A few "winch" questions.

[Varooom]

Hello all.
Just bought my first winch to put on my first Jeep. Picked up the Harbor Freight Apex 12000. I know its from HF but it has really great reviews and with 20% off for Father's day I could not resist.
A few questions please.
It has a removable control box. Why would you want to move it and where would you put it?
It also comes with a power cut off switch. Is it necessary and where would you put it? Not much room under the hood.
This thing is really fun!
Thanks for your time,
Varooom

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[Mr._Bill]

If you have a gas engine, there is space by the battery to install the power cut-off. In case of an accident, this prevents an electrical short from burning down the truck.

Some like to move the control box under the hood, mostly to keep it out of the water. There is the problem of space available under the hood.

 

[JTenn]

+1 on what Mr_Bill said. In the event of a front end collision you don't want live wires hanging out on your front bumper. Warn makes a really nice power interupter kit that can be switched from inside the cab if you don't want to open the hood to switch it on every time you need it. As far as the control box is concerned, it should be water tight and fine to leave it attached to the winch. They can get wet under normal driving conditions and even submerged for a short time without damage. I wouldn't worry about moving it but everyone has a different opinion.

 

[whiteglad]

I have the older model HF 12k winch. I moved the box slightly forward by modifying its attachment to its mounting brackets to clear the grille better. Then, I added a solenoid powered by #4 auxiliary switch so the cables at the front get no power until the solenoid is activated.

 

[hjdca]

Here are a couple of links to help you:

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/to-solenoid-or-not.39012/page-3#post-638225

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...-winch-plate-install-notes.39108/#post-636833

 

[Varooom]

Thank you!!!

 

[Varooom]

Its the Jeep Adventure HD bumper I got from Extreme Terrain.

 

[skadax]

I moved the control box on mine mostly because I prefer to have a cleaner look up front. As others have noted, I moved the contents of the control box next to the battery. I have to clean it up a bit but for now looks like this.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Lots of threads address the power cut-off question. You don't want heavy cable carrying live battery power at the front of your truck in case someone backs into you, you run into something, someone blows a stop sign, etc.
It's pretty well covered why and how.

+1 on what Mr_Bill said. In the event of a front end collision you don't want live wires hanging out on your front bumper. Warn makes a really nice power interupter kit that can be switched from inside the cab if you don't want to open the hood to switch it on every time you need it. As far as the control box is concerned, it should be water tight and fine to leave it attached to the winch. They can get wet under normal driving conditions and even submerged for a short time without damage. I wouldn't worry about moving it but everyone has a different opinion.

For some it's a matter of clearance and cables running up front. Depending on mount and bumper - it can stick up in the way of the grill or a bar.


My first cut-off switch I had on my 2020 -

What I have now on my 2022 - solenoid controlled by an aux switch in the cab -

(fuse is for snow plow)

 

[JTenn]

Lots of threads address the power cut-off question. You don't want heavy cable carrying live battery power at the front of your truck in case someone backs into you, you run into something, someone blows a stop sign, etc.
It's pretty well covered why and how.



For some it's a matter of clearance and cables running up front. Depending on mount and bumper - it can stick up in the way of the grill or a bar.


My first cut-off switch I had on my 2020 -

What I have now on my 2022 - solenoid controlled by an aux switch in the cab -

(fuse is for snow plow)

My first edition was the same as yours, albeit nowhere as professional looking. But it was the same switch. It served the purpose and was very functional.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My first edition was the same as yours, albeit nowhere as professional looking. But it was the same switch. It served the purpose and was very functional.

It worked just fine. Some say it's a better way as it encourages you to open the hood and an open hood protects the windshield and occupants in case something lets loose.
It's cheap, it's easy, and works even if the aux switches fail you.
Frankly, I was torn - use it again on the 22 or go solenoid since I had the aux switches this time around. I recall holding onto the truck as I walked around it on an icy shoulder in the cold wind, opening the hood and turning that switch to pull a guy out of the ditch. Maybe that swayed me a bit LOL

 

[JTenn]

It worked just fine. Some say it's a better way as it encourages you to open the hood and an open hood protects the windshield and occupants in case something lets loose.
It's cheap, it's easy, and works even if the aux switches fail you.
Frankly, I was torn - use it again on the 22 or go solenoid since I had the aux switches this time around. I recall holding onto the truck as I walked around it on an icy shoulder in the cold wind, opening the hood and turning that switch to pull a guy out of the ditch. Maybe that swayed me a bit LOL

Yes sketchy situations have a way of helping one arrive at a sound decision. I say if the options are readily available why not take advantage of them. I still have the manual switch setup on my wife's JT but mine is our main off roader so it made sense that I put it on mine. It looks good too. Lol

 

[RacerAV]

I have the older model HF 12k winch. I moved the box slightly forward by modifying its attachment to its mounting brackets to clear the grille better. Then, I added a solenoid powered by #4 auxiliary switch so the cables at the front get no power until the solenoid is activated.

dang now thats a slick set up! I wired straight to the batt. but might go the solenoid route in the future! What did you use?

 

[RacerAV]

It worked just fine. Some say it's a better way as it encourages you to open the hood and an open hood protects the windshield and occupants in case something lets loose.
It's cheap, it's easy, and works even if the aux switches fail you.
Frankly, I was torn - use it again on the 22 or go solenoid since I had the aux switches this time around. I recall holding onto the truck as I walked around it on an icy shoulder in the cold wind, opening the hood and turning that switch to pull a guy out of the ditch. Maybe that swayed me a bit LOL

JUST what I was thinking, not wanting to mess with the hood to use my winch... shoot I want to do a quick disconnect for my ARB twin compressor and tank case... hate opening the hood to hit the battery clamps. Would love a QD near the front bumper then a QD on the ARB case, plug and play!

 

[Mr._Bill]

dang now thats a slick set up! I wired straight to the batt. but might go the solenoid route in the future! What did you use?

The Warn kit works well for many.

WARN 62132 Power Interrupt Kit with Battery Lead, Hardware, Solenoid, Switch and Wiring https://a.co/d/6lRITs4

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