minn kota fortrex problem

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:23 pm

I recentlly put a brand new mk fortrex on my boat and have only used my boat about 6 times. I've been happy with the motor except for a couple problems. One problem is that the indication arrow on top of the motor stopped working and just spins freely. It's not a big deal to me because i don't look at it anyway, but it's still annoying. The more serious issue is that there are cracks forming on the head of the motor. I never noticed them up until few weeks ago, and have no clue as to what caused them. They pretty much go all around the head of the motor and seem to all start around the screws. I don't know when or how they started, but are getting worse. I'm almost positve that they are fairly recent because I'm pretty sure I would have noticed them earlier. I have never hit it with anything or crashed into anything so I'm pretty stumped on the cause. Maybe it's a factory defect? Has anyone else ever seen anything like this? Any advice on what to do about it? I've already sent minn kota an e-mail with this picture and am just waiting for a reply.

flipit · Post by **flipit** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:34 pm

Ive beat the heck out of mine for the past year and no problems at all. Kinda make me think the problem may be related. Ive run through plenty of rough water, and I always drop the motor down(it doesnt really drop as you know). Id contack Minn Kota or the dealer where you purchased the unit. Maybe the screws were over torqued, well Im not really sure. For me its been by far the best TM Ive had.

I do wanna add, Ive never had the head unit that close to the clamp like in the picture.

S. Bailey · Post by **S. Bailey** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 4:21 pm

I have not had that happen to my fortrex yet ... but at least 3 times I did that on the old minn kota maxxum pro. Comes from running in rough water. even if you have a bounce buster the motor can still go up and come down hard on the bounce buster which causes the head to break at the screws. I fixed the problem by mounting a gimble mount by the bounce buster so it cant go up or down . Put one ball on the deck and one on the trolling motor. Super easy fix. Let me know if you need pics . I just put one on the new fortrex to prevent it from happening again . Hope that helps . Merry Christmas.

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 6:21 pm

Thanks for the quick replies guys. Bailey, when this happened to your maxxums was it covered under warranty? Also, I would like some pics of your ram mount rig if you don't mind. I've heard of people doing that, but I'd like to see it to get an idea. Thanks again. Merry Christmas

S. Bailey · Post by **S. Bailey** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 7:24 pm

im not 100% sure if it was covered under warranty . I know one time it was replaced for free at an FLW tournament and I know a buddy who works on them gave me one last time . Pm me your email address and ill send you the photos

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Sat Dec 25, 2010 7:43 pm

thanks

JLS (Jay Liu's Service) · Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:40 am

Goldfish, Your Frotrex has a two warranty.

It does not cover abuse. The bottom case (control box) is cover under warranty. The housing will crack sometimes when you pull on the rope to put the motor down in the water. When pulling on the rope to put the motor down try not to jerk on the rope as this will torque on the housing. Just pull up slowly.

JLS (Jay Liu’s Service Trolling motor repair)

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:41 am

Believe me when I say that I have Not abused this tm in any way shape or form. If I have then I would know why its broken and fix it myself. We all know the abuse we put these things through and I haven't even begun. Its only been about 6 trips of light use. When I drop the tm I pull the rope straight back to disengage it then lift slowly to drop it. The only people that have had my boat outside of my supervision where some outboard mechanics and they never put the boat on the water.

JLS (Jay Liu's Service) · Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:13 am

Goldfish, I never said that you abuse your trolling motor. I sad that they do not cover abuse such as a broken prop, bent armature shaft, or busting you bracket do to hitting something when you run big engine with the motor down. The problem you have with the case (control box) will be cover under warranty. Depending on where you live, take it to you Minn Koto Service center.

JLS (Jay Liu’s Service Trolling motor repair)

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 9:05 am

No worries. I got ya. I sure hope you are right about this being covered under warranty.

Gary Dobyns · Post by **Gary Dobyns** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 11:48 am

Hey gofish,

I staff for Minnkota. I saw your post and sent a copy to the big boss. He replied that those things are tough and they are not seeing that issue. I wanted to double check before posting here.

Get that TM to an authorized Minnkota service center. They will inspect and contact for warranty.

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:38 pm

Thanks Dobyns. I appreciate your help. I also got an email response from minn kota. It seems like they pretty much said the same thing. He said that I had to take it to and authorized service center and they would decide if it should be covered under warranty. My nearest center would be the trolling motor doctor and they are closed until january 3rd. I really hope I don't have to fork out more money to fix it.

gofish42189 · Post by **gofish42189** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:41 am

Just an update for you guys. I took the trolling motor up to the Trolling Motor Doctor and they were able to fix it under warranty and ship it back to me for free. The entire process only took three days. Big thanks to Minn Kota and the Trolling Motor Doctor. They were both very easy to deal with and have top notch customer service. Thanks for the help.

Gary Dobyns · Post by **Gary Dobyns** » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:56 am

[quote="gofish42189"]Just an update for you guys. I took the trolling motor up to the Trolling Motor Doctor and they were able to fix it under warranty and ship it back to me for free. The entire process only took three days. Big thanks to Minn Kota and the Trolling Motor Doctor. They were both very easy to deal with and have top notch customer service. Thanks for the help.

[/quote]

Great news. They truely are a GREAT company to work with. Awesome product as well. You had a glitch, sorry about that, but it was handled. THANKS for this update as well.