That's a great tip, thanks!

Yep great tip.. I would have just left the black wire in haha but paracord is probably less alarming

And you should always add the negative cable last.

@@danhipps8747 it's ground, not negative 😁

Unless you have a nitro. I can go 18' in front to back in under 30seconds😂

Thanks, and yes the longer the run the heavier you need, I linked in the description to the wiring guide from Minn Kota with the exact specs.

Thank you so much!! :)

Wow thank you so much for the kind words and I am really happy to hear you found it helpful! Really appreciate your feedback.

Hey thanks for the suggestions! Please see the pinned comment on this video as well as in the description everything that I recommend is all tinned Copper for exactly the corrosion reasons you're mentioning. as you mentioned for saltwater it is especially critical, but for freshwater I've never really been careful about using tinned but I want to make sure I recommend the right parts. Also the cables for the trolling motor draw more amperage than the battery charger so the first cables to go on should typically be the trolling motor cables although if I'm being honest I don't really follow that order consciously. I'm actually getting some new terminal clamps for the starting motor I keep changing them every year until I find one that I like and I'll be doing a video on these new ones pretty soon and why I like them. I suppose you can use lock washers it wouldn't hurt but in the 30 plus years I've had a boat I've never had an issue with anything coming loose. I wouldn't be concerned about vibrations on a boat, you don't even use locking washers on battery terminals on a motorcycle and there's no way a boat vibrates anywhere near a motorcycle does. If it gives you more confidence in your install, then I say go for it! Thank you so much for watching the video and for your additional tips! 👍

Thank you so much!

I'll be doing the same in the next couple of weeks.

Awesome I'm glad you found this helpful and good luck with your install!!

Good luck!

Thank you Larry, I REALLY appreciate the positive feedback and you enjoyed the way I edited the content! I'll be working on more tip style videos like this with fishing season over in my area and with everyone having to stay home. And YES I do try and respond to everyone, I am so appreciative of anyone that takes a moment to leave a comment or question. Thanks again and all the best!

I've never even thought about it to be honest, been messing with 12v systems since I was 16 installing car stereos and I've never been zapped by a battery. Great, now I'm going to be paranoid the next time I'm playing with a battery and I got my ring on LOL!

Super important for people like me lol! Thanks for the feedback! :)

Hi Bob, thank you so much for the comments and I absolutely appreciate all sorts of comments and critiques, it's how we learn!! So to address your comments, please note that the plug upgrade is a separate video on my channel, I actually upgrade to a 70 amp rated pressure prong style plug and get rid of the annoying twist lock you see in this video :) For the breaker, you can't open a Minn Kota breaker aka "test" it. So you have no choice but to install it that way or I suppose you could try shorting it to trip it lol! Thanks again so much for watching my video and leaving a comment, all the best!

You're very welcome, thanks so much for the comment!

Thank you, I'm glad you liked the way I broke it down :) For the switched power, you want to be able to switch between the main and trolling motor batteries to power your electronics? You don't want to use the main battery to power the trolling motor, you'll kill that battery pretty quick if you do as it should be a cranking battery. Plus if you power the trolling motor off the same battery you run your sonar, you're going to have horrible interference. If you want to do it for emergency purposes, just keep a set of jumper cables in the boat. The charger is very easy because you don't have to worry about switches and breakers etc. The charger will have a positive and negative terminal for both batteries and you connect it directly (you're going to want a 2 bank charger). I have a 3 Bank ProMariner I installed spring 2018 and it's working great and it seems like a real good quality charger. Here's the 2 bank charger you would need: amzn.to/2KqI8f0 I'm going to record a video soon about how the entire boat is wired, maybe that will help you :) Good luck with your install!

Well thank you very much, I really appreciate the feedback and your kind words, thanks a bunch, you put a big smile on my face :)

Thank you very much!

You're very welcome Eric, Im glad it was helpful :) Thanks so much for the comment!

Thanks Coach!! You are going to LOVE the Spot-Lock feature if you've never had it before. I sometimes wonder how I ever fished without it! YOu can definitely got to a 36 volt with that big boat of yours, and it's done the same way but with the additional battery you add to your series. Here's a nice easy diagram of your 36v 3 battery wiring: cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1073/9770/files/36v_wiring.png

Thanks Pat! I stripped the plastic sheathing and it did fit but only juuuuust lol! I should probably upgrade to the right receptacle although so far it's been fine.

Thank you so much for the feedbacl MS, glad I was able to help! I can confirm that the MK breaker has taken a beating for a year and is still in perfect shape :) All the best!

Awesome, glad you got it figured out!!

That's awesome to hear, I'm glad you found this video helpful!!

