Hey guys. I just installed a new winch that I got as a gift. It's just a cheap Champion brand. Got it wired up and tried to use it and everytime I run it in it kills the machine. Running it out is fine but when I run it in it acts like it's draining the battery and the machine dies. Does anybody know what this might be?
S
My guess it's drawing to much power, and putting a load on motor. Not knowing the specifics of the, (winch size, if has a relay). Check connections on battery, make sure they are clean an tight. If the connections are not good it could be drawing power directly from the altenator, and not using the stored power in the battery. (The winch will draw more than the altenator puts out) also check the battery make sure nits good. This is unlikely being new machine.
joeymt33
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if it kills it instantly, you may have a dead short somehow. The winch should consume the same amount of power going in and out with no load. Sounds like the solenoid creates a short to ground when only winching "in".
Put a volt meter on the battery next time you try it and see if the voltage drops instantly. Also, you could disconnect the positive cable and use an ohm to test the wiring to the solenoid. I'd have to go test mine to find out exactly how this would work. I can't quite figure it out with out the solenoid in front of me.
Put a volt meter on the battery next time you try it and see if the voltage drops instantly. Also, you could disconnect the positive cable and use an ohm to test the wiring to the solenoid. I'd have to go test mine to find out exactly how this would work. I can't quite figure it out with out the solenoid in front of me.
Double checked all connections. Everything's tight. Spliced the hot wire from the switch into the ignition hot wire like it said. Still the same thing. I tried undoing that and ran the hot wire from the switch to the hot wire on the relay that came with the winch. Same results. It sounds like it is either the battery or it's going straight to the altinator. It shouldn't be the battery yet. It's one year old. It only dies when I'm running the winch in. But it sounds like a battery drain.
joeymt33
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If it kills it immediately, I'm thinking a short create by the solenoid.
Try bypassing the solenoid and activate the winch by touching the cables to the winch.
Try bypassing the solenoid and activate the winch by touching the cables to the winch.
S
Another thing you could try is to reverse the leads on the winch motor, which should reverse direction in relation to the switch position. (to run out when should be going in.) If it works going in, and not out you know it's not the winch motor.
Hopefully I can get it worked out. I just installed one of these Champion winches on my son's Rancher 420 and it works great. Not a bad winch for the price.
Got it figured out today. I took joeymt33's advice and touched the cables directly to the winch. It killed the Pioneer. So that told me I had a short going on. Took the bumper back off to take a look. What I couldn't see before is that the positive terminal on the winch was barely touching the frame of the machine causing the short. It's a bad design on these winches. The terminals are on the end of the winch. I wouldn't even install it but it was a gift. Now I need to figure out how to position it so it doesn't touch the frame. Thanks for the help joey. I knew folks on here would help me out.
J
JTW
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I don't know about the champion brand but the Superwinch is clockable. Meaning you can rotate the terminal orientation. Maybe you can do the same??
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S
Hard to tell without seeing it, tape would work but can wear through from vibration, frame flex. Maybe you could off excess of stud if Tha is what is hitting frame. Or maybe you could drill some new holes in the mount, and move it over for more a more permanent fix.
E
After checking for good electrical connections (I highly recommend using dielectric grease on ALL connections on ALL circuits), you may want to check the amps being drawn (using an amp probe) and comparing it to the winch manufacturer's rating/spec. If it is within spec, your vehicle's electrical system is not up to it. A dual battery system may be required.
joeymt33
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On post #9, he said he found the problem.
Thanks for the help though, water proofing all connections is a great thing to do.
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