:02 AM, knotthereelworld said: My 4 month old Terrova will no longer connect to my remote. It worked on Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday it only showed on the remote as "Motor Not Found." I called Minn Kota this morning who told me to double check the plug connection in the head. When the two ends slide together, they said no yellow (interior part of the plug) should be showing. I can see yellow, but it is razor blade thin. No matter how hard I push together, it won't go tight enough to not see yellow. I can't imagine this being the issue. She said maybe battery power isn't getting to the motor. The light comes on green when I turn it on and when I test it, it shows battery as full. Minn Kota rep had no other suggestions other than to a call dealer and take it to them. Dealer won't pick up the phone. I've pulled the batteries out of the remote, disconnected everything, reconnected everything, and tried every which way to get it operating. It won't recognize the motor or pair up. Has anyone else had this issue? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted August 25, 2020 Report Share Posted August 25, 2020 my understanding is that it was the head that went bad and not the board in the base. look at his last post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the fishing man Posted October 8, 2020 Report Share Posted October 8, 2020 I'm having the same exact problem and my motor is 4 months old. I was out on a lake yesterday and motor was always slow hooking up to remote. This time I decided to run with foot pad and motor wouldn't respond to footpad controls. Now motor can't be stowed automatically either. Battery light is on motor and I cou;d get the yellow light on the foot pedal for mode but could not get steering or continuos spun in trolling motor. Do basically unusable. Any idea where I shou;d go from here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmlee1979 Posted October 24, 2020 Report Share Posted October 24, 2020 On 8/12/2019 at 11:02 AM, knotthereelworld said: My 4 month old Terrova will no longer connect to my remote. It worked on Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday it only showed on the remote as "Motor Not Found." I called Minn Kota this morning who told me to double check the plug connection in the head. When the two ends slide together, they said no yellow (interior part of the plug) should be showing. I can see yellow, but it is razor blade thin. No matter how hard I push together, it won't go tight enough to not see yellow. I can't imagine this being the issue. She said maybe battery power isn't getting to the motor. The light comes on green when I turn it on and when I test it, it shows battery as full. Minn Kota rep had no other suggestions other than to a call dealer and take it to them. Dealer won't pick up the phone. I've pulled the batteries out of the remote, disconnected everything, reconnected everything, and tried every which way to get it operating. It won't recognize the motor or pair up. Has anyone else had this issue? Thanks! Did you ever find out what this was? I am having same exact issue with my Minn Kota i-Pilot remote and unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David McLaughlin Posted February 7, 2021 Report Share Posted February 7, 2021 I had the exact same problem today and my Ulterra motor is 1 month old! It’s only been in the water 3 times! I launched the boat this morning to go crappie fishing. Motor deployed at boat ramp. I turned it off to motor over to a fishing spot and the remote couldn’t find the motor! Tried every thing and no response. Went back home very frustrated and ready to put the motor in the box and ship it back to MK! I measured everything and all was SAT. Then I found this forum and saw NorthFl made comment on 8/12/19 about trying the pair button on head unit fixed his. I tried this on the water several times and nothing. However I didn’t hear the audible beep when pushing the button to pair. I went back out to my boat at home and this time when I hit pair button on the remote I held the pair button on head unit for a few seconds, I then got the audible beep and the unit paired and the remote worked! I pulled the boat outside To deploy motor several times and all is SAT! I am glad I found this topic on your forum. Perhaps I just didn’t hold the pair button down long enough on the water. Going to go out tomorrow morning and try it again. Hopefully this was an isolated case. Sorry to hear the guy who started this thread had so many problems to get his fixed! These motors are very expensive and we shouldn’t have the problems that started this thread. I don’t want I go off topic but when I installed my fresh water motor I noticed the circuit board at the motor is not encapsulated to prevent moisture problems! I called MK Tech support and they said the Salt water version is protected, the fresh water is not by design? Go figure that engineering. David Augusta, GA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speck fishing Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 I have a minnkota power drive 12va was having the same issues with connectivity saying motor not found as some on here looking for answers. And was easily fixed buy changing out the less than par batteries that come with the remote. Put some good batteries in it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotthereelworld Posted February 26, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/6/2021 at 10:33 PM, David McLaughlin said: I don’t want I go off topic but when I installed my fresh water motor I noticed the circuit board at the motor is not encapsulated to prevent moisture problems! I called MK Tech support and they said the Salt water version is protected, the fresh water is not by design? Go figure that engineering. First issue that I started this thread with turned out to be a bad head that a dealer fixed. My second issue with this motor about 10 months later was due to a corroded wire on the motherboard. It isn't truly protected, even if it is the salt version. Finally got the right person on the phone at MK and sent him photos of the wire that had just corroded in half and they sent me a new motherboard. I heavily coated all of the wiring in dialectic grease. So far, it is working again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidG Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 Just my 2 cents worth, I went through the same thing with “ motor not found” I took both boat and TM back to dealer. The very next day was called to pick boat up that problem was fixed. It turned out the problem was me! I had the habit of when crawling out to deploy it, I would always hit the power button and THEN hit the pair button each and every time. It was explained to me by their tech to just hit the power button and NOT the pair button as it has already been paired. Never had the problem since!....David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPH Posted May 1, 2021 Report Share Posted May 1, 2021 I have the same issue happening. Remote can’t find the motor and the motor hess as d is beeping 4 beeps repeatedly. How did you fix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Harris Posted May 7, 2021 Report Share Posted May 7, 2021 Go to systems on the remote and hit the pair button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Trapper Posted June 25, 2022 Report Share Posted June 25, 2022 My remote comes on...has power...trolling motor batteries show charged and they are, but the remote shows 0 mph, has 4 bars, but the speed control wont come off of 0. I ress the plus button to increse speed but it stays on 0. Press rabbit, and it stays on 0. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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