Hi Trevor, so was that the issue? Typical circuit breakers won't have the negative attached, only positive. Let me know!

@@DanRichardFishing I guess the only issue I had was a bad battery. I would've thought it would spin even with one battery but it didn't. I replaced the one that was completely dead and now it works just fine. It turns out there were two wires on circuit on both sides of the breaker, but they were labeled battery 1 positive and battery 2 positive. Kinda makes me think there might be another breaker if it is rigged like that but I'm not sure. All I know is it works now and that makes me happy lol

haha that's awesome, it makes me so happy to hear you were able to do this yourself!! And you'll be hearing from me if I come down to Sacramento ;) Thanks so much for the comment!

Awesome, happy the video is helpful and good luck with your project!

You're very welcome and thank you for the kind words, good luck with your install!!

Awesome I'm glad you liked the video, thank you so much for the kind words!!

My pleasure and thank you for watching! Excellent point for saltwater application, that's probably a good idea. I use dielectric on my light connectors on the truck (salt on the roads in the winter) so it would make sense to use it on saltwater boats. Thank you for the comment!

Awesome glad to hear it! :)

Propane torch would work! I would still crimp the connection properly, and add the solder as insurance if you feel the need. I have NEVER in 30 years of owning a boat had a crimp pop out, but hey, nothing wrong with being extra cautious if it eases your mind about any possible issues. No one likes having electrical issues!

Why thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it and found it helpful! More to come this spring if all goes well :)

Thank you for the comment Phil and you're absolutely right! Bear in mind the recommended wiring is the minimum recommended for the installation, I would still suggest going with the 6awg for the install as you are future proofing for possibly bigger power requirements later on, plus there is no drawback to using the heavier wire. However you do absolutely need to make sure you use the correct breaker size and change if needed. I do mention in all my videos related to battery work to make sure you cover the posts and terminals with protectors, it's crazy how many folks leave them exposed! Scott Martin had a fire on his boat because of this! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your comments, I really appreciate it.

Awesome, glad I could help and thank you so much for the comment!

... that way, if i have a 36V set-up, I always know the positive is on the right (or left)

Sure that's fair! Honestly I don't have a preference, I think I'm just so focused on trying to squeeze the batteries in that tiny opening that I just deal with however they went in after the fact lol!

@@DanRichardFishing h. W

Thank you so much sir, glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the thumbs UP!! :)

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!! I'll be doing another updated one soon, I've got a new motor on the way! :)

My pleasure, thank you for commenting!

That's awesome Bruce, I'm so happy to hear this video was helpful, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment :)

This was one of the first how-to videos I ever did and had no idea how it would explode with so many views! It's all good, I have learned a ton from the constructive feedback from viewers, which I really appreciate and use lessons learned in future videos. As for the haters, I've got too many miles to worry about folks that want to be petty, which luckily is a tiny fraction of a percentage compared to all the amazing support I get from the community. Good or bad, I am grateful

Thank you so much!!

Thanks so much John!

Awesome! Please be sure to check the description on the video for the equipment list where I specify the right parts to use :)

Glad to help, thanks for dropping a comment!

Hi Jim! Thanks for commenting and for your feedback, and yes the wires fit easily. To be honest the ONLY reason why I didn't change it was because I didn't even see the receptacle rating until I was doing this video. The good news is that it's gone out all year with no problems but I do still intend to change the receptacle this winter now that I finally have a garage where I can park the boat when it's snowing outside. Now I am a little confused about using a battery tender receptacle because the ones that I have for my 4 bank charger in my garage are most definitely NOT appropriate for that kind of amperage as they really only use low sub-10 amperage generally, most are in the 2 amp range and the AWG rating is not even close. There is a marine one rated for 60 that I will upgrade to, it looks almost identical to be honest but seems to have a more robust area where the wires screw down. Can you link me to the tender plug you are referring to? So I'll be doing that upgrade this winter and I'll upload a video on it do doubt :) I had planned quite a few more VERY exciting upgrades this winter, but with the purchase of the new house, looks like that will have to wait. Thanks again for taking the time to comment :)

@@DanRichardFishing Congrats on the new house! The Battery Tender plug I was referring to is this one: www.batterytender.com/trollingmotorplug. I installed one on my KW 1720 (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qcV5haeEvtrOd3k.html), replacing the Marinco / MK receptacle. This BT assembly is quite robust.

Awesome, I hope it's helpful!

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much Ricky, really appreciate the kind words and the sub!

Hi David, thank you so much I'm glad you liked the video! Check out my other videos, I have quite a few dealing with electrical projects on my boat :) Tight lines!

