Cannon Mag 10 HS issues

[Gill-T]

I have been having reoccurring problems with my Cannons. Blown fuses and motherboards. I run a Big Jon on deep center rigger. It goes up and down. Never a problem. My two corner riggers are cannons. They last a year before boards need replacing. Big Jon and Cannons are wired exactly the same with an inline fuse to POS + post direct to a dedicated battery that only the riggers are hooked up to. Connections to primary battery and perko battery switch. Rigger wires are sized up two sizes so it should not be a resistance problem. See picture of the melted fuse below. It has been suggested I have a bad ground. Connections look perfect with sealed terminations. Getting ready to junk them. Any suggestions?

 

[GAMBLER]

Check the rubber boot on the up/down switch.  I had one that would eat boards.  I replaced the board and found the boot was cracked and water was getting into the switch.  I replaced the boot, switch and board and the problems went away.  

[signalman]

Keep your battery fully charged and this will help with the problem you have with blowing motherboards,it worked for me.

[Gill-T]

Battery always charged up. I don’t leave out riggers in rain but keep the ideas coming

[emtystringer]

what size fuse are on the CANNONS ?

[mr 580]

What size wire are you using and how long is your run? That includes wire to your fuse holder.  I rewired my HS Cannons using 6 AWG cable with hydraulic crimped ends and circuit breaker for same this season and that has cured my issues with slow speed/voltage drop. You shouldn’t be melting fuse or holder.  Suspicious that is at least part of your problem and needs to be heavier.  Check your Perko switch for corrosion too- those switches due fail.

[JCG]

Same issue last week with my Cannon Mags. Went thru 10 fuses on both riggers on Friday. Next day after leaving riggers uncovered for 1 night no problem with fuses! Definite head scratcher???? 

[GAMBLER]

58 minutes ago, Gill-T said:

Battery always charged up. I don’t leave out riggers in rain but keep the ideas coming

My riggers were always covered too Chad but moisture was still getting in the rubber boot.  

[Harold Polley]

On 7/24/2024 at 6:10 AM, JCG said:

Same issue last week with my Cannon Mags. Went thru 10 fuses on both riggers on Friday. Next day after leaving riggers uncovered for 1 night no problem with fuses! Definite head scratcher???? 

Run my wiring

direct to Batt no issues.

[kayaker919]

Hard to tell from photo, but fuse does not look blown, however solder in end cap appears melted.  Issue may be high resistance in fuse holder?

 

FWIW, I have always used the marine blade style fuses for higher currents and/or high vibration environments.

[Bo Hunter]

All the above I agree with. Had mine for 20 years. Drilled a 1/8" hole in the bottom of the case. Haven't had to replace mother board since.

[Gill-T]

I changed the inline fuse holders and the problem went away so the resistance angle may be the culprit. Good offseason project to go to a blade style fuse holder

[muskiedreams]

Sorry if I am giving more detail than you need.

 

My background is in electronics, starting from before chips were in common use and electronics were troubleshot and repaired to the individual transistor, resistor etc. and tubes were still widely in use.

 

Downriggers are high current devices. Since they run on only 12 volts, they draw a considerable amount of current. In order for that current to go from the battery to the downrigger, that entire path must be capable of carrying the current (wire, fuse holder, connectors, connections). Every one of those components can cause resistance to electrical current. That resistance will create a drop in voltage (including resistance of a poor connection). That resistance to current will also create heat in proportion to the amount of resistance. The the higher the resistance, the more the heat that is generated. So checking for heat at all the connections (while operating the rigger fully loaded) might reveal a problem.

 

Whenever the motor in a downrigger encounters a lower voltage due to a voltage drop between the battery and the downrigger, it  will demand increased current to maintain RPM.  That increased demand for current will cause heat to be generated at the point of the voltage drop.  That heat in turn will cause increased resistance which will cause additional loss (snowball effect).  Also, low voltage will cause more heat in some of the electronic components on the circuit board which will likely cause premature board failure because of excess current.  There should be a minimum voltage requirement listed in the rigger's specs. from Cannon. Dropping below that can cause circuit board failure.

 

In a high current circuit, power is absorbed by all parts of the circuit, including the wire. Wire gauge and connections are much more critical for a 12 volt circuit than for a 120 volt circuit. A skinny wire, a bad connection or too long of a wire are all possible causes of a voltage drop.

 

Therefore, to troubleshoot a problem like this with a downrigger or any other electrical device on a 12 volt vehicle or boat, you must measure the voltage directly between the positive and negative wires at the device 's power input while the device is operating under a normal load. If there is a significant loss, you then must work to measure the voltage along the positive feed, at every connection point between there and the battery and determine where most of the voltage loss is. Do it with the meter negative (-) terminal connected to the battery negative (-) terminal and also  measure with it connected to the negative (-) connection at the device. If it is in the wire itself, it will need to be replaced, possibly with a heavier gauge. Don't forget to check voltage at both sides of any terminal on a wire to make sure the loss is not in the connection. If you are running one wire from the battery and then splitting off to two riggers The first wire must be twice as heavy in order to carry enough current to run both riggers simultaneously.

 

It is important for the life of the downrigger that the voltage does not drop too far for too long of a period. A momentary dip in voltage is ok. If the circuit board had it's own separate power feed from the battery, it would not be an issue unless the battery itself was dropping in voltage.Downriggers that don't have a circuit board are not as dependent on battery voltage but it is always best to have steady voltage because the motors will also last longer with a stable supply of power.

 

[Gill-T]

Anyone have any experience with these breakers?  Seems like a better option than dealing with glass fuses.