Detailed install photos of Superwinch Terra 35

[TomB985]

Hi everyone,

Had a tough time finding a detailed install guide for the P5, so I took some photos as I installed one today. I've never installed a winch before and was a bit surprised at the complexity. Didn't install the plug for the external remote because it's not my P5 and wanted to consult with the owner about location before poking a 1" hole in a piece of expensive plastic.

I used the KFI winch mount purchased from Amazon.com. The quality of the plate and hardware was outstanding, and it went on without fuss. The first issue was finding a location to install the solenoid. Just as I was getting out the drill I stumbled upon a bracket that looks to be there for the factory winch option. It's directly behind the dashboard on the passenger side of the machine:



Have to be very careful with the routing of the cables to the battery. They were just long enough to make it with mere inches to spare. I routed the cables down through the wheel well...



And above the frame rails on the passenger side. I ran the yellow wires by feeling through the holes in the skid plates, then gave up and removed the passenger side fasteners and dropped the skid plates for the blue wire. Brought them out in the rear wheel well and up into the battery box.



Tried the best I could to get the wires through the same opening the rest of the wires went, but there wasn't enough room. Had to notch the cover to make it fit:





Mounted the switch under the dash near the driver's knee.



Did this using the hardware supplied with the KFI winch kit for this purpose. Made sure to use a location that would run the machine screws through both pieces of plastic where they intersect. The back of the screws can be seen towards the right of the photo. Sorry about the dirt, it makes things a little tough to see.



Ran the wires down next to the radiator and attached them to the terminals on the winch. Secured them with zip ties.



After this was done and the winch was tested I tied the wires up with zip ties. I attempted to stay out of the area the underhood bucket sits in in the event that they get one in the future.



And here's a finished photo of the winch mounted up:



Took it outside for a quick test. Had no trouble dragging the P5 up a hill on my driveway with the parking brake locked. Very impressive little winch!

 

[TomB985]

And, if anyone cares, I scanned the instructions from KFI. The last two pages talks about wiring specific to the P5, and I found it extremely helpful.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/556 ... nstall.pdf

 

[Hondasxs]

Thanks Tom,
You did a great job. I see the P5 requires the R/B and B/Y wires to be reversed as well. This sometimes throws people off as they think the R/B must hook to the battery. This is a great visual for that part of the install.
I also notice the upgraded battery. Was there a noticeable cranking difference?
It will defiantly help with ruining that winch for long periods of time.
Thanks for the pics and the instruction scan. The P5 community will find good use for it I'm sure.

 

[TomB985]

I also notice the upgraded battery. Was there a noticeable cranking difference?
It will defiantly help with ruining that winch for long periods of time.

Nope, that's the stock battery. Not sure of the difference or capacity, but it seems to do well cranking in cold weather. Started right up in 5° this morning!

 

[Hondasxs]

Nope, that's the stock battery. Not sure of the difference or capacity, but it seems to do well cranking in cold weather. Started right up in 5° this morning!

Hum... Wonder why the P500 has a larger battery then the 700... dont make no since. lol.

 

[Sxsnewbie]

I saw this thread and became curious about my battery In my P5.? I didn't remember it to look like that one when I ran my winch/harness setup. So I found myself in my garage at 1:30 taking a look. Ya it's the same. So now I'm curious as to what the upgrade is from the 700.?

Its been below zero here for days and my P5 cranks right up like its spring time (garage is not heated). I have yet to experience any problems running the winch and LED bar for more then an hour plowing.

 

[ohanacreek]

The 14' 700 was a 6ahr battery... Pitiful.

 

[slacker]

thanks for the write up....
I did this install today but was kinda confused by the supplied circuit breaker, ive installed a dozen atv winches, mostly Warns, and have never used a circuit breaker, for the time being I have left it off , I didn't see it in your install , or did I miss it somewhere,? it was recommended to go just off the battery but if I use it I am thinking of mounting it under the hood near the solenoid , anyone see a reason that woundnt be ok ? I also used the KFI high mount, such a quality item, it looks like a factory part. I was able to get the battery wires behind the gas tank using a wooden dowel ran in from the back side and taped the wires to it and pulled them through.. has anyone found a clean place to mount the remote? I left it off until I can figure something ... I mounted the rocker like you did.. thanks

 

[Hondasxs]

Looks good.
Mounted my remote beside the 12v accessory port. Others mount it under the hood.

