My new 12k Badlands came with 3 50 amp breakers that go on the + battery terminal. I have heard that these can be tossed, have also heard that they will always trip because of the amperage the winch pulls. What are you guys doing with your winches ?
are you running circuit breakers on your winch ?
- Thread starter half k cruiser
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1911
chupacabra
No circuit breakers in line with either of mine; both straight to the battery.
LFD2037
TEXAS LEXUS!
x2. My s***tybilt didn't come w/any & didn't advise any in the installation instructions. The solenoid(s) in the control box is my circuit breaker.
x3. Switch only. No fuses or breakers. Just turn on the switch when I need the winch, or think I might need it, and then turn it off.
While a breaker would be a great idea to keep from catching your rig on fire from a chaffed wire shorting to the vehicle steel, proper routing will prevent that from happening. Breakers are designed to protect the cable, not the load, and typically you would thermally damage the windings in a winch armature or field before the cable insulation goes, as long as the cable is properly sized for the winch.
Skip it. Maybe you could consider a high-amperage disconnect switch under the hood for the times that you are not using the winch. That way it is not as easy to tamper with and you do not have to worry about things when you are not actually around the vehicle.
Skip it. Maybe you could consider a high-amperage disconnect switch under the hood for the times that you are not using the winch. That way it is not as easy to tamper with and you do not have to worry about things when you are not actually around the vehicle.
^^^Like onlyonedr said^^^
I do like the idea though of some type of emergency stop switch or button.
I do like the idea though of some type of emergency stop switch or button.
- Thread starter
- #7
Agreed a winch power switch or just disconnecting the cables when not planning to off road would be a good thing to have.
I put a 500a fuse on the power line to my M12k Warn... I carry a couple of extras. A breaker would be a great way to go too.
FWIW my thinking is protection for some catastrophic failure: a collision or trail accident (roll over etc) that shorts the power wire to ground or a stuck solenoid causing the winch to not be able to be stopped (a breaker would be better here IF you had the time to get in there to manually trip it.)
FWIW my thinking is protection for some catastrophic failure: a collision or trail accident (roll over etc) that shorts the power wire to ground or a stuck solenoid causing the winch to not be able to be stopped (a breaker would be better here IF you had the time to get in there to manually trip it.)
No it wouldn't. It COULD minimize the chance that many sorts of incidents would impact the wire but it COULDN'T prevent it in all possible scenarios.
I think proper routing IS critical, but adding a breaker or fuse is a smart plan.
Mark
A world recognized "belt and suspenders" guy.
