Power cutoff for Winch

[PT's19Rubi]

I think the opposite is more likely with parallel circuit breakers as resistance goes up as heat goes up...which pushes more current towards the cooler breaker (heat is effectively what causes the tripping) therefore making it more likely that they could flow max current even longer than a single 600A breaker but if it makes you feel safer then I guess it's effective. It would be easy to test by simply bolting the winch hot to the ground lug and flipping the switch? If the breakers are effective nothing happens. I still argue that the major winch manufacturers have done this testing (because why wouldn't you if you were getting paid to do it), and that's why NONE of them recommend fuses or breakers?

Ooh well, they will serve as cut off switches. Also, When just tinkering with the winch, I only turn on one breaker. When in actual use, I can do the same and will have 300 amps of protection. If the 300 trips, I can add the other breaker and call them switches, not breakers.

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[Zandcwhite]

Ooh well, they will serve as cut off switches. Also, When just tinkering with the winch, I only turn on one breaker. When in actual use, I can do the same and will have 300 amps of protection. If the 300 trips, I can add the other breaker and call them switches, not breakers.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to not run breakers, fuses, or disconnect switches. Just trying to understand the logic and make sure everyone's aware how difficult it is to properly fuse a winch. You'll either be near nuisance tripping issues on hard pulls or it will be nearly useless as the CCA of the battery isn't much higher than max winch draw. I'd still like to see what happens in a legit fault with the setups people run, but not enough to throw my own money away doing it.

 

[ym0bc1]

Get a solenoid, powered by one of the aux switch. Solenoid controls the power to winch.
I purchased Ametek SAS4202

 

[Graphite JL]

I never ran a cutoff on my other Jeeps, and never had an issue until that day I was wheeling and broke through some ice. The ice shards managed to wedge itself into the engine compartment and sliced open the power cable going to the winch and caught fire. It probably would never happen again, but I run a solenoid now just in case.

 

[JustDucky]

It certainly can't hurt to have the extra protection. BUT one must assure that the component or components they select to protect their vehicle are built to handle the power needed. IE, don't pick a cheap components from amazon, ebay or wherever that are of unknown quantity. Pick components that meet or exceed the maximum amperage that the manufacturer states can be drawn, be that a solenoid or cut off switch or whatever.

If you go solenoid, another decision point is whether or not to connect to an aux switch? That's another decision point that has advantages and drawbacks. To each their own. No bashing whatever camp you're in. Enjoy your ride. And whatever you want to do to it is yours.

Personally I'm in the camp that I'd prefer an easy way to cut 24x7x365 direct power to the winch. I'm still evaluating the options. I'd prefer to hear benefits / drawbacks to methods and components to accomplish what I'm looking to do than hear that what I'm trying to do is BS. I've already decided IMHO that it is a benefit to cut power so I'm going to do it. Right now I'm leaning the switch method, but haven't seen a product that fits my warped sense of perfection yet.

 

[zouch]

another possible reason why to have a cutoff for our winch might be the stories we hear occasionally of runaway winches,.. if that thing ever got stuck pulling, it might be nice to have a way to shut the dang thing off.

 

[azjl#3]

And this is why vehicles catch on fire. Non-electricians doing electrical work.

do you have any data to support your opinion?

 

[Jad4275]

do you have any data to support your opinion?

It’s not an opinion, incorrect installation leads to problems. Look at a lot of the install photos on here or on YouTube, lots of shoddy work. Knowing what you’re doing goes a long way.

 

[Zandcwhite]

It’s not an opinion, incorrect installation leads to problems.

Aside from electricians working on their own rigs, I'd argue that no vehicle wiring is done by an electrician. The oem wiring harness certainly was not installed by an electrician. The guy at the 4x4 shop that installed your winch and off road lights? Not an electrician. The kid at best buy that word up your amp? Not remotely an electrician. Knowing how to wire 12v electronics doesn't make you and electrician. A quality install doesn't require an electrician. A shoddy install could be done by an electrician too.

 

[Jad4275]

Aside from electricians working on their own rigs, I'd argue that no vehicle wiring is done by an electrician. The oem wiring harness certainly was not installed by an electrician. The guy at the 4x4 shop that installed your winch and off road lights? Not an electrician. The kid at best buy that word up your amp? Not remotely an electrician. Knowing how to wire 12v electronics doesn't make you and electrician. A quality install doesn't require an electrician. A shoddy install could be done by an electrician too.

