Is your winch protected ?

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.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
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.
 

Holeshot

Banned
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)
 

MTG

Caught the Bug
I thought I read in my Warn manual that your supposed to wire it directly to the battery? :idontknow:
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I thought I read in my Warn manual that your supposed to wire it directly to the battery? :idontknow:

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.
 

gtony12

Caught the Bug
I don't know if this my help but I found this. switching/fusing

61082.png


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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JKAnimal

Caught the Bug
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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