P500 Electrical Diagram - Check My Work

[Austin Tatious]

First off, be gentle, as I don't know anything about mechanical or electrical work -- thanks to this forum though, I'm trying to piece things together and figure it out. I have a Pioneer 520, and am looking for you guys to check my work on my electrical plan. I have been through a lot of the build threads and trying to apply what I've read to my plan.

My intended use for this machine is utility work around my property and occasional hunting trips out west. I have no plans to run a plow, radios, etc. which might draw more power on a regular basis.

My list of accessories include SATV power steering, a winch for minimal / recovery use, and some accessory lighting, horn, turn signals, etc.

I was planning on running all of my lights through an Auxbeam or similar gang switch, which has fuses and relays installed in the unit. I don't believe it has a negative terminal for the accessories, so I figured I would run everything through a bus bar back to the negative post. For ease of wiring, it seems the consensus is to run a 4ga wire to a post under the hood with an inline circuit breaker, which basically just extends the posts for the battery to allow for easy access and only have to run a power cable to the battery once?

I was also planning on hooking up a Noco connection to the battery for quick attachment of my charging unit for periods of non-use.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Hondasxs]

This is a simple 1 battery system.
Looks correct.

My only concern would be the circuit breaker.
Looks like you picked a 200a.
A winch can pull 200+ amps alone.

 

[Austin Tatious]

This is a simple 1 battery system.
Looks correct.

My only concern would be the circuit breaker.
Looks like you picked a 200a.
A winch can pull 200+ amps alone.

Appreciate the response -- I hadn't given the amperage much thought yet and just grabbed a stock photo -- Good eyes though!

So, showing my ignorance, what amperage would you guys recommend, understanding that might be dependent on my system. I'm confused by the amperage rating of wires, and how it relates to the draw of the accessories. Understanding a winch can pull upwards of 200a, in looking at 4ga wire for the length I would need, the rating seems lower than that -- lets say 150a. I'm assuming this is for continuous current, which wouldn't be applicable under normal conditions? How do you pick an amp rating which will protect the wire and still allow for the necessary amps of the winch / accessories? Again, I apologize for the obvious question -- just trying to ensure I understand. Again, thanks for the responses. This forum is awesome.

 

[Smittyp]

I run my winch straight from the battery. Because I didn’t want to be in a hairy situation and a circuit breaker kick

 

[Hondasxs]

Agree with @Smittyp.
Most winch manufacturers do not recommend the main winch line be fused.Z
I think Superwinch and a few other knockoffs are the only ones that do.
Also, 5 gauge wiring is about standard. of course bigger and better.

 

[Mudder]

Found this a while back. Hope this helps.

 

[Austin Tatious]

Found this a while back. Hope this helps.
View attachment 351004

Thanks @Mudder -- I have your thread on winch wiring bookmarked and it has been a big help on getting me to this point. I appreciate you posting.

 

[bowhunterbill]

Follow the winch manufacturer’s recommendations for electrical connections. My Warn winch runs directly from the battery positive to their relay then to the winch.

All the rest- use waterproof connections and electrical tape to further protect. Make sure all wiring is zip tied or electrical taped to something solid and not flopping around.

I’d plan for future additional lighting now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Brmcg324]

I ran 6 gauge wire from my battery posts to the winch relay mounted in front, under the hood and near the winch. I have a superwinch 3000 which will draw 180amps or more if you are doing a maximum pull. Practically, that never happens, a P500 only weighs about 1000 pounds, a winch can easily drag the P500 across the ground, even with brakes held on.
Wire sizing is for continuous current, but it will never be that high for more than a few seconds at a time. You will have a dead battery before that wire overheating becomes a problem. Also those winch relay terminals are a handy place to wire other accessories such as light bars or power steering. The one good thing about a circuit breaker is to trip out if you get a wire pinched or cut and shorting out against the frame. That could keep your battery from shorting out or catching fire. if you have a circuit breaker, it needs to be in a handy place (maybe under the seat) where you can reach in and reset it. I am an electrical engineer but some of the people on this forum have great practical advice from long experience with these vehicles.