AUX switch wiring for WARN Zeon winch

[The4x4Guys]

Excellent idea, I am headed out to the Jeep to set that option now!! Thanks

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[The4x4Guys]

Curiously, I just was out at the Jeep and the winch aux switch was set for "Ignition" and not "Battery" yet I had a dead battery after using it and leaving the switch accidentally one....... I'm confused......

 

[ToolMan514]

Flashing yellow lights???? please share!

Ok, so it's bright sunshine, but you can make out the amber bar in the center of my side-shooters... They flash quickly when my winch circuit is on. I plan to also tie them into my turn signals, but I haven't dug into that wiring yet.

 

[Brew211]

Ok, so it's bright sunshine, but you can make out the amber bar in the center of my side-shooters... They flash quickly when my winch circuit is on. I plan to also tie them into my turn signals, but I haven't dug into that wiring yet.

Great idea!

 

[mrhumble1]

New Jeep owner here. Thinking about getting a winch. Have tons of questions.

The first thing that comes to mind is why have the winch permanently attached to the battery at all?? Don't most people only use their winch on a rare occasion? Since it's only used maybe a few times a year, does the idea of some kind of quick connect/disconnect that allows the winch to be completely disconnected from the battery for the majority of the time make sense? I have heard setting up a recovery is no quick process. If you need to use the winch, it's not like the extra few minutes it takes to connect it to power is going to be super-critical.

You guys are wiring up these complicated schemes for a device that will rarely be used. I mean, why not just leave the terminals in the engine bay in a safe spot (obviously this would need to be done correctly as well) until needed so you don't have to worry about ANY of this?? As for avoiding thievery and mischief, the hoods on the JLs don't even lock so anyone wanting to screw with the thing could walk up and use a few wrenches to wire the winch to the battery themselves in a few minutes.

Am I off base here??

 

[ToolMan514]

If you have a winch mounted, you'll need to "use" it at least once a month. Like anything mechanical, it needs to be used to keep it in good working order. Whether you plan to need it or not, before wheeling off-road the rope/wire should be retensioned. The power draw is enough to need a direct feed, so unless you attach it with Anderson connectors, permanent is best. Is that complicated? Maybe.

 

[Tunesoul]

Has been fully covered once before here;

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...rrupt-kit-with-a-smittybuilt-x20-winch.20810/

 

[crash13]

Completely agree on the Interrupt which I installed too. However a week ago, I unspooled my line to rewind it more tightly and evenly and manged to leave the Aux switch for the winch powered on overnight. Guess what? Dead battery in the morning. I had to disconnect the battery terminal to charge the battery enough to get the Jeep started as you cannot jump or charge the battery with the Interrupt connected.....UGH dumb mistake.

Disconnect the battery terminal? Not sure I understand why if all you are doing is jumping a dead battery.

 

[BobK]

Disconnect the battery terminal? Not sure I understand why if all you are doing is jumping a dead battery.

Here it is directly from WARN.

 

[tonygiotta]

Disconnect the battery terminal? Not sure I understand why if all you are doing is jumping a dead battery.

Here it is directly from WARN.

I'm with you here crash13. I've questioned it each time I've heard that the solenoid must be disconnected to jump the battery, both in this thread and elsewhere. I think there is a misunderstanding of the operation being described in the Warn manual. Notice it says "Warn Booster Cables" in the manual. The Warn cables have a quick connect on one end as opposed to the traditional alligator clamps. If you have installed an inline quick connect so you can use their cables, and the quick connect is installed after the solenoid, then yes, you'd need enough battery power remaining to activate your solenoid in order to complete the circuit and jump the vehicle. If however you're just using traditional booster cables, you should have no problem.

Alternatively, you could wire your quick connect/solenoid combo as shown in this diagram and avoid the problem as well.

 

[RubiSc0tt]

New Jeep owner here. Thinking about getting a winch. Have tons of questions.

The first thing that comes to mind is why have the winch permanently attached to the battery at all?? Don't most people only use their winch on a rare occasion? Since it's only used maybe a few times a year, does the idea of some kind of quick connect/disconnect that allows the winch to be completely disconnected from the battery for the majority of the time make sense? I have heard setting up a recovery is no quick process. If you need to use the winch, it's not like the extra few minutes it takes to connect it to power is going to be super-critical.

You guys are wiring up these complicated schemes for a device that will rarely be used. I mean, why not just leave the terminals in the engine bay in a safe spot (obviously this would need to be done correctly as well) until needed so you don't have to worry about ANY of this?? As for avoiding thievery and mischief, the hoods on the JLs don't even lock so anyone wanting to screw with the thing could walk up and use a few wrenches to wire the winch to the battery themselves in a few minutes.

Am I off base here??

