Is your winch protected ?

KCTW

KCTW

New member
How many of you guys have a fuse, circuit breaker, or something on the positive lead from your battery to your winch? If so, what are you using?
I have my winch wired directly to the battery with no protection, and I'm a little worried about it. I'm worried about wires rubbing through somewhere, and having a major melt down.
I'm just wondering what every body else is doing.
 
I just run my winch directly off the battery and have never had a problem on any of my Jeeps. Having said that, Honey Badger did have one of his leads ground out and it did almost cause an engine fire so, I suppose there is merit to your concern. You'd need a might big fuse to protect things.
 
Honestly, I never used protection on my old winch or on my new one (on two different jeeps) and had no trouble. Just make sure to zip-tie your wires properly and route them out of harms way.

I guess if it was needed, every single company who build winches would have such a protection if it was really necessary. But IMHO, there is so much current flowing into these wires that you couldn't use any fuse of breakers. (up to 500Amps)
 
I thought I read in my Warn manual that your supposed to wire it directly to the battery? :idontknow:
 
MTG said:
I thought I read in my Warn manual that your supposed to wire it directly to the battery? :idontknow:
Click to expand...

It does. Truth be told, the incident with Honey Badger is the only time I had ever heard or seen anything like it. Still, he had enough time to put things out and still drive it home.
 
I don't know if this my help but I found this. switching/fusing

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It's a simple on/off battery switch with load protection. And here are the load specs for it:

Suitable for applications up to 48VDC
1500A at 12V for 10 seconds
750A at 24V for 10 seconds
300A at 12V continuous load maximum
150A at 24V continuous load maximum
 
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The battery cutoff is probably a smart backup system as long as it's reliable.

I just wired mine directly to the battery. I did and do always run all electrical wires in the black corrugated conduit that you can buy at any NAPA in varying sizes. This will keep any abrasion at bay a little longer. The best way to stop vibration of the wire as much as possible is to choose a good route away from the hot parts of the engine, that allows you to zip tie the wires firmly in place. Less movement = less abrasion.

Unless you have rats chewing your wires a good install should go a long way! :beer:
 
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