This isn't a thread to bash any product. I just thought I would post my experience as a reminder to do winch maintenance.

Also, Yes I'm bored at work so there is a little story along with the info

After a lazy day searching and reading the forum for fun and ideas I came across a couple threads of people with winch issues due to water infiltration. I decided maybe I should check mine out since I have only used it once on my old jeep. I had also just been out the previous weekend and my winch would have come in handy once or twice but I still had not finished wiring it to the new jeep. So I pulled it off the bumper and took it apart.
Great news! No water in the motor or gears! But then I checked my solenoid box. This is what I found. I'm Glad I found this now and not when I needed it most.



I bought this new less then 2 years ago I believe.

The solenoids had been sitting in water for who knows how long. After taking the solenoids out and cleaning everything up, I found a hole near a screw that held the lid to solenoid box on. I sealed it up and couldn't find any other areas that could have leaked. So I added some sealant to most everything and some terminal protectant to the solenoid terminals.

I finished wiring it up and tested it out.
Winch out did nothing. Winch in made a click. So I tapped the solenoids a few times and "winch in" was working but "winch out" was nothing but click. I took them out and cleaned them again but it didn't help. Now nothing moved.
Over then next few days I searched the internet for replacement solenoids. I ended up going with a replacement solenoid I found at summit racing for a different brand 10,000lb winch (mine is an ENGO 10,000lb). With their price guarantee it cost about $63 and I got free shipping. Normally it around $85 plus shipping. It looks to be sealed to handle weather better.


It also rained hard a couple times during those few days I was searching the net. I decided to get a jump on the install and disassemble the solenoid box again and buy some wiring to mount the new one under the hood. Even after sealing everything up I found more water (not much maybe a tablespoon). So now I am building a better box to mount the better solenoid in

So just a heads up to those that don't, or a reminder to those that do, Check your solenoids and your winch every so often. You could have water in them and not even know it.

 

happened to me too, take the time and relocate the solenoid box into the cab, will keep it out of the elements and not worry anymore

 

Wow, that's pretty rough. It made me want to Check mine since I've been running it mounted incorrectly. The control box wouldn't fit bc of my light so I mounted it vertically to the grill behind my passenger side driving light.





Looks brand new inside!

 

Very clean!

Mine would not have been so bad if it was able to drain. The bottom sides looked as if they sat in water for years. Since I am relocating it under the hood I dont need to worry anymore, But if I did it all again I would add a small drain hose to make it easy to drain or check every so often for water build up. I'm thinking maybe water got in mine from hitting shallow creeks fast and the pressure from the water splashing was enough to get under the lid seal. But then again I had some in there after a hard rain so theres no telling. Oh well lesson learned

 

I had the same problem. When I installed the winch, I put the solenoids in a plastic box like you did. It leaked and one of the solenoids went bad, just like yours. Then I changed the box to an all aluminum box because it had a much better seal. It leaked also, another bad solenoid. I bought a new contactor like the one you have but instead of trying to seal it in a box, I left the box with openings. It has been working fine ever since. Sure a little dirt and water gets in there, but because the box is open it dries out quickly and since the contactor is sealed, there is no corrosion. It's also much easier to inspect.

Simplified is almost always better.

 

You'll have to post up what gauge wire u have to use. I wanted to put mine under the hood when I couldn't mount it normally but wasn't sure about what wire to run.

 

From my research it looks like most agree on 2 gauge. Although I have seen others use smaller not knowing if it adversely effected the use of the winch pull wise but worked okay for them.

 

I have a superwinch and the solenoid packs are weather sealed. Do to the shape of the control I could not the winch with the control box in my bumper. I relocated the solenoid pack to next to the battery.

 

Good thing you caught that could have made for a bad day.

This is why when I did my dual battery install I installed a solenoid in the power wire. So I can turn power on and off to my winch via toggle switch in the cab. Mostly because the winter conditions with salt and sand I do't wanna risk it shorting out. Solenoid is rated 500amp continues 750apm spike.

 

Very clean set up!