The main power Line on a winch should go right to the battery just llke your starter motor, no fuse
This came with my China winch
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This was my understanding
ChaseTruck
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Thanks for the chart. I used 1/0 wire (the winch came with 4 gauge ...) - so according to the chart I could go to a 250-300A Mega fuse. Question is where to install it, I managed to make it sort of crowded in the space in front of the battery with some more electrical stuff.
Sorry, probably dumb question: Would you put a fuse on the negative cable then?
Eyedaho
SILVER Star
Not a dumb question. You would not put one on your negative cable, since your negative side of your battery is already grounded to your frame. Since there's no voltage potential between the negative cable and the frame, there's no danger in it shorting.
Duh. Obvious now that you say it. I'm trying to figure out if a fuse/circuit breaker is even necessary.
If you are doing a recovery on the edeg of a dangerous cliff the last thing you want is the fuse to blow or the circuit breaker to kick off.
All the major winch brands instruct you to run the power cable directly to the battery including My Warn winch and why mine is installed this way. It's been like this for years with out issue and many hard pulls.
That was my thinking as well. Figured they would've either included some sort of protection or advised it in the installation instructions. This is my first winch experience despite owning and off-roading 7 or so Toyota 4WD's over the last decade or more. Really the only mod/tool I don't have experience with surprisingly. Thanks for the insight.
ChaseTruck
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The winch in my K5 is wired that way as well (back then I simply followed the instructions provided by Ramsey), has been like that for many years, and I haven't had any issues. But the idea that the cable itself could be the fuse doesn't leave me with good feelings, either.
Caveat: A disconnect on the positive side as close as feasible to the battery is a fine idea.
Using the proper size cable and as short as run possible is also important. I also like the secondary post on the Odyssey battery allowing me to easily disconnect the winch with out losing power to anything else.
I can see that sort of circumstance once in a great while. Most recoveries don't involve such hairraising difficulties. If that's the only reason for passing on fusing a line properly, I think I'll go with not burning the truck down as a likely more common issue. YMMV
It may be that such verbiage is directed more at keeping your leads as short as possible. I'm down with that, but a fuse doesn't make a cable appreciably longer.
You should do whatever you think is best for your Reg. The fact is most all winch's are not fused same with your starter. Did I mention using the proper size cable. Just sayin
I have a HF 12K winch that came with the overload circuit breakers similar to the OP. It cycles a LOT, but it's not like my cable goes slack. I can run for about 45 seconds of a hard pull, then they overheat and open. Wait two minutes (or less) and they cool off and close for operation again. Yes the duty cycle on the winch motor states 45 seconds of operation with 10 MINUTES of off time. That's not a great duty cycle at all. But it works for my basic needs.
I chose to stick with them, but had seriously considered a fuse, but couldn't locate amp ratings of the winch motor (I didn't look very hard) but I had thoughts about this winch sitting on the very front of my truck and if I poked that winch into the rear of a car or a door of a car due to "unforeseen circumstances", I am concerned about the terminals being right out there exposed to be instantly shorted out and blowing up my battery or starting the truck on fire.
I like the idea of the disconnect at the battery to keep them disabled until I am in an area that I may need the winch. I would see that kind of like locking hubs. There when you need them, but otherwise disconnected.
I chose to stick with them, but had seriously considered a fuse, but couldn't locate amp ratings of the winch motor (I didn't look very hard) but I had thoughts about this winch sitting on the very front of my truck and if I poked that winch into the rear of a car or a door of a car due to "unforeseen circumstances", I am concerned about the terminals being right out there exposed to be instantly shorted out and blowing up my battery or starting the truck on fire.
I like the idea of the disconnect at the battery to keep them disabled until I am in an area that I may need the winch. I would see that kind of like locking hubs. There when you need them, but otherwise disconnected.
It's a standard wiring diagram, meant to help get the cables hooked up right. I don't see any reference to fuses, but I also don't see any suggestion they're a bad idea.
Yes, an accident is a potential short circuit event. That's one reason why I have the Blue Sea switch, as the winch is out of the circuit until needed.
