WARN 8274...show what ya got!

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Not realy certain of exactly what is considered the correct way but here are a couple of pictures of how I mounted my 8274 to my 40. Mounted another 8274 to my 60 in the exact same manner. Still using them both over 20+ years & both with plenty of use.
1) large flat washer
2) locking washer
3) when I did those mounts I lived in a large metro city so I spot welded the washers/bolts for some modest theft prevention.🙈🙉🙈

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John McVicker said:
Not realy certain of exactly what is considered the correct way but here are a couple of pictures of how I mounted my 8274 to my 40. Mounted another 8274 to my 60 in the exact same manner. Still using them both over 20+ years & both with plenty of use.
1) large flat washer
2) locking washer
3) when I did those mounts I lived in a large metro city so I spot welded the washers/nuts for some modest theft prevention.🙈🙉🙈

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Thanks! I saw that the Warn bolt kit included a lock washer but no flat washer. I am thinking I'll do both like you did.
 
That looks great! Doesnt the flat washer negate the lock washer? What locks the flat washer?
I use the square nuts, bolts and lock washers. Grade 8's are fine, but keep in mind the winch is pulling against the bumper. Its an aluminum casting. Imo, tight is good.
 
Doesnt the flat washer negate the lock washer? What locks the flat washer?
I use the square nuts, bolts and lock washers. Grade 8's are fine, but keep in mind the winch is pulling against the bumper

Actually that’s a pretty good question. But…not if you tack weld both the flat & lock washer.🤷‍♂️
@pb4ugo
 
MatthewMcD said:
Should I add washers between the Winch and the bumper or should the winch mount directly on the back of the plate? Is there a torque spec? Should I use Loctite?
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I would not (did not myself) use any washers between the winch and the mount plate. I used flat washers and lock nuts on the mounting bolts if I recall correctly. Torque them good and tight; no spec given. The housing and foot mount are aluminum, so don’t get too crazy.
 
pb4ugo said:
That looks great! Doesnt the flat washer negate the lock washer? What locks the flat washer?
I use the square nuts, bolts and lock washers. Grade 8's are fine, but keep in mind the winch is pulling against the bumper. Its an aluminum casting. Imo, tight is good.
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Good point, I think my vanity at not wanting to mar the powder coat was driving my logic. :)
 
I have all the 0/1 ga cable for the installation. Not wanting to start a holy war, but having read various posts I see there are 3 wiring options.
  1. Always on, wired directly to the battery.
  2. Switched, usually through a battery isolator.
  3. Switched with solenoid.
I can understand the thinking behind the switched approach. What would y'all recommend. This IS my first rodeo.
 
I wire straight to the battery. I think each additional connection creates resistance evidenced by the heat build up at that connection. Idk, if that's right or wrong. I winch a lot and do somethings differently because of past failures on hard or long pulls.
 
MatthewMcD said:
I have all the 0/1 ga cable for the installation. Not wanting to start a holy war, but having read various posts I see there are 3 wiring options.
  1. Always on, wired directly to the battery.
  2. Switched, usually through a battery isolator.
  3. Switched with solenoid.
I can understand the thinking behind the switched approach. What would y'all recommend. This IS my first rodeo.
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This is a long standing debate.
I have a more modern warn winch than the 8274 but I purchased it new and the
instructions had you wire it always live directly to the battery.
This is how I have mine and IMO how it should be done, a wince is a piece of safety equipment and the last thing you want is a switch, relay or isolator to failing at a critical moment.

Think of it like your starter motor direct line from the battery to the starter always live.
Also you want the winch running at it peak and every connection there a small amount of power loss.
I’m sure others will have a different opinion.
 
For years I always had my 8274 direct to the battery. ONCE, I had it stick while winching in.

I had to get to the door, open it, pop the hood and pull a battery cable. Fortunately I had wing nuts on the terminals. It was scary. The wing nuts worked but it isn't fast enough.

After that incident I installed a manual cutoff switch rated for 500 amps continuous. My current build has one under the hood that can be switched manually or with a switch.

Just some food for thought.
 
Broski said:
This is a long standing debate.
I have a more modern warn winch than the 8274 but I purchased it new and the
instructions had you wire it always live directly to the battery.
This is how I have mine and IMO how it should be done, a wince is a piece of safety equipment and the last thing you want is a switch, relay or isolator to failing at a critical moment.

Think of it like your starter motor direct line from the battery to the starter always live.
Also you want the winch running at it peak and every connection there a small amount of power loss.
I’m sure others will have a different opinion.
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This ^^. I have been in winching situations in mud where I needed every last microvolt to reach the winch motor. You can't anticipate when you'll be in that situation so best to be prepared when in happens.

Also when running the cables from the winch to the battery pay attention to how and where those cables are routed. If the cable is running across an edge or something where there may be abrasion add extra insulation. I'll take a piece of heater hose and use that to further insulate the winch cables.
 
I’m a believer in using a quick disconnect on my winches, your mileage may vary. I have my 8274’s wired to the battery with HD 1 gauge wires with Anderson Power Poles. I can plug them in for use or unplug them in literally seconds.

Not sure about the new 8274’s but when I bought mine they were factory wired with 4g wires which I thought a little small for any super duty use.

When I upgraded to 1g I went with the Anderson Power Poles. Another benefit is that no one with bad/mischievous intentions can plug a controller in to the winch to do mischievous damage to the bumper, vehicle etc. Or if you get in a front end fender bender. The Power Pole connections are under the hood & out of sight.

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Y'all are amazing. Hopefully last question. I found several wiring diagrams like this one: Wiring an 8274 + Albright - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/wiring-an-8274-albright.485518/post-6658611 What I don't see is where to connect the ground wire. I am assuming to goes directly back to the battery using the same heavy gauge wire as the positive connection. Does it really go under the motor mount bolt? Can someone share a photo of the positive and negative connections on the winch for me? For reference here is my setup with the cover removed.
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As always, thank you in advance!
 
MatthewMcD said:
I am assuming to goes directly back to the battery using the same heavy gauge wire as the positive connection.
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Yes.

MatthewMcD said:
Does it really go under the motor mount bolt?
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It depends on the exact motor. Modern motors have a big stud on the bottom for the ground. Older motors used a ring terminal under one of the through bolts that hold the motor to the upper housing.

MatthewMcD said:
Can someone share a photo of the positive and negative connections on the winch for me?
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Don't know that mine will be helpful to you since I have upgraded mine with the 9.5XP motor (highly recommended BTW), but here is my ground cable attached to the stud on the bottom of the motor:

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I think older ones were grounded by the mounting bolts. I added a ground using one of the long motor screws then straight to the battery. As mentioned b4, I use hose to protect the cables at possible pinch points.
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I would add washers to the bolt heads, but do not put washer between the bumper and the winch. You want the winch to have a nice flat surface to press against. Blue Loctite is fine.

7/16-14 grade 8 bolts should get torqued to 52lb oiled or 70lb dry. Your square nuts are going to be grade 5 and they are spinning/pressing against the aluminum winch housing. I would torque to grade 5 specs.

7/16-14 GRADE 5: 37LB OILED 49LB DRY.
 
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