Scotty Dowrigger issue Help

[Birdsnest]

Fished off shore today(good fishing indeed) but my riggers were both crapping out. They were tripping the internal fuse or thingymajiger you hear click when it goes off and on. I suspect the issue is the main power supply. They would run then stop then go then stop. Eventually one rigger crapped out all together while the other one took quit a while to bring up. I have had this before from bad connections on one but never both at the same time?
Who is the scotty expert here? Im not sure where to start on this one. the plugins look just fine on both. Bad battery, bad battery conections. Its the "both" thing that is getting me. Bad battery would be my guess. The connections have all just been serviced.
Help/input appreciated.

 

[tubber]

I'm no expert but have had mine apart and just wired them. Manual says 12 gauge or 10 for long runs. Guy at the Marine store at the bottom of Lonsdale said use 8ga. So I used 8. Everyone connects them to their battery switch, bus, breaker etc.... Guy at the marine store said run 'em straight to the aux. battery, so I did. They work.

I would inspect your connections, clean them and your battery terminals and see if your wiring shows signs of corrosion where the wire connects to the ring terminal. Was this your first time using them this year? Do you have tinned marine wire? Take your battery to a guy with a tester and see if it holds a charge.

From here:
http://www.scotty.com/scotty-support/documents/ED_ManualRev1007.pdf

"Circuit Breaker
Your Scotty electric downrigger is equipped with an automatic circuit
breaker to protect the motor from overload. If you hang up on the bottom or
on a heavy mass of weeds and then push the power up button, the circuit
breaker will probably trip. Wait 5 to 10 seconds for it to automatically reset
and you will have power again. However, do not repeatedly attempt to lift
a load too heavy for the downrigger motor. If possible the downrigger line
must first be freed from the obstruction.
Note: It is also possible to trip the circuit breaker by raising a weight
over 20 lb. from extreme depth. The circuit breaker is designed to trip
at 15 amps. If this happens allow the circuit breaker to cool several
seconds before resuming lifting."

 

[CrabbyChris]

They must be HP's ???

 

[Birdsnest]

They must be HP's ???

Not sure what you mean. They are regular scotty's with a single belt. Not the new kind.

 

[profisher]

Make sure your pullys on the end of the boom aren't seized. This would slow down the speed and if really seized could cause the internal breaker to pop.

 

[Birdsnest]

Sounds like they need a trip for service. Thanks for the heads up everyone. I took the one that is not working home and put it on a fresh battery...no luv. Will do check the voltage/resistance at the plug tonight and do all the connections.

 

[sly_karma]

Before pulling them off and heading to get them serviced, pull out the meter and do a very thorough check of wiring resistance. Bad grounding is responsible for the great majority of electrical issues in boats and automotive.

 

[Brew]

How heavy of a ball and what model rigger? Some of the older models do that with a 20lb ball

 

[CrabbyChris]

Nothing but trouble with the Hi Power riggers is all....as said before,check that the pully is not siezed!

Not sure what you mean. They are regular scotty's with a single belt. Not the new kind.

 

[searun]

Yes, pulleys will seize for sure. Both of my HD riggers did that last season within the same week. I think the plastic pulley is designed for the slower version and can't handle the faster spin the HD's put on them. I have had a series of issues with my HD's. Fortunately, Scotty has always stood behind their product and helped me get them repaired. AND, I use mine way more than the average guy so reliability and a company that will stand behind the product is awesome. BTW, you might want to install an in-line fuse rather than wire those direct to the battery. I know of 2 boat fires caused by electrical short with scotty riggers. Easy solution is to fuse it.

 

[Birdsnest]

Did the service on all the electrical connections. Both positive posts(on both batteries) had to be cleaned but also the positive connection behind the main power switch needed cleaning as well. This is where my riggers are wired to and I suspect this is where the low voltage supply occurred. Inline fuses are in play here, those connections were fine. The plug connections were great(new style ones, impressive).
One of the pulleys was stiff for sure. Could tell by the groves in the pulley. Both riggers are in for a service so I am sure that all these steps together will mean tight lines for the next year to come. Scotty is an amazing company.

 

[Birdsnest]

Got the scottys back today. I suspect the original issue was lack of power from the batteries. New pulley, new breaker and who know what else done to both int the 10 work days they were gone. Both ran fine today tho the fishing did not match the riggers performance. No bananas so no excuses.

Dear Scotty,

Please purchase more companies and run them like yours and stand those products as you do with your downriggers. Amazing!