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where are you powering the winch?

Jeeptruck

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I know I am. Thank you for taking the time to post this. I'm not very comfortable with having a 4ga cable wired straight to the battery without any protection device.
You can always move the winch control box next to the battery to take advantage of the relay already built in
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They are all basically "the same" and all basically a ford type fender mounted relay. Honestly you could just buy one over the counter at nearly any autoparts or tractor supply.

If I had to choose from those offerings I'd like to maximize ampacity and duty cycle. Most starter solenoids aren't rated for continuous or 100% duty cycle nor are they rated for high amp loads. A quick shot yes but not 2 minutes worth. Marine generally means higher quality and more performance, certainly going to have better corrosion resistance and over sized terminals.
 

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Hello, looking for clarification.

Looking to install a Zeon 10 S winch to my 2021 Gladiator Rubicon Diesel, which has the factory Aux switches.

A. I want to do the control pack relocation (Warn 89960) to get a more clean/low profile mount
B. Since I regularly have 2 toddlers in the car, safety is super important. The though of having a thick positive cable going from the battery to the bumper is of concern in a frontal crash.

This the plan was to install a solenoid/power interrupt kit connected to the Aux switches.

Assuming the relocation kit is installed the Warn winch Solenoid is now relocated up in the engine bay and the cables going from the solenoid to the actual winch are now only powered while the winch. Correct?
In this case the power interrupter still not necessary?
 

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The positive mains are only energized when the solenoid relays close. The positive main to the solenoid is capable of being accidentally grounded during a crash but until the relays close it's a dead end plumbing wise.

You would use the aux switches to control sending "pilot" power to the relay with the winch controls activating the relays.

Press the aux switch would arm the relay and the dongle would allow the flow of high amp current.
 

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AEsco48

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The positive mains are only energized when the solenoid relays close. The positive main to the solenoid is capable of being accidentally grounded during a crash but until the relays close it's a dead end plumbing wise.

You would use the aux switches to control sending "pilot" power to the relay with the winch controls activating the relays.

Press the aux switch would arm the relay and the dongle would allow the flow of high amp current.
Sorry, not sure I follow you.

"The positive mains are only energized when the solenoid relays close" > my understanding is that if you install the winch as it comes from the factory, the solenoid relay is located on the actual Warn winch, thus the cables going from the battery to the winch are always energized, thus prone to shorting in a crash. In this set up the only parts that are normally off and energized once the handheld remote button is pressed are the bus bars.
If I relocate the warn winch solenoid that is normally on the winch using the relocation kit, the now cables that go from the engine bay location of warn winch solenoid to the actual winch... are now only powered when the winch is rotating.
 

Mr._Bill

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Installing the Warn interrupt kit near the battery greatly reduces the potential of a fire from a shorted cable in an accident. Moving the control box from the winch to the engine bay can have a similar effect, depending on where you mount it. Personally, I don't think it's worth the effort involved to relocate the control box. I did install an interrupt kit for the winch that is controlled by an AUX switch.
 

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Sorry, not sure I follow you.

"The positive mains are only energized when the solenoid relays close" > my understanding is that if you install the winch as it comes from the factory, the solenoid relay is located on the actual Warn winch, thus the cables going from the battery to the winch are always energized, thus prone to shorting in a crash. In this set up the only parts that are normally off and energized once the handheld remote button is pressed are the bus bars.
If I relocate the warn winch solenoid that is normally on the winch using the relocation kit, the now cables that go from the engine bay location of warn winch solenoid to the actual winch... are now only powered when the winch is rotating.

So it's been a little busy around the hacienda as of late. Big deep breath.

Okay... exhale.


In the traditional wiring scheme of an electric winch the scematic is very simple:

Battery -> solenoid pack -> winch control dongle -> winch motor

Power only flows from the solenoid pack to the motor when the dongle closes the relay so power is not present past the solenoid unless commanded.

The mains from the battery to the solenoid, if grounded, will do very bad high amp things.

The closer you can get the solenoid pack to the battery the shorter this hot leg will be. The amount of wire before or after it shouldn't effect winch performance as long as you maintain the correct gauge and terminations.

Now the interrupter is another layer of power control relay, an "authority" switch which will then cut the hot leg down to the length between the battery and it. This adds a lot more protection into the system but could be achieved with a high amp battery control switch for a more "lotek" approach.

Obviously your main goal is to limit any secondary damage/injury/ignition that might occur with high amp wiring in a front impact which is commendable. FWIW and YMMV on this but I've seen more damage from hardwired winch controls not being on momentary switches and/or without arming circuits than I have from hot wires grounding and doing "bad things". I have mostly seen amperage carnage from either batteries becoming missiles/ground on the hood or stereo installs burning cars to the ground.

IO'm not saying it can't or won't happen but I am saying I'd question how much complexity and gross system failure are you potentially creating with ever more overlapping control architectures. Sometimes the simple ways are best even if it's not as efficient, slick or trick.
 

AEsco48

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I ordered the winch, winch plate and the long relocation kit for the control pack... We will see!
 

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Once again, thanks to you all for the fantastic insight and advice. I just ordered the Warn kit and the Badge Glow block. I'll rest much better knowing that wire snaking to the winch isn't hot on every grocery run.
 

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Not to Necro an old post.. but what type of manual switch is that? I'd love to have a manual cutoff, instead of a solenoid.



~ Casp
I'm sure those are available from various sources - that one actually came with the Apex winch.
Works fine.
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