Winch question (1 Viewer)

[Svensk120]

Would you run a circuit breaker when installing a winch or just directly to the battery. I have looked online in so many different places and people all post on both sides...

 

[emorth]

So, the danger is:
- The winch + wire rubs against a sharp piece of metal, the insulation wears away and the wire short circuits to ground & instant fire.
- You are involved in a minor fender bender and the winch + wire gets crushed, cuts through the insulation & instant fire.

Fuse/circuit breaker is good. It will need to be a several hundred Amp fuse/breaker depending upon the load of the winch.
And/or install an Anderson connector as close to the battery as possible. Plug the winch in when you need to use the winch, unplug it when it is not in use.

I would not wire it directly to the battery without protection/disconnector.

 

[Svensk120]

@emorth would one of those ON/OFF switches be good enough?
I would think that it was in the power line between the battery and winch that would be ok? That way for the winch to have power it has to be turned on? I know nothing of electrical things

 

[emorth]

Yep. That will work. It just has to be able to handle the full load Amps of the winch.
Mount it close to the battery. The shorter the wire from the battery to the switch the lower the risk.

 

[Svensk120]

Basically the wiring would be this... it would basically just isolate the winch to its own little world.

 

[emorth]

That’s it.
You won’t need to ground the circuit breaker panel. Circuit breakers don’t need grounds.
The accessories will need a ground.

 

[Svensk120]

this is is how i was thinking to set it up in the engine bay

winch up front power to the switch mounted on the tray and then power from the switch to the actual battery. I will be updating the battery terminals to ones with more spots as well

 

[emorth]

Works for me.

 

[Svensk120]

Thanks @emorth of guru of the electrons! That is just what I wanted to make sure of!

 

[emorth]

 

[prharper]

@emorth would one of those ON/OFF switches be good enough?
I would think that it was in the power line between the battery and winch that would be ok? That way for the winch to have power it has to be turned on? I know nothing of electrical things

View attachment 3579029

You definitely want something like this for reasons stated above. Depending on which winch and model you get, some of them can be operated by a remote wireless fob (e.g. Warn, ComeUp). If you had power going to winch, anyone with the same winch remote could potentially play games with your winch.

 

[emorth]

The other concern with remote control winches is interference. If someone close to the winch (winch’s receiver) transmits on a handheld or mobile radio there is the potential for the radio’s signal to interfere with the signal from the winch’s remote.

 

[Svensk120]

Well the winch is wired... but i can get a wireless remote but I would plug in the receiver for it when i was using it so nobody could screw about with.

Interference is something i didnt think of but i guess it could happen with any brands remotes

 

[emorth]

Any receiver can be vulnerable to RF (radio frequency) interference in a variety of ways. It might be interesting to do some experiments to see how susceptible winch receivers are to transmitters (CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, HAM, cell phones) that are used on trails.

 

[Svensk120]

Any receiver can be vulnerable to RF (radio frequency) interference in a variety of ways. It might be interesting to do some experiments to see how susceptible winch receivers are to transmitters (CB, FRS, GMRS, MURS, HAM, cell phones) that are used on trails.

Well maybe at a club event we can test it out.... either at the swap meet or relic or FC

 

[jsnow]

Comeup offers fuse kits and include them in some of their winch packages. Winch Fuse Kit, 300A - https://comeupusa.shop/products/winch-fuse-kit-300a

I can only speak to my experience with Comeup wireless controller having used one for the last seven years, I have never experienced any interference with RF from radio usage on the trail. Any interference honestly, but there is always a chance it could happen. Having a fuse kit, or a cutoff switch is always a good idea.

 

[whirlybirdbrewing]

I used a Bluesea 3000 when I did something similar to my LX. I wanted a hard cutoff in the rare event of some issue while using it and also wasn’t sure if there were any ghost current draw concerns. Didn’t bother with a fuse because I left it powered off unless I wanted to use it. The BS 3000 was the only thing I could find that had a rated load that matched the 12.5K Comeup, particularly the peak amps while under max load.

 

[prharper]

I used a Bluesea 3000 when I did something similar to my LX. I wanted a hard cutoff in the rare event of some issue while using it and also wasn’t sure if there were any ghost current draw concerns. Didn’t bother with a fuse because I left it powered off unless I wanted to use it. The BS 3000 was the only thing I could find that had a rated load that matched the 12.5K Comeup, particularly the peak amps while under max load.

I got this one:

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/ComeUp/CU881097.html

 

[CrabCake]

This thread got me thinking about mine again as it was directly attached to the battery per the instructions until today. I cross read some forum posts from various places, and it seemed like the fuse option wouldn't really do much for such a high amperage rating as protection from burning stuff up before it tripped. My concern is if I have a front end collision with a rock or other car, that it could potentially pinch or cut the wire that is under the bumper and cause bigger problems. I went ahead and grabbed a smaller but higher amperage version of a Blue Sea switch that seems to be rated for enough juice based on the charts from my winch supplier (Smittybilt).

Per my manual, Amp draw to weight of pull for the 12.5k winch:
6000 lbs, 230A
9000 lbs, 300A
12000 lbs, 375A

My switch is rated at:
300A continuous
500A for 10 minutes
900A for 30 seconds

The switch is small enough to fit right up front (about half the size but not much less capacity of the larger switch with a higher rating that @whirlybirdbrewing used).







And my other battery for the rear & air compressor:



And my handy new press brake from Eastwood that made nice tight 90's for a clean bracket! It worked exactly as I had hoped and got it to have on hand for just such little projects that it makes such a difference to have.



Thanks to @emorth for the extra info too...please feel free to tell me if I need to make some adjustments to my setup, my feelings won't be hurt!

 

[Svensk120]

that is great to have press to make brackets and all must have to remember that!!

so here is a bit of my weekend project I tackled with a good buddy in Richmond this weekend.... just a teaser....