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| Has anyone encountered their MinnKota Autopilot wandering at will when on the water even when the water is calm??? Any suggestions? |
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Member
Posts: 149
Location: Appleton, WI | Yes happened to mine, take it to anchor marine in appleton, they are a service center for the fox valley.(assuming you live in or neer the Appleton aera) they fixed something in the head and has been working good ever since. |
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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | I have become an unofficial minn kota tech. theres a few things you can do. and if you can hold a phillips head screw driver in your dominant hand you will be able to do it yourself  it is, that easy. peal the head off and check if your compass board is the old style or new style. the new style will have the silicon board incased in black rubber like waterproofing compound. if you have the old one. buy the new style board. if you have a new style board make sure the water compass on the head is level when its on your boat. some boats bow's curve in which case you will need to level the compass. if neither work. order a new compass board. its as easy is switching a few color coded wires. minn-kota makes it so owner can fix them yourselfs. they are very easy to work with.. if you need a new compass board i have a good one here, new style. i will give you a better deal then anchor marine and/or minn kota dealer.
if you got questions if you private msg me ill give you my number. its no fun paying for a full hour of service when it can be done in 5 minutes. anchor marine has a "minimum 1 hour charge"
thats what made me crack mine open. and the tech told me to do it myself after i asked him if it were easy.
easy as pie. feal free to email me any questions. i have tons of extra parts off an 05 80lb
[email protected]
Edited by budsbud66 9/15/2008 8:07 PM
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Member
Posts: 2445
Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | There is one other possibility. when your batteries get low, it will cause it to wander. If your batteries are old, they will drain quicker. look at that option completely before "Cracking" The head. I have seen people spend money "Fixing" It and then buy new batteries and all is good. |
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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | Thats a intertesting tid bid of info to put into my memory bank, thanks denny!
(it does make sence if batteries are old and your not getting good voltage to the motor) Try busting out a volto-meter after its wandering... give everything a few to cool down thoe
- like i said thoe, if you have the old style compass board, definatly dont hesitate to waste a second changing it. if its ok now, the old boards will go. the new style ones are good and reliable.
Edited by budsbud66 9/16/2008 9:52 AM
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Member
Posts: 921
Location: Manitowoc, WI | The voltage in the battery may be good when you check them. However, make sure the electrolyte Specific Gravity is at the recommended spec for the battery manufacturer. When the electrolyte gets week, the battery discharges at a more rapid rate. Speaking from experience, battery maintenance will prolong the life of the battery. |
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Autopilot Wandering