Agreed. I installed my winch, lights and everything else. I’m an engineer. That level is not required but agree a quality install is key and knowing at least the basics goes a long way.

 

[Terrymo]

My dad was an aerospace engineer who worked on a lot of classified defense projects. He also did some very interesting field expedient repairs on our cars growing up. Some involving baling wire and a tin can. Field expedient often turned into permanent.

 

[Atomic-Mouse]

It certainly can't hurt to have the extra protection. BUT one must assure that the component or components they select to protect their vehicle are built to handle the power needed. IE, don't pick a cheap components from amazon, ebay or wherever that are of unknown quantity. Pick components that meet or exceed the maximum amperage that the manufacturer states can be drawn, be that a solenoid or cut off switch or whatever.

If you go solenoid, another decision point is whether or not to connect to an aux switch? That's another decision point that has advantages and drawbacks. To each their own. No bashing whatever camp you're in. Enjoy your ride. And whatever you want to do to it is yours.

Personally I'm in the camp that I'd prefer an easy way to cut 24x7x365 direct power to the winch. I'm still evaluating the options. I'd prefer to hear benefits / drawbacks to methods and components to accomplish what I'm looking to do than hear that what I'm trying to do is BS. I've already decided IMHO that it is a benefit to cut power so I'm going to do it. Right now I'm leaning the switch method, but haven't seen a product that fits my warped sense of perfection yet.

I don’t know how you feel about Stinger products but I use their 500 amp solenoids and have no complaints so far. One controls a diesel fuel transfer pump which doesn’t draw lots of amps but runs for 15-20 minute depending on the machine I’m fill at the time. I have the same solenoids in my Jeeps to control the winches and air compressors. Twice with my JK I have pushed a 10k warn to the stall point at max pull. I do take caution and check for overheating and follow the duty cycles but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. The Stinger solenoid held up fine and shows no signs of heat stress or change in function. My JLs solenoids are switched by aux 2, my JK and Tacoma are switched using a switch pros controller. The oldest being in service for over three years now and used quite regularly during the summer months it still operates as it should. If for some reason the solenoids do fail it is a simple matter of taking the load side cable and attaching directly to the hot side terminal, simply bypass the solenoid by removing the terminal lug nuts and connecting the cables together at one lug.
Switching is owners discretion, maybe some want it to be activated when the vehicle is not turned on. Maybe some want it activated when the is vehicle on. I prefer the option of the vehicle needing to be turned on. That way you can’t mistakenly operate the winch with the engine not running and kill the battery. Also it reduces the risk of forgetting the solenoid on if the vehicle parked for a few days.
Warn does sell a solenoid kit that comes with a jumper cable and switch but I was unable to find a reliable source of information on the amps rating on that solenoid. Best info I could find at the time suggested it was 400 amp. Thats the reason I went with the stinger with a listed amp rating.

 

[Mguy]

Long high capacity cables, paticularly in an engine compartment with combustible fuel, need overload (including accidental short) protection to prevent excessive heat, ignition, and fire. There is little left to debate, just a risk cost/benefit analysis for each Jeep owner to undertake.

Wheelers may may want to protect their expensive trail gear, so with patience and trial and error for eventually avoiding nuisance breaks, install a fuse/circuit breaker. Peace of mind.

Other Jeepers, who need winches for getting out of the inevitable but unwanted predicament, usually don't want electrical hardware that might interfere with maximum equipment performance. Tomorrow's winch operability is secondary to getting home tonight.

 

[Mguy]

Personally I'm in the camp that I'd prefer an easy way to cut 24x7x365 direct power to the winch. I'm still evaluating the options. I'd prefer to hear benefits / drawbacks to methods and components to accomplish what I'm looking to do than hear that what I'm trying to do is BS. I've already decided IMHO that it is a benefit to cut power so I'm going to do it. Right now I'm leaning the switch method, but haven't seen a product that fits my warped sense of perfection yet.

My preference, intended for maximum reliability, is a manual switch. See this company's products.

 

[RicRecon]

It’s not an opinion, incorrect installation leads to problems. Look at a lot of the install photos on here or on YouTube, lots of shoddy work. Knowing what you’re doing goes a long way.

And…..how is this not an opinion?

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