If you didn't see the video from TomB985 check it out at the bottom of post 1.
I missed it myself and just embedded it.

 

[TomB985]

That circuit breaker confused me. The instructions say to put it in-line with the positive cable, which would have been dangerous with exposed terminals like that. I couldn't think of a way to mount it that made me feel comfortable. So I left it out.

I also didn't find a spot for the remote that I was happy with. The P5 actually belongs to my mom who lives 130 miles away, and all the snow has delayed me bring it back up north.

And THANKS for the help embedding the video. I'm not familiar with this forum software, the other forums I'm part of work differently.

 

[slacker]

thanks, I feel the same about the circuit breaker, just not sure its necessary if you don't push the winch close to the stall point, a snatch block takes care of that if needed... thanks for the vid. i may mount the remote underdash as well... i just don't see a good spot other than that and hate to have to open the hood to use it ..

 

[shakemandril]

The circuit breaker generally should be installed within 18" of the battery. The reason for it is incase the wire gets shorted somehow. 6 gauge power cable is capable of welding heat even with that small battery your rig could go up in flames quick. Especially since the fuel tank is so close to the cable path. Just my 2 cents.

 

[scottwil01]

Here is my Superwinch LT3000 with same mount. Works and looks really great. I mounted the remote switch plug under the passenger fender and rocker arm to the driver side roll bar. I purchased the wiring harness from honda and the wiring was real simple. I had to go to the auto parts store and bought black and red wire and wire cover if I recall I used around 10 feet wiring to the back battery. I used the wires from the solenoid to the winch that came with the winch.

 

[Rustell]

Lots of good information here ...Thanks.
I put the circuit breaker in the battery box. There is a small space on the left side that with a little "trimming" will work. I'm putting the remote plug on the dash...right in the middle of that obnoxious yellow warning sign. I figure the metal sign is just added reinforcement. I too was confused about the wiring until I read about swapping the power cables.

 

[shakemandril]

Lots of good information here ...Thanks.
I put the circuit breaker in the battery box. There is a small space on the left side that with a little "trimming" will work. I'm putting the remote plug on the dash...right in the middle of that obnoxious yellow warning sign. I figure the metal sign is just added reinforcement. I too was confused about the wiring until I read about swapping the power cables.

I also used the small cubby in the battery box for the circuit breaker. I also had a bracket made out of 1/16th steel to mount the solenoid under the passenger seat.

 

[feetpiece]

Almost done using this tutorial with a KFI mount and Terra 45S - Thanks!

I need to get the wiring sub-harness 08Z08-HL5-A00 to finish it up.

I put her up on ramps and jacked up the front end IOT run the wires back to the battery. I unbolted the skid-plate (Right side/4x10mm bolts) which made it super easy to run them up.

I haven't installed the breaker yet but will as soon as I can get to Lowes and get cables cut.

I removed the display cluster and mounted the solenoid center-line with the two support pillars.

One question about wiring since the Superwinch instructions were basically garbage: My Terra 45 and the KFI instructions show the POS/NEG terminals to be reversed from your photo:



I tested continuity and function but haven't locked anything down or heat shrinked anything in case I screwed up.

 

[sthomp54]

Thanks for the install pics. I have purchased the KFI mount and still trying to decide which winch to buy. Is the terra 45 overkill for the 500? Will it fit OK or too big, any pics of it installed feetpiece? Any thoughts on steel vs syth? I was also looking at the viper max winches but they dont seem to be quite as reliable as the terra.

 

[ohanacreek]

Definitely synth, safer if it breaks, no wire burs to cut your hands, and no rusting cable.

 

[TomB985]

Thanks for the install pics. I have purchased the KFI mount and still trying to decide which winch to buy. Is the terra 45 overkill for the 500? Will it fit OK or too big, any pics of it installed feetpiece? Any thoughts on steel vs syth? I was also looking at the viper max winches but they dont seem to be quite as reliable as the terra.

I was very impressed with the Terra 35, it seems far stronger than the Warn 3000 I have on my Polaris. It would handily drag the Pioneer up a tree if you asked it to. I can't imagine ever needing anything more powerful, so I would stick with the 35.

 

[jak9922]

Terra35 and 45 are the same size and most of the time the 45 is cheaper on amazon for some reason and ive run the hell out of superwinch and never had a failure ivd seen many warns fail and will never one btw i did have 1 steel cable break but that was my fault not paying attention to the way it was rubbing on my plow frame and just chewed through it