MotorGuide Tour Pro battery setup

MotorGuide is a trademark of its owner. Amp Hour Supply isn’t affiliated with MotorGuide.

The short answer. Tour Pro 82 runs on 24 V (two 12 V batteries or one 24 V pack), Tour Pro 109 on 36 V. MotorGuide’s catalog calls the Tour Pro “Lithium-ion battery compatible”, the only MotorGuide bow mount besides the Tour with that line. Breaker: manual reset, lockable, within 6 ft, 50 A good or 60 A best. Cables: the included 10 AWG plus 6 ft, no more.

What MotorGuide says about lithium on this motor

Two documents, two tones. The 2023 catalog: “Lithium-ion battery compatible.” The 2023 manual’s battery section: “12-volt, deep cycle marine batteries”, with no lithium in the list. Lithium turns up only in the manual’s Battery Inspection page, which tells you a lithium battery has its own BMS and, if the motor loses power, to test the battery to its maker’s spec or swap in a known-good lead-acid to find the fault.

So: compatible, per MotorGuide’s catalog. No size, no brand, no charging advice from them.

Breaker: the lockable one

The Tour Pro manual asks for more than a rating. The breaker goes in line with the positive lead, within 1.8 m (6 ft) of the batteries, and it has to suit isolation per IEC 60947-2 and lock in the OFF position. Then the size: “50-amp (good) or 60-amp (best).”

The 82 draws 56 A at the top of the catalog table. A 50 A breaker is below that. Fit the 60. The 109 draws 41 A, so either rating holds, and 60 is still the one MotorGuide calls best.

Cables

Included cables are 10-gauge. MotorGuide’s limit: extend them no more than 6 ft, for 10 ft in all. Longer than that, it sells 8-gauge accessory cable. Its own troubleshooting page, under loss of power, says “Six-gauge wire is recommended.” We’d take the troubleshooting page’s advice on any long run, and size it in the Wire gauge calculator.

Jumpers between series batteries: same gauge as the power cables. Nylock nuts on the terminals, not wing nuts. Keep the two power cables within 6 in of each other (the GPS head doesn’t like a loop), and iron hardware more than 36 in from the head.

Packs for each model

MotorGuide gives no amp-hour minimum. Our fit: voltage matches, continuous discharge rating covers the catalog max draw.

Tour Pro 82, 24 V, 56 A – Pro-Guide 24VM90 24V 90Ah lithium, 90 A continuous – Pro-Guide 24VM115 24V 115Ah lithium, 100 A continuous

Tour Pro 109, 36 V, 41 A – Pro-Guide 36VM60 36V 60Ah lithium, 60 A continuous – Pro-Guide 36VM75 36V 75Ah lithium, 75 A continuous

Both 36 V packs clear 41 A with room. The 82 is the hungrier motor.

Run time, as a worked example

Same math as the Run time calculator in trolling mode: 80% of the amp hours, divided by the amps, warm weather.

  • Tour Pro 82 on the 24VM90: 1 h 17 min at 56 A, 2 h 34 min at 28 A.
  • Tour Pro 82 on the 24VM115: 1 h 39 min at 56 A, 3 h 17 min at 28 A.
  • Tour Pro 109 on the 36VM60: 1 h 10 min at 41 A, 2 h 20 min at 20.5 A.
  • Tour Pro 109 on the 36VM75: 1 h 28 min at 41 A, 2 h 56 min at 20.5 A.

The catalog figure is the top of the throttle. Spot-locking on Pinpoint pulses the motor; the average sits far lower.

Wiring rules from the manual

  • A dedicated trolling battery or bank. Not the main engine battery.
  • No fish finders on the trolling battery.
  • “All batteries should have a common ground.” That’s the Tour Pro manual’s line; the older Xi5 manual says the opposite for 24 V and 36 V. Follow the manual for the motor you own.
  • Unplug the motor after each trip and before charging. Never charge with the motor deployed.

Series steps for 12 V batteries are in Trolling motor battery: 12V, 24V or 36V, wired right. A single 24 V or 36 V pack skips the jumpers.

Charging

Charge Pro-Guide packs to their own voltage: 28.8 V (24 V) or 43.2 V (36 V). MotorGuide has nothing to say about chargers or onboard units. We don’t list a 24 V or 36 V lithium charger yet, nor a lockable 60 A breaker. Both gaps are ours, and we say so rather than point you at a part we haven’t checked.

Quick answers

Is the MotorGuide Tour Pro lithium compatible? Yes, per MotorGuide’s 2023 catalog. The manual gives no lithium size or brand.

What breaker for a Tour Pro 82? Manual reset, lockable OFF, IEC 60947-2, within 6 ft. MotorGuide says 50 A good or 60 A best; the 82’s 56 A draw makes 60 the one to fit.

Can I extend the Tour Pro’s power cables? By 6 ft, to 10 ft total, per the manual. Beyond that, 8-gauge accessory cable, and MotorGuide’s troubleshooting page recommends 6-gauge.

How many batteries for a Tour Pro 109? Three 12 V in series, or one 36 V pack.

Sources

Amp Hour Supply

12V power for boats first, then vans and RVs. You can do this.

Questions? Call 831-477-9600

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