I have come to the conclusion that my winch is not working because the solenoids are FUBAR. The wiring is done as described (rather poorly) in the Warn manual, but the winch still is not working. Has anyone out there replaced their solenoids, and if so, how do you determine which one needs to be replaced, or do you replace all 4? I would really like to get this big chunk of metal on the front of my Jeep working. Any advice?

 

gotta help a poor dad out. get those kids wheeling young!

if you got a meter you can check those solonoids. Other wise I think they are just like ford Solenoids. take thek to a good auto parts store. they should help you out. Warn is proud of there solenoid and will cost you more.

What model do you have? If you do check them with a meter and have questions let me know. My winch is sitting on the floor here at work and being the rocket surgen that I am I have a meter handy too.

 

Thanks for the offered assistance, Heng'n Out I am somewhat challenged when it comes to mechanical stuff, and the guy that is helping me is on a 2 week Jeep excursion to parts unknown. We did meter the solenoids, and they were getting power. They were just not doing anything. The winch in question is a 15 year old XD9000. I am gonna see if one of my local brethren here in in SoCal can take a look and see if we did not do something right.....If it is the solenoids, I will definitely look into the Ford possibility.

Thanks!

 

Have you called Warn customer service. Don't they have a lifetime warranty?. If you have to buy new solenoids, get the Superwinch one, they are very reliable.

 

I am not the original owner of the winch. I remember reading somewhere about people with Warns using Superwinch solenoids. Thanks for reminding me! I guess they will fit.....

 

Your general "Ford" style solenoid it's not going to be continuous duty rated and will only live a short life on the winch. When you go to the auto parts store tell them that you are replacing the solenoids on a winch and if they're any good they'll know that it needs to be a high amp continuous duty rated solenoid. I don't have a part # but I'm pretty sure Cole Hersee makes a 200 amp continuous duty solenoid.

Now far as your winch not working. If it's wired properly and not powering in or out then all 4 solenoids are probably shot or possibly the motor or even the remote. (I know ain't this wiring stuff fun! ) So do the solenoids click when you toggle the remote switch?

 

Warn's achiles heels is their solenoids. Every time I hear about a warn winch failing, it's usually a solenoids failure. Superwhinch's strength on the other end is their solenoids. Have you try to use another remote, just to make sure it's not what it is?

 

if you cant get ahold of another remote try shorting out the plug on top of the box (were your remote plugs in) if you look at the plug and point the notch towards you, the pin at the lower right is 12vdc positive. short that pin to one of the other two pin in there and you should get forward or reverse. (I realize there are 6 holes but you can see the ones that have metal pins in them) I have used a safety pin on the trail when I forgot my remote and it never got to hot to touch. Also the other two have no power to them so if you get it wrong you can do no damage. (just dont touch that safety pin to any thing else. If it finds ground I promise it will turn red hot)
You should hear a knock, or clunk in one of the solenoids as it trys to pull in. if no sound either way, check both the positive lead and ground. I cant imagine all the solenoid going bad at the same time, but it cold happen. If you do get noise or movement from the winch while shorting out the plug but not with the remote, well you guessed it. the remote is bad.
now if you get a clicking, cluncking or knocking in the solenoids but no winch movement and you have a good strong battery, it is the solenoids. I had good luck replacing mine with the autoparts store solenoids but they may have sold me the constant duty cycle part spoken of before.

things to check,
battery voltage with vehicle not running 12.6vdc Any thing less is a week battery.
while jeep is running 13.5-14.5vdc the closer to 13.5 the weaker the alternator. Over 14.5 volts and your regulator might be bad. both of these checks are not while using the winch as that will pull the voltage down.
If while using the winch your voltage drops more than say, 2-2.5 volts I think I would be a little concerned also.

check your ground. follow it all the way back to the battery. if you are using the frame as the ground for your winch check the battery ground and where it connects to the frame. (I would also consider running an exclusive ground wire from the battery to the Winch.) You could have a weak ground alowing other things to run.

check all the conections under that black warn box where the solenoids are. if there are loose or corroded conections in there that will give you trouble.

Also try checking the voltage at that box both with the winch off and running. if it is 12.6vdc and you try the winch and the voltage drops below 9 or 10 volts right away you have a power problem. If the jeep starts and runs good otherwise, it is between the battery and the winch, and it could be either the ground or the positive lead. Hold the winch on for a couple seconds and look and carefully feel for hot spots. The heat is were the current loss is and therefore your problem.

please dont be afraid to ask more questions

 

On my 8274 i just replaced all 4 selenoids at 20.00 each and worked fine.

 

No click at all from the solenoid when the remote is hooked up. I will seek out someone who has a Warn controller to see if that is it. Thanks for the replies.