Hi guys, did any of you installing winch bothered to protect it with a breaker and if yes what size? Thanx for taking the time to answer.
P500 Electrical winch protection
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NTCPrezJB
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Some definitely have. It depends on your winches draw so you may want to post your make/mode/size at least. The spec sheet for the electrical load would be even more helpful if you have it. Several guys around that can help point in the right direction at that point.
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Old Ironsides
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I have a 300 amp circuit breaker on mine. Some would say that's too high but a winch can draw that much power when being worked and if you're in a pinch and that breaker keeps tripping due to being too low, I'd rather not have one at all. 
Mudder
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6ga ran to hood also, Busman waterproof switched on mine, a few inches from battery. Just match the breaker amps to the wire being protected, matched to the amps listed in the winch manual + accessories. For accessories run off the underhood terminals, add a separate proper fuse on smaller downstream gauge wires. Busman has never tripped during winching, but often use switch cut off for safety when working on wiring under hood. Good peace of mind for $30. Link to thread with a wire table and good discussion.
P500 - Call for winch wiring help??
P500 - Call for winch wiring help??
Some winches come with 50 amp breakers, and that is way too small for a guy who is in trouble and trying to haul his machine out of a mud hole. I have no cct bkr on mine, and it makes me nervous, but I couldn't find a 300 or 400 amp breaker. Then I thought, if a short circuit is drawing 3 or 400 amps, she's going to burn anyway. So, if you have a useful winch, get fire insurance.I have a 300 amp circuit breaker on mine. Some would say that's too high but a winch can draw that much power when being worked and if you're in a pinch and that breaker keeps tripping due to being too low, I'd rather not have one at all.
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Old Ironsides
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@ohanacreek posted this a while back and it's the one I have.
https://www.amazon.com/XSCORPION-CB300L-Circuit-Breaker-Indicator/dp/B001RS4YOM?tag=sxsweb24-20
Thank you guys for the replies. I installed 60” Warn plow and Viper Max 3500 with synthetic rope on my then new P5 two Christmases ago in a hurry. Basically hotwired everything including the control, so it’s ON all the time. Now I’m adding LED lights in front and back and I think it’s a good time to play it safe and add second battery with insulator (True Ame) and proper protection for the winch and rest of the AUX side as well. The Viper came with 5 AWG wires so I’ll put 4 AWG on it and was thinking of 300A breaker but wasn’t really sure. That’s probably an overkill for plowing but when going up the mountain and got stuck in snow then it’s a different story. I can’t find any spec sheet for the Viper’s load characteristics so there it is.
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Old Ironsides
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Honestly, with the P500 you don't need the isolator. I've had two batteries wired in parallel for 3 yrs., lots of electrical accessories including a 1000 watt rms stereo with 4 amplifiers. Probably buy a lithium ion jump pack for the same price as that isolator. FWIW.
lee
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Kind of wondering how far the jump pack is going to drag me threw the mud after I kill the battery.
Got the feeling it's going to pull great for a few seconds (about as long as it takes to start a Duramax) then die.
I'll report back after I do it (probably be in the shots from the trail section as I will still be stuck in the mud)
Mudder
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Personally I would only use the Jump pack to start an engine, then give some run time before winching. Thinking my CB is 185 amps, and if the winch stalled or breaker tripped, time to break out the snatch block or a different line of pull. IMHO.
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Thanks guys for all the responses. I did make my mind with the isolator though. For some $60 I’ll keep it nice and clean. If going straight with parallel batteries you get into issues of sizes and types. I think I’ll try going with deep cycle Mighty Max 26Ah for the 2nd battery and at that price I can afford True isolator.
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Old Ironsides
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Mudder
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Old Ironsides
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Kind of...if the switch is open to charge and discharge both batteries then it's just like having two wired in parallel. There's also the issue of short run times and the second battery never seeing a charge. Have also read of the auto isolators screwing up. If I had went that route it would've been the manual switch but two like batteries wired together and I've never even looked at them in 3 yrs.
