T.M. foot switch

[malaki]

picked up a foot switch for my transom mount trolling motor. in order to run the wires under the deck and out of the way i need to extend the positive wire. is that a bad idea? i know most of you say to shorten the wires as much as possible but i dont want wires triping me up. i run 2 TM's. a 55lb to get me around and a 36lb to troll. the switch will be on the 36lb. anybody else use one?

 

[huntinfool]

I have never seen a Transom mounted TM with a foot control. Are you trying to mate a foot control with a transom mounted TM so that you can control the transom mounted TM from the front of the boat? If so the yes you can lengthen the positive cable, but you need to go at least one size larger diameter than what is already there.

 

[malaki]

https://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_16071_225001006_225000000_225001000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL
just need to add a foot or two to run it from the back deck so i can keep my hand on the reel and not be reaching and loooking behind me too give the boat a boost.

 

[huntinfool]

Gotcha! Your just adding an on off switch not any steering controls.

Yes you can add some length to the wire, I would go one size larger with the wire to make up for the distance.

 

[fish devil]

:twisted: Have the setup on my Tracker. 52lb bow motor, 54lb transom motor. I ran the NEGATIVE side of the transom motor to the switch and then back to the negative side of the battery. Here's a picture of the switch....

 

[Brine]

Just had this discussion with bassboy yesterday.....

I want to run one bigfoot to operate both rear trolling motors. He commented on using a relay to avoid current loss making the long run from stern to bow to stern in my rig.

 

[fish devil]

Just had this discussion with bassboy yesterday.....

I want to run one bigfoot to operate both rear trolling motors. He commented on using a relay to avoid current loss making the long run from stern to bow to stern in my rig.

:twisted: You can use a relay but thats just another part to go bad eventually. I HAVE THE SETUP PICTURED ABOVE FOR TEN YEARS WITH ZERO PROBLEMS.

 

[bassboy1]

Just had this discussion with bassboy yesterday.....

I want to run one bigfoot to operate both rear trolling motors. He commented on using a relay to avoid current loss making the long run from stern to bow to stern in my rig.

:twisted: You can use a relay but thats just another part to go bad eventually. I HAVE THE SETUP PICTURED ABOVE FOR TEN YEARS WITH ZERO PROBLEMS.

Hook an ammeter up to your setup. You are loosing current through the 10 gauge leads of the Big Foot switch. On a longer run, especially like Brine's, where the batteries are in the stern, along with the TMs, 6 or 4 AWG wire is needed to provide minimal (under 3 percent) current loss when running a leg of the circuit all the way to the bow. This is no problem, aside from a slight initial cost difference in the wire. However, the foot switches have only 10 AWG wire leads and contacts. As the old saying goes, "the chain is only as strong as it's weakest link," thus the gain that should be noticed by upping the wire size is now negated by the fact that you just cannot push near enough power through the puny little switch.

Were the switch made with large enough contacts and leads, it would be no big deal, but there isn't a switch marketed for this purpose, and ones for other purposes are not easy to find, as relays and solenoids have proven their practicality in near all applications.

Plus, I'm going to guess you are an exception with the 10 year lifespan of the switch. Most people I've communicated with are having trouble keeping the switch alive for very long, which probably has a lot to do with pulling amperages higher than the switch is capable of, through them. It just wears the contacts out, or welds them together.