@@DanRichardFishing Thanks. Will definitely check out the other videos. Would love to see one on installing a new onboard charger for a 24 volt system

Awesome, I'm glad it was helpful and thanks for watching the entire thing :)

Thanks so much Jason, glad I could help with your install! :)

Hey Dan, I ended up upgrading to the 24v terrova, upgraded minn kota plug, onboard charger, changing plug, 60amp minn kota fuse, etc. I just wanted to say thanks for your tutorial. I referenced it a few times during my own installation and everything is working great. Keep up the good work!

Almost all the feedback I've heard from Ultrex owners is that there has been little to no interference like on the Terrova and they love that motor. I am upgrading motors for this coming fishing season and only reason I'm not going to am Ultrex is because I want the seamless integration with Garmin.

My pleasure glad you enjoyed the video and it was helpful!

Good stuff! Next step I need to change the plug!

Awesome, glad I could help! Thanks so much for leaving a comment :)

Awesome I'm glad you liked it!

Thank you so much, glad you liked it! :)

Thank you so much for the comment and the sub :) Tight lines!

Thanks Eric, glad I could help!!

Interesting note JP, thanks for posting it. I definitely clean all of my connections on the battery and battery posts at the start of each season but not the fuses. If fuses are better, why does MK recommend a breaker over fuses? Personally I think the fuse setup that used to be on my boat was not robust enough for a 60 amp draw and that's why it melted.

​@@DanRichardFishing Fuse holders have a max amp rating too. It is very possible to have a undersized fuse socket. 60 amps is a lot of amps. There are larger fuses and sockets for this kind of current draw. Look at automotive store fuses and holders. Fuses just react faster to over current than a breaker can. Breakers are nice because you can reset them but shutting off a current draw of more than 60 plus amps is better done faster. You can weld with 60 amps of current. I prefer a fuse for high current DC marine applications. Mainly a circuit breaker will corrode and fail due to being a mechanical device with moving parts that could seize. A fuse is far less maintenance and more reliable long term. If a fuse gets corroded you can see it has and then clean it. You can't look inside a circuit breaker to see if it is healthy or not years down the road. Just my thoughts an reasoning. Good luck.

Thank you so much Mike!

You're very welcome, thank you for the comment!

You're very welcome!!

You're very welcome, thank you for the comment!

I wouldn't really recommend that INSTEAD of crimping... they are made to be crimped and soldering something of that gauge requires a LOT of heat and a good soldering iron. A lot of people would probably melt the solder on and not get enough heat on the thicker metal to get the actual solder to adhere well. It doesn't hurt to add some after crimping, but I would definitely not do this instead of crimping.

@@DanRichardFishing you don’t heat the wire. You heat the lug and use plenty of flux in it and then just feed the solder into it.

Thank you so much for the feedback and subscribing, I really appreciate it!

It sure does, I actually link to that document in the description of the video :) Thanks for the comment!

Thanks so much! :)

Thanks David, I think they'll last as well, I really squeezed them down as hard as I could lol! I put a link to the proper crimpers in the video description, but at the time I had to work with what was on hand. Thank you for commenting!

Thank you so much!

Thanks CM! I live in Canada so heavy duty winter here and this was shot in the spring when the snow was finally gone and I could get at the boat. The leaves all come back by mid spring :)

Yeah I believe you are in a little better shape than us. They are bombarding us with chemical here in the southeastern United States Mississippi Delta to be more specific. But next time you're in the lake test the Strontium Barium and Aluminum content of your water. As well as mercury. Then look at what it's supposed to be And what's more look at how much should occur in a natural ecosystem. I think you'll be shocked but when you get time Try it. And if you do next time I go in front of Congress if with you permission I'll site your results.

Awesome, gad to hear it and thank you for the comment!

Need to replace mine to a 60 Amp receptacle for this season for sure!

Awesome, you're very welcome!

Awesome glad I could help, thank you for the comment!

You're very welcome, thank you for the comment!

Awesome, glad it helped and thank you for the comment!

Tinned is definitely recommended for better corrosion resistance but I've been using regular for 25 years and never an issue. The key is to keep your terminals clean with regular maintenance. Even the factory wiring in my boat from 2005 is not tin plated and it's in top shape. Please note that I do mention that tin coated copper connectors are recommended in the description and I link to tin plated ones in the equipment list :)

My pleasure!

You're very welcome :)

Thanks Mark, and yes you can absolutely do this yourself!

Thanks so much Patrick! :)

Awesome, glad it helped! Thanks so much for leaving a comment 😊

AWESOME! Glad I could help you out, thank you for leaving a comment! :)

Easy to follow instructions. I looked at others whose presentation assumed too much prior knowledge and left out steps. Your coverage of the circuit breaker install was the only one I found. Great job and thanks.