Wired up my winch last night and since its connected straight to the battery id like to know if any of yall are running a toggle switch inside the cab to turn the power on and off. Im thinking I would need a pretty beefy relay. Any thoughts?

 

I don't have one yet (winch), but I will be installing a relay to a switch inside the Jeep. There are some very strong relays available, and you use the switch to close the circuit through the relay. (Here is just one example: wiringproducts.com/index1.html?lang=en-us&target=d36.html&gclid=CNWrgLqH4ZYCFRRhnAodJlJxQ A)

And these are most of the ones available from Tyco: http://catalog.tycoelectronics.com/c...2&U=&BML=&LG=1

 

I've had numerous winches over the years, always hooked to the battery, I don't think a relay or toggle switch is necessary. I'm sure other people will have a different answer.

 

If that winch wiring gets damaged off-road or in an accident, it's an instant fire. I installed a 225A continuous duty solenoid (can takes hits up to 600A). Here's a pic (lower center-right):



js.

 

Is that like the ones found at the bottom of this page? Can they be switched on and off? http://www.dbelectrical.com/winch/winch.shtml

 

Solenoids act like a relay, switching power on/off. They often do this under full load, but in the case of a winch, you'd switch the circuit on/off without load. The advantage here is your solenoid contacts will last a very long time. The page you mentioned doesn't specify amperage ratings. You need something that'll handle 200A+ of continuous power. You also need a fuse between the solenoid and battery. I used a 250A ANL fuse, but that's a little high. I'd probably go with 200A instead -- fuses actually blow much higher than their ratings. You only want the fuse to blow on a short, before the wiring catches fire. :-)

Let me dig up some suppliers...

Here's where I got my #2 wiring and terminals -- very flexy and excellent quality double-shielded cable: store.solar-electric.com/wc--2.html I bought #2 since the winch is also wired with #2.

The solenoid I bought is #24812 here: texasindustrialelectric.com/relays.asp It's the highest rated solenoid I could find. You can always use two lower-rated ones to split the power (as most winches do), but I prefered using just a single solenoid (takes less space).

js.

 

Hey thanks! Now I just have to find about $100 ha

 

I wired my winch with a relay. It allows me to control where my power is going. The switch in the cab controls it and keeps the wiring through the firewall to a minimal size. No need to spend that much either. I got my solenoid on ebay and spent under 25 for it with shipping. Up to you.

 

Warn makes a winch power interrupt kit for those that aren't electrically oriented.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/92126_05.htm