Winch Wizards? Why cut power to the winch? (1 Viewer)

[CarolinaGX]

I am almost done with my Coastal Offroad bumper and I received my Smittybilt X20 10k winch a few days ago to mount on it. I am trying to understand why it is important to be able to cut power to the winch when the winch is not in use. Is this for a safety measure, like a kill switch in a race car? I don't need to disconnect it (i dont think) as i don't plan on taking this heavy assembly off any time soon. If there is indeed a need, has anyone used something like this Blue Sea M-Series

 

[Brake Weight]

I didn’t put a disconnect on mine but started to do it. I see that it’s a high amperage electric motor and has a suitable fuse. Should this arc out somewhere in between it’ll cause some damage especially if it doesn’t pull enough to blow the fuse. When in use you’d be more aware of things than just running backcountry roads.

 

[James C]

Yeah mine's disconnected to prevent shorts in the case of a front-end collision

 

[ChaseTruck]

In our trucks that have a winch, I keep the positive cable disconnected, at the battery.
As mentioned earlier, I don't want an unfused 1/0 cable short out in case of a front end collision.

And installing a fuse, or a switch, that can handle a potential 400+ Amp draw was too much grief; in the K5 Blazer, there's a wing nut on the terminal, and in the 80, it's a 13mm nut to connect the cable. We haven't really used the winch in the 80, but the arrangement in the K5 has worked well for many years. If we run stuff where I might need the winch, I'll connect it when we air down at the trailhead, and disconnect at air-up.

 

[GXO]

I've had mine hooked up full time on various trucks for about 20 years. Never had an issue. Putting in a high amp kill switch would be the easy solution. I has this on my last winch, worked great, but I got paranoid if I ever lost the key lol Amazon product ASIN B07MYQXNJ2

 

[spotcruiser]

A couple of years ago, I had the winch continue to run at the end of a long, difficult pull. The solenoids had welded together. It's a scary situation and I don't want to repeat it. Banging on the solenoid pack got the contacts to release.

Years ago when I had the 2F, I used a manual disconnect switch. I didn't have the room for it when I installed the V8 and ran without it. It was during this time that the winch solenoids got stuck. Recently, I installed an electric disconnect. This is what I used:

ML Solenoid - 12V DC - Blue Sea Systems

500 Amp magnetic latching (bi-stable) solenoid provides high-amp switching under load where manual control is not required

www.bluesea.com

It only requires power to open or close. I have it installed in the winch positive cable. I switch it ON when I want to use the winch and can switch of OFF immediately if there is a problem. I feel better having the disconnect.

 

[Kelevra]

We did a disconnect on ours as well.

 

[GXO]

I use a contactor now... No more solenoid crap for me

 

[spotcruiser]

A contactor is just a solenoid. In the case of an Albright, it's just one set of contacts that make the connection instead of two.

I use a contactor now... No more solenoid crap for me

 

[GXO]

Been on the Albright bus for about 8 years. I like them a lot better... And they are sealed so the contacts rust vs the solenoid itself. Much safer

 

[bicycleagent003]

I don't like to think that anyone could walk up to my truck and start using the winch while I'm away from the vehicle, and I like to be able to cut power to the winch in case of emergency (like a fire). That's why I installed one of the Blue Sea switches between my battery and winch. It gives me peace of mind. I don't think it's overkill, I consider it just being prudent.
Just my two cents.

 

[GXO]

No one can access my winch or controls without popping the hood.

 

[vwynn]

I leave mine connected directly to the battery... the only thing keeping it from being on/off is the power on/off switch on its side... I figure youll need the control to even use the unit and those with the controllers already have winches so they dont need to use other peoples winches

 

[lugueto]

Installing a power cutoff switch with a removable key is a simple security measure. It can be installed in an easy access spot so you wouldn't need to pop the hood in order to feed power to the winch.

There's two reasons to do this:

1) no one can tamper with the winch when not in use. to the people who think you need the control in order to operate the winch: you can jump the contacts in the control's plug in order to operate it. You can't operate it if it has no power.

2) A short circuit, with a 2/0 cable directly from the battery is extremely dangerous. If there were to be a short circuit, you could avoid it or stop it quickly just by disconnecting. This is quicker than removing the cable from the battery lead.

I had a short once where the power cable's insulation was stripped because it was pinched by the bumper's edge and the plastic trim. A short this size fries your main 100A fuse which will leave you stranded. Also, they're expensive and not quick to replace. If you jump this fuse and the short happens again, you fry your ECU. Off course you have to check your installation periodically and before using it, but having it disconnected will prevent the short from happening when the winch is not in use.