Way off base, although the original purpose of the thread did kind of get lost in some of the chatter.

The main reason to have an interrupt for a winch wired to an Aux switch (in this case) is safety. See below:

To the question of why would anybody do this mod, ever have a runaway winch? I have, thank god I had a lot of winch line payed out. The only way to stop it was disconnecting the battery. First I had to dig out a wrench then pop the hood, all the while navigating the rugged rocks. I disconnected the first battery connection I could get to, the negative one, and it kept running. So I quickly removed the positive. Upon inspection, one of the controller wires inside the winch had shorted to ground causing it to run. Also, any shmuck with a clue how these things work can short the terminals in the controller jack. That would be a bad day.

I got a 500A continuous capable isolation relay and I'm going to use one of my aux switches to turn it on when needed. It only draws 1A when activated so I'm probably going to use aux 4 for my winch ON/OFF.

You're not trying to save battery draw/ life- you're trying to add in another fail safe against malfunction for a dangerous piece of equipment most people take for granted. Even with synthetic line, a winch can hurt you if you're not experienced and don't have someone who can teach you proper recovery techniques.

Also: More of a generalized point: recovery isn't always a static process. Anyone who is suggesting it is has not had enough seat time on serious trails yet. There have been times (in old Jeeps) where I had to stand on my brake, while my spotter spooled out a winch cable and hooked to a tree strap, then I had to spool in my winch (controller was already connected at the start of the trail) in order to help me get over an obstacle safely. Likewise, there have been times where we have had to face one Jeep downhill, and hook a winch to another one to help it up hill safely (usually broken). Permanently wiring a winch is just one less step because It's there when you need it. Even on the easy trails, I have always hooked up my winch at the start of every ride because I would rather have it ready to go at a moments notice than have to fumble around, looking for the controller and trying to hook it up. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Remember: if you're recovering, someone has already screwed up bad. No need to add time/ complexity to an already precarious situation.

 

[GtX]

Time is critical when a roll over or flood it's imminent.

 

[digirati]

I've decided to make the install even more complicated after emailing with WARN support. I also purchased the Booster cable kit that comes with a 4 foot cable to attach directly to the battery and a Quick Disconnect plug at the other end. I then purchase a set of male/female Quick Disconnect ends. I plan on wiring the 4 foot cable directly to the battery and then using the connector ends to attach to the wiring setup for the winch and power interrupt.

The winch will operate off the Aux switch in the Jeep via the Power Interrupt solenoid. If when I need a jump or need to jump someone else, I will use the quick disconnect to disconnect the winch and plug in the WARN booster cables.

One of the advantages of this arrangement is that I now can find a placement of the solenoid anywhere within four foot of the battery instead of the one foot of the red (+) cable from the solenoid. I hope to find a location on the drivers side that is more conducive to drilling and mounting the solenoid.

Hi Bob,

I appreciate the drawings you added and your research. I’m getting ready to install a Warn Zeon 12-S Platinum winch and would like to do things in the best possible manner. Can you tell me if this was your final configuration (or if anything changed)? Details would be greatly appreciated (which Aux switch, part numbers, etc.). Are you happy with your setup? Would you change anything if doing it agin?

Thanks!

Lance

 

[bkod313]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to say thanks for this past information as I referenced it often while planning and installing my winch. I installed a Warn EVO 12-s on my 2021 Rubicon with the Warn Power Interrupt. I ended up wasting a bunch of time thinking my solenoid was bad or that I installed it wrong but it turned out that my AUX4 (blue 15 AMP wire under hood) was bad. I ended up using AUX3 and everything works flawless. I checked my crimp and fuse too. Here is how I mounted it. I know attaching with one screw is not ideal, but I didn't want to drill holes or use a massive piece of steel. After reading about the galvanic corrosion issues with the door hinges, I just bought a piece of 1.5 angle 1/8 steel primed and painted from the HD to make a bracket.

This forum is great for any JL related question. I learned a ton. Again, thanks to all!

 

[Sanchese]

I'm with you here crash13. I've questioned it each time I've heard that the solenoid must be disconnected to jump the battery, both in this thread and elsewhere. I think there is a misunderstanding of the operation being described in the Warn manual. Notice it says "Warn Booster Cables" in the manual. The Warn cables have a quick connect on one end as opposed to the traditional alligator clamps. If you have installed an inline quick connect so you can use their cables, and the quick connect is installed after the solenoid, then yes, you'd need enough battery power remaining to activate your solenoid in order to complete the circuit and jump the vehicle. If however you're just using traditional booster cables, you should have no problem.

Alternatively, you could wire your quick connect/solenoid combo as shown in this diagram and avoid the problem as well.

Where could i purchase these quick connects ?

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