A cut out tends to work better for that than as an emergency disconnect that has to be manually activated.
As for a fuse holder being the potential source of a short circuit, only in the event of incompetent maintenance and that can happen with any connection. If it does, better there's a fuse than not. But, yes, people should do what they think best. There's far from a consensus that winches shouldn't be fused. It's more a matter of fuse technology catching up with needs. Fusing winches wasn't so easy in the past, much easier now. Lots of people run without fuses, I have, but not anymore.
I'm ambivalent about the whole fuse/CB topic, but I feel it's nuts to have an energized heavy-gauge wire on the front of a vehicle where it is exposed damage by impact and tweakers ().
My winch is always de-energized when not in use.
Here's a link to a few disconnect options:
forum.ih8mud.com
My winch is always de-energized when not in use.
Here's a link to a few disconnect options:
Where to Mount Blue Sea Switch?
forum.ih8mud.com
Look I don't want to piss in anybody's Cheerios. The first diagram is from Warn winches the biggest name in the which industry. If you look at the diagram the main power go's to the solenoid the solenoid only lets power go to winch when you hit the switch so in essence the solenoid does the same thing as a cut off switch. If you feel you need two cut off switch's by all means have at it.
Just like the main power that go's to your starter it's the big a** cable that go's from the battery directly to the solenoid on the starter without a fuse or cut off switch
The reason the HF and other China winches have the overload circuit is because their motors have inferior winding's which causes them to heat up.
Wheeling in the Sierras like I do you are often on the side of a mountain. I for one don't want to wait for the winch to cool down to be pulled to safe spot. If your stuck in a mud hole in the flat lands I'm sure it's a non issue.
If my winch wasn't surrounded by 1/4" plate and was the first thing to take a hit I may reconsider.
All of this is JMHO
Everybody need to set there Reg up how they feel most comfortable.
That being said I truly feel that if Warn thought a fuse was necessary it would be in the diagram.
Cheers
Just like the main power that go's to your starter it's the big a** cable that go's from the battery directly to the solenoid on the starter without a fuse or cut off switch
The reason the HF and other China winches have the overload circuit is because their motors have inferior winding's which causes them to heat up.
Wheeling in the Sierras like I do you are often on the side of a mountain. I for one don't want to wait for the winch to cool down to be pulled to safe spot. If your stuck in a mud hole in the flat lands I'm sure it's a non issue.
If my winch wasn't surrounded by 1/4" plate and was the first thing to take a hit I may reconsider.
All of this is JMHO
Everybody need to set there Reg up how they feel most comfortable.
That being said I truly feel that if Warn thought a fuse was necessary it would be in the diagram.
Cheers
Negative, solenoid function does not serve the same purpose as a disconnect switch at the battery. There is still a fatty wire routed from the battery to the solenoid pack, which is usually located in an exposed (to front-end damage) and accessible (to tweakers) location. An under-hood (remote) solenoid is helpful, but even then, solenoids can fail in the closed position and make for a rather uncomfortable situation when winching. A disco switch addresses both issues, irrespective of solenoid pack location.Look I don't want to piss in anybody's Cheerios. The first diagram is from Warn winches the biggest name in the which industry. If you look at the diagram the main power go's to the solenoid the solenoid only lets power go to winch when you hit the switch so in essence the solenoid does the same thing as a cut off switch. If you feel you need two cut off switch's by all means have at it.
Just like the main power that go's to your starter it's the big a** cable that go's from the battery directly to the solenoid on the starter without a fuse or cut off switch
The reason the HF and other China winches have the overload circuit is because their motors have inferior winding's which causes them to heat up.
Wheeling in the Sierras like I do you are often on the side of a mountain. I for one don't want to wait for the winch to cool down to be pulled to safe spot. If your stuck in a mud hole in the flat lands I'm sure it's a non issue.
If my winch wasn't surrounded by 1/4" plate and was the first thing to take a hit I may reconsider.
All of this is JMHO
Everybody need to set there Reg up how they feel most comfortable.
That being said I truly feel that if Warn thought a fuse was necessary it would be in the diagram.
