WARN ZEON winch notice

[Krondor]

BTW - For some reason I was sent 2 kits. So if you have a Zeon, are in the Denver area, and need the 90 degree kit, PM me and it's yours.

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[Geronimo]

I swear,,,,,I've had this winch for a month and a half, swapped out winch plate because the Warn plate was the fix for all the problems, they both sat in the corner for at least three weeks. I get our new JLUR yesterday, tomorrow was going to be winch install day....WRONG the fricken handle on this new in the box winch is the 180 degree. Thanks to Northridge / Tims great write up for the fix now all I have to do is call tomorrow and hopefully get the dang clutch handle kit. Winch, yea some day..

 

[Krondor]

Too bad you are in Texas, I could help ya out. lol

It was shipped fast and you will be up and running quickly.

 

[Geronimo]

Too bad you are in Texas, I could help ya out. lol

It was shipped fast and you will be up and running quickly.

Yes sir, I saw your post and said to myself...Dont do it! Dont go out there and jump in your Jeep and run to Denver just because its one of your favorite places in the world to get a winch handle, then end up heading off west into those mountains. Poughkeepsie can wait a few months. LOL dang if I wasn't tempted.

Yep talked to Warn, it's on its way.

 

[JB3]

I’m curious is everyone here using th AUX with this winch or not? If so, what’s the rationale? Mine is wired but it doesn’t seem to serve any function since remote will work with the aux switch off.

 

[Geronimo]

I just wired mine direct to the battery, may add an isolation switch later.

 

[dmoney]

I’m curious is everyone here using th AUX with this winch or not? If so, what’s the rationale? Mine is wired but it doesn’t seem to serve any function since remote will work with the aux switch off.

I plan to use one of the AUX switches to engage a 500A solenoid that will provide power to the winch. I've never felt comfortable with a 6' piece of 2AWG wire just "hanging out" in my engine compartment. One pinch in the wrong spot, and your rig could burn to the ground.

 

[Tech Tim]

Snip.... with a 6' piece of 2AWG wire just "hanging out" in my engine compartment. One pinch in the wrong spot, and your rig could burn to the ground.

Nothing sold ever be "hanging out" in your engine compartment, route it safely and zip tie that baby down.

 

[dmoney]

[QUOTE="dmoney, post: 276548, member: 19568"Snip.... with a 6' piece of 2AWG wire just "hanging out" in my engine compartment. One pinch in the wrong spot, and your rig could burn to the ground.

Nothing sold ever be "hanging out" in your engine compartment, route it safely and zip tie that baby down.

Agree. Let me clarify, however. Any long length of unprotected (no fuse or breaker) cable directly connected to the battery, whether zip tied or otherwise "secured" is always a risk IMO. Maybe it's just because I'm an electrician, but all it takes is a something minor and unattended to cause a pretty significant issue. Plastic loom, etc. doesn't last forever - especially in a vehicle that is meant to take some abuse - and while in most instances there would never be a problem, I feel better with switching. This isn't even taking into account the myriad of winches with wireless controllers that have accidentally engaged, and ripped off plates, fairleads, etc.

 

[Tech Tim]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, you are going to use the 500amp circuit breaker to turn off the main power lead to the winch when it's not in use?

 

[dmoney]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, you are going to use the 500amp circuit breaker to turn off the main power lead to the winch when it's not in use?

500A solenoid, controlled by one of the JL aux. switches. There will only be about 10” of unprotected +12v feeder from the battery to the solenoid, the rest will only be live when the solenoid is engaged.

 

[FulThrotl]

Agree. Let me clarify, however. Any long length of unprotected (no fuse or breaker) cable directly connected to the battery, whether zip tied or otherwise "secured" is always a risk IMO. Maybe it's just because I'm an electrician, but all it takes is a something minor and unattended to cause a pretty significant issue. Plastic loom, etc. doesn't last forever - especially in a vehicle that is meant to take some abuse - and while in most instances there would never be a problem, I feel better with switching. This isn't even taking into account the myriad of winches with wireless controllers that have accidentally engaged, and ripped off plates, fairleads, etc.

dude, i've been a sparky for 41 years.
that being said, let's run the logic on this one.
i thought the same thing when i wired my winch.

worst case scenerio, is a bolted fault condition.
if that happens, depending on your battery, your
peak inrush can approach 2,500 amps, dc.

that will burn away anything making contact.
and quite possibly start a fire.

your plan, you put in a 500 amp solenoid, probably
from a high end audio supplier. you power it off, and
your feeder is de energized.

you use your jeep. the wire shorts out in three months,
but it's de energized, so you don't know this.

