So I came out of work this afternoon and noticed my winch cable was hanging down. I walked around to see what happened and found the cable completely bound up. I have no idea how this happened. Any ideas on how to fix it? I know the cable is ruined at this point, just want to get it off so I can replace it.

 

Gonna have to pull it out. Free spool and pull.

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Thanks! I'll give that a try. It's really bound up... I still can't figure out what happened.

 

Is the winch powered up all the time? Could it have been some type of failure or perhaps vandalism. I remember reading somewhere about a case where vandals free spooled the cable over the top, attached the hook the rear axle, then jumped the winch remote controller pins until it reeled in the wire rope...

 

Another problem that is common to wire cable, is the fact that it is easily comes loose over time if it is not wound on the drum properly. The best thing to do every once in a while is to free-spool the cable out all the way. Leave one wrap on the drum, then with gloves, pay in the cable a little at a time keeping tension on it while you wind it back onto your drum, if you do this and each wrap is neat and tight, you will likely never have this issue again.

 

It was connected to power all the time. I'll be fixing that immediately!!! It's usually either parked in the garage or a secure lot at work so I figured it would be safe. Boy was I wrong...

Obviously the cable is shot, should I be concerned about the winch being ruined?

 

Winch should definitely not be ruined. The cable may be ok, you'll just need to pull it all out and inspect it. If you can't pull it out by hand, hook up to a tree or another vehicle, put it in free spool, and back up slowly. That should pull it out. It would help to have someone watching just in case.

 

The winch seems to work still but the cable was totally shot. Now I'm looking for a replacement. How difficult is it to replace? Seems like it should be pretty easy, essentially just spooling it back on right? Anything to look out for?

 

Perfect opportunity for synth rope.....

 

Some a$$hole unlocked your spool... Just that simple.