Extending Trolling Motor Battery Cable

First time boat owner with a question on connecting the trolling motor to the battery. I'm pretty handy with quite a bit but electric is not my thing so i'm real ignorant with this no matter how much I read. The boat is a tracker grizzly mvx. Barebones, nothing in it. I want to bow mount the motor but keep the batteries in the back and I was just going to run the wires through conduit like I've seen and tuck under the rail. I'm looking at a 55# thrust and the manual says 4 AWG wire with a 60amp breaker.

How do I splice the motor battery cable to begin with? Is it as simple as cut battery lug off of motor cable, splice together with wire extension using wire nut, the end of that wire goes into circuit breaker and then a new wire goes from other end of breaker to battery? I think the splicing method is what has me confused.

I was looking at these two products as well. Pretty sure the breaker is correct but is there only one kind of cable or is there special for boat, car etc? Sorry for the most likely common sense questions but I want to be sure before I start snipping Any info or even a link for dummies on the process would be great. Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/MinnKota-MKR-19-Circuit-Breaker-Waterproof/dp/B001PTHKSK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1456339246&sr=8-2&keywords=60+amp+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/TEMCo-Welding-Battery-Cable-WC0190/dp/B00LIB7XDM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456339898&sr=8-4&keywords=4+awg+battery+cable

Marine cable is different but you can use auto cable. Put breaker as close to the battery as possible. Use a crimp connector with a heat shrink coating not wire nuts. Unless you want it removable. If you want it removable buy a trolling motor plug


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For less resistance/heat build up due to wire length, use 0 or 2 awg.

Instead of guessing at what ga. cable you need to run, how 'bout we do it the right way!



Take the overall length of the cable run. Lets say it is 10' from the motor to the battery. Double that length and look at the chart to tell you what Ga. wire you need for your 50A load or whatever load it is.
As far as connections go to a high amperage DC load, never use wire nuts. Use a good crimp connector and shrink wrap to keep moisture and corrosion out. If you get a two-wire male and female plug-in (which is desirable) make sure you get all the connectors you will need plus the correct #10 terminals for the circuit breaker, the 5/16" and 3/8" terminals for the battery too. Make sure these connectors are the correct ga. pieces.

Pappy said:

Instead of guessing at what ga. cable you need to run, how 'bout we do it the right way!



Take the overall length of the cable run. Lets say it is 10' from the motor to the battery. Double that length and look at the chart to tell you what Ga. wire you need for your 50A load or whatever load it is.
As far as connections go to a high amperage DC load, never use wire nuts. Use a good crimp connector and shrink wrap to keep moisture and corrosion out. If you get a two-wire male and female plug-in (which is desirable) make sure you get all the connectors you will need plus the correct #10 terminals for the circuit breaker, the 5/16" and 3/8" terminals for the battery too. Make sure these connectors are the correct ga. pieces.

Click to expand...

Exactly why I said 2-0 AWG. But yeah if you're not sure if you'll need 15 or 17' of wire....

Pappy... Just wondering... Why do you suggest that he Double the length?
richg99

The rule is the total length of cable not just the positive cable or the negative cable.

Pappy, Once again you teach us something. Thanks.. richg99

from the West Marine website...

https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/Marine-Wire-Size-And-Ampacity

"The West Advisor
West Advisor Articles
Cruising Journals
76
Marine Wire Size and Ampacity

By Tom Burden

Even the experts have to check occasionally on the correct gauge and ampacity (maximum amount of electrical current a conductor can carry) of wire for a given marine DC load. The simplest method we’ve found uses the charts below.

Select either the 10% or 3% voltage drop chart, based on the type of load you are running.
Next, find the current consumption of the load on the vertical axis of the chart.
Find the length of the circuit on the horizontal axis of the chart, noting that the length is the “round trip” distance from the panel or battery to the load and back.
The color of the graph at the intersection denotes the gauge of wire to use.
We’ve included copper wire specifications which comply with the AWG standards at the bottom"

you guys are making it way more difficult than it needs to be.i ran 10 awg and connected them with a warn winch connector and its been 5 years like that.