you now bury it up to the hubs in mud. and hit the aux,
switch to power up the relay, and it does. as there is a
dead short, the contacts on the relay weld, and you are
in the same boat you were in before, EXCEPT that that
cheap chinese "500 amp" relay will be the thing to catch
fire, as it is a POS.

now, if you want to solve this, cut off the lug on the battery
cable, and hypress a 600 amp fusible link to the cable, and
use a 3m cold shrink to protect it. bolt it onto the battery
post, and drive happy.

or, look carefully at all the other primary cables on the far
end of the fuse block.

none of them have fusible links. any of them can do the
same thing. take a deep breath, bolt up the winch cable
as it's furnished, crack open a beer, and enjoy the ride.

i just spent today in my jeep driving the trans america
trail above silverton colorado, heading towards moab.

drive more, worry less. it'll be fine.

 

[dmoney]

dude, i've been a sparky for 41 years.
that being said, let's run the logic on this one.
i thought the same thing when i wired my winch.

worst case scenerio, is a bolted fault condition.
if that happens, depending on your battery, your
peak inrush can approach 2,500 amps, dc.

that will burn away anything making contact.
and quite possibly start a fire.

your plan, you put in a 500 amp solenoid, probably
from a high end audio supplier. you power it off, and
your feeder is de energized.

you use your jeep. the wire shorts out in three months,
but it's de energized, so you don't know this.

you now bury it up to the hubs in mud. and hit the aux,
switch to power up the relay, and it does. as there is a
dead short, the contacts on the relay weld, and you are
in the same boat you were in before, EXCEPT that that
cheap chinese "500 amp" relay will be the thing to catch
fire, as it is a POS.

now, if you want to solve this, cut off the lug on the battery
cable, and hypress a 600 amp fusible link to the cable, and
use a 3m cold shrink to protect it. bolt it onto the battery
post, and drive happy.

or, look carefully at all the other primary cables on the far
end of the fuse block.

none of them have fusible links. any of them can do the
same thing. take a deep breath, bolt up the winch cable
as it's furnished, crack open a beer, and enjoy the ride.

i just spent today in my jeep driving the trans america
trail above silverton colorado, heading towards moab.

drive more, worry less. it'll be fine.

To each his own. Y’all are right though, the odds of catastrophic damage are slim, but I have the time and materials to do it how I am most comfortable, and at the end of the day, that’s what we all do. Of all the accessories in my rig, this is the one I want 100% control over. Oh, FTR......I don’t do anything cheap and/or Chinese.

 

[FulThrotl]

Oh, FTR......I don’t do anything cheap and/or Chinese.

i wasn't implying you did. i'm saying the available relays may
not give you many options.

you'll need a relay that will not tack weld the contacts closed
in a high amperage flow. say half the bolted fault current....
about 1,000 amps @ 12 VDC. something with a listing, if not
UL or CSA, then a european listing.....

i found this one with google @ 600 amps, at $175.

Gigavac MX16 BE Chassis Mount Contactor, Sealed, SPST, NO, 600A, 12V
Item #: 77075
Manufacturer Item: MX16 BE
Manufacturer: Gigavac

note... that is 600 amps INRUSH. it's only 200 amps continuous. we need a bigger boat.

 

[Krondor]

My Jeep finally has a winch.

I had to cycle through three different plates:

JCROffRoad Steel Bumper Winch Plate

Dealership Mopar Winch Mounting Kit P/N 82215182AB

4 Wheel Parts Warn JL Rubicon OE Winch Carrier - 101255

Funny, Warn had two different designs for their plate. The one from the dealer was more expensive and didn't come with an adapter plate. (P/N 82215528AB) So more money. More money. More money.

The JCR winch plate ended up being a bit too tight IMHO because it was a bit too high and mounted the winch too far back and against the Jeep.

The Mopar part from the dealer came in many pieces, but they neglect to provide an adapter plate.

Also, the Mopar plate from Warn had two loose L brackets that attached to the front. They were an extreme pain to get in place as there was little room to tighten them with the winch in place. Setting them up without the winch was easier, but that left me shoehorning the winch back in place.

This was bad for my mood. (Later painted but damage done.)

The final Warn part from 4 Wheel Parts was "just right" with less pieces than the dealer's plate and a bit more than JCR's, though a more solid build with more room for the winch.

The only down side to the Warn part was that the skid plate needed a bit of modification to allow the back bolts to be installed. Other than that, it was my favorite of the three.

The extra weight (+110-125lbs) is noticeable. The front bumper dropped about 3/4" on the driver's side and about 1/2" on the passenger side as shown:

Before.

After.

I'm sure it will settle even more as I drive, but there you go.

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