Terrova/ipilot = exorcist.

biff · **Joined:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:30 pm **Posts:** 451

Got a Terrova 80lb w/ipilot i took out yesterday for the first time. Ran into a problem where the motor would go crazy and start spinning in a circle like Linda Blair from the exorcist. Seems like it would do it after trolling for 10-30 seconds on autopilot. It spins and wraps the cable around the TM shaft until you stop it. Anyone have one of these and had any issues?

I called Minn Kota, customer service immediately/rudely called it a battery issue. I checked the battery at the -/+ at 24v section and at the plug, no issues (2 new blue top D31M's).

Anyone have any experience with this sort of issue that they can share?

Fred Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:05 am

Biff my brother in law had the very same problem you are describing. He had his installed on his boat at his dealer and when he went to try it out i would spin around and go nuts when using the autopilot. They checked it for everything from battery spikes to radio interference and could find nothing wrong. They also tried a direct connect to the batteries and it still done it. They replaced it with another and all was fine, they figured it was a faulty unit. I would call them back and tell them you have checked all your connections and see if they will replace it.

You might have to call Father Merrin......LoL

biff · **Joined:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:30 pm **Posts:** 451

Fred Fisher wrote:

Biff my brother in law had the very same problem you are describing. He had his installed on his boat at his dealer and when he went to try it out i would spin around and go nuts when using the autopilot. They checked it for everything from battery spikes to radio interference and could find nothing wrong. They also tried a direct connect to the batteries and it still done it. They replaced it with another and all was fine, they figured it was a faulty unit. I would call them back and tell them you have checked all your connections and see if they will replace it.

You might have to call Father Merrin......LoL

Thanks Fred, the Terrova is going to go out the window like Father Merrin

I am going to take it out to the "Prop Shop" but wanted to see if anyone else has seen this. I googled it, and found tons of others having issues, but no definite fix. Thanks for chiming in !

B

Consigliere · **Joined:** Tue Mar 13, 2012 12:32 am **Posts:** 62

Remember seeing some posts on other forums of the exact same problem and the fix was to reinstall the whole motor unit because when deployed it was not within 5 degrees of vertical and this causes a malfunction with the GPS control for the iPilot. After reinstalling and making sure that when in the water the shaft was totally vertical they worked fine.

EvesR · **Posted:** Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:23 pm

Consigliere wrote:

Remember seeing some posts on other forums of the exact same problem and the fix was to reinstall the whole motor unit because when deployed it was not within 5 degrees of vertical and this causes a malfunction with the GPS control for the iPilot. After reinstalling and making sure that when in the water the shaft was totally vertical they worked fine.

I have been thinking about upgrading to i-pilot myself. But wouldn't the problem still exist on a choppy day if the bow of the boat is going up and down? From what I understand it uses both GPS and internal compass for tracking. Is it throwing off the the internal compass? Just curious about the limitations of the equipment.

ad29 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:01 pm

EvesR wrote:

Consigliere wrote:

Remember seeing some posts on other forums of the exact same problem and the fix was to reinstall the whole motor unit because when deployed it was not within 5 degrees of vertical and this causes a malfunction with the GPS control for the iPilot. After reinstalling and making sure that when in the water the shaft was totally vertical they worked fine.

I have been thinking about upgrading to i-pilot myself. But wouldn't the problem still exist on a choppy day if the bow of the boat is going up and down? From what I understand it uses both GPS and internal compass for tracking. Is it throwing off the the internal compass? Just curious about the limitations of the equipment.

Hey EvesR,

My brother has the Terrova and iPilot and it works great in all conditions. We were out on Saturday on Loughborough and it worked like a charm (as usual) despite the heavy chop.

I hope this helps.
-Andrew

Grateful Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:18 pm

I had this happen on my PowerDrive and had to replace the board inside the head

biff · **Joined:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:30 pm **Posts:** 451

I don't believe it is a vertical installation issue. Also load tested the batteries (2 new Optima D31's). Minn Kota blamed the batteries immediately, prop shop said they didn't know what they were talking about

I like his response better... good guys at the prop shop.

I am going to take it in and get the board(s) replaced.

leatherneck · **Joined:** Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:56 am **Posts:** 48

Biff I had the same problem when I purchased a 36volt Terrova. This motor did not have I-pilot installed because they had not come out with them yet. But the motor did exactly what yours is doing right out of the box. I bought it new from Cabelas, when I called them, they were great they said send it back for a new one. But with the original box destroried and shipping concerns I elected to go to Minn Kota service. It was of course covered under warrenty, I had to take it to a service center for replacement of a board in the head of the unit. It has worked fine ever since. I have installed I-pilot in this unit also with no problems. I know it seems like a problem now, but once you get it squared away, you will be very pleased with this motor and all that it does.

Red shad · **Posted:** Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:39 am

leatherneck wrote:

Biff I had the same problem when I purchased a 36volt Terrova. This motor did not have I-pilot installed because they had not come out with them yet. But the motor did exactly what yours is doing right out of the box. I bought it new from Cabelas, when I called them, they were great they said send it back for a new one. But with the original box destroried and shipping concerns I elected to go to Minn Kota service. It was of course covered under warrenty, I had to take it to a service center for replacement of a board in the head of the unit. It has worked fine ever since. I have installed I-pilot in this unit also with no problems. I know it seems like a problem now, but once you get it squared away, you will be very pleased with this motor and all that it does.

I think it all comes back to companies being in such a hurry to get new products onto the market that the field testing is sadly lacking before they do so. IMHO all too often they let the customer find the deficiencies in the product,using them as 'field testers'. Pity we did not get compensated for the inconvenience this approach inevitably inflicts upon us....

biff · **Joined:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:30 pm **Posts:** 451

Thanks guys for chiming in ! So i took it to the prop shop, and had "Jim" look it over... nice guy ! He tested the board and didn't see any problem... he recommended another look at the power system in it. I swapped out the Canadian Tire receptacle for a Minn Kota one ($45). The wiring looks great, which i ran 8AWG back to the 60a Minn Kota circuit breaker then to 2 x D31 optima's.. isolated of course. Now i just have to get it back out on the water to test. Jim from Prop Shop said if it fails again, he is going to swap out the board(s).... excellent service at the prop shop!

B

RickOnt · **Joined:** Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:06 pm **Posts:** 10

Hey Biff

Hope you get all the problems sorted out!!

I have had my Terrova i-pilot out just 2 times But so far it works as advertised.

What were you running when Ms Blair showed up? Autopilot or Advanced Autopilot?

Rick

biff · **Joined:** Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:30 pm **Posts:** 451

It started the Linda Blair impression with Autopilot and Spot lock...

So i finally got a chance to get it out in the Trent for a bit today and ran down the river to the bay ... really windy, so it was a great chance to see what this thing could do. Looks like problem fixed !!!! The power receptacle was the issue, the minn kota receptacle worked great. Spot lock was spot on and autopilot/advanced autopilot held the position in both front and X-winds. man this thing is going to be fun !

hanks to Jim @ the prop shop for putting his finger on this one straight away!

B

RickOnt · **Joined:** Sun Feb 19, 2012 12:06 pm **Posts:** 10

Hey Biff

Hope you have it all figured out!

Mine has been impressive.

I am looking forward to fishing with no anchor.

Simcoe Whitie action in 77' usually need 150' of Line and good anchor.

I have found that set your 'spot' after you have the bow pointed into the wind.

Rick

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Terrova/ipilot = exorcist.

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