Trying to find out what's wrong with my pontoon boat's propulsion system. Uses 24V 2 batteries, which I'm told were new 10 to 12 months ago. Charging is controlled by a ProMariner XPSiT 5/5 of unknown age, although all indications are that the XPS is working fine - it performs the self-tests and indicates no battery faults. The trawling motor is a transom mount Minn Kota EP65. There is a hand controller/POT installed on the steering console, next to the two-button lift control. I've verified all fuses A-OK.
The boat sat covered and idle from end of June through a couple days ago, but was continually plugged in to allow ongoing conditioning by the XPS. Arizona temperatures here were record-breaking this year, staying in the 105 to 116 degree range practically the whole time.
When the heat broke a few days ago I uncovered the boat and attempted to take her out on the lake. it ran at a snail's pace and that speed was constant through the range of the POT, forward or reverse. We returned to dock after about 10 min. and plugged back in to charge and condition.
Yesterday we tried again. Motor lift worked fine. Batteries look OK per the XPS display. But, while raised up, the motor seemed dead. I lowered the motor and - ever so briefly - the blades spun up as the motor hit the water, then lifeless again. Since then the motor has been dead.
The marine shops around here are scary - expecially for newbies like me. The first thing they want to do is pull the boat out of the water and take it to the shop. That's a guaranteed $200+ round trip, and then count on at least $500 to $1,000 to get your boat back. Most neighbors I've talked to have horror stories. So, here's my two questions:
1. How can I do some further troubleshooting before calling a marine shop? What kind of meter/tool/whatever would I need are what steps can I test? At least to learn enough to not get taken by the marine shops.
2. Do the above symptoms maybe suggest a problem with the hand controller/POT? The controller looks rough, like it's got a lot of nautical miles on it. Am I correct that the controller is something that a reasonably intelligent newbie could swap out and, at least, eliminate one potential problem?
Thanks for any help.
The boat sat covered and idle from end of June through a couple days ago, but was continually plugged in to allow ongoing conditioning by the XPS. Arizona temperatures here were record-breaking this year, staying in the 105 to 116 degree range practically the whole time.
When the heat broke a few days ago I uncovered the boat and attempted to take her out on the lake. it ran at a snail's pace and that speed was constant through the range of the POT, forward or reverse. We returned to dock after about 10 min. and plugged back in to charge and condition.
Yesterday we tried again. Motor lift worked fine. Batteries look OK per the XPS display. But, while raised up, the motor seemed dead. I lowered the motor and - ever so briefly - the blades spun up as the motor hit the water, then lifeless again. Since then the motor has been dead.
The marine shops around here are scary - expecially for newbies like me. The first thing they want to do is pull the boat out of the water and take it to the shop. That's a guaranteed $200+ round trip, and then count on at least $500 to $1,000 to get your boat back. Most neighbors I've talked to have horror stories. So, here's my two questions:
1. How can I do some further troubleshooting before calling a marine shop? What kind of meter/tool/whatever would I need are what steps can I test? At least to learn enough to not get taken by the marine shops.
2. Do the above symptoms maybe suggest a problem with the hand controller/POT? The controller looks rough, like it's got a lot of nautical miles on it. Am I correct that the controller is something that a reasonably intelligent newbie could swap out and, at least, eliminate one potential problem?
Thanks for any help.