Winch Question

tlucier

tlucier

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Location
Mebane, NC
I put a Warn M8000 winch on the front of my '01 TJ and this past weekend I tensioned the cable per the instructions in the Warn manual. When I spooled the cabled back on the winch I saw the voltmeter drop to 9 to 10 volts. It didn't drop immediately, but it didn't take too long for the meter to drop and the "Check Dash Lights" light to come on. After spooling in about 10 feet of cable, I stopped and got out of the Jeep to make sure the cable was going on the winch properly. When I got out of the Jeep I left the engine running in neutral with the e-brake on. When I got back in, the voltmeter was back up to the normal reading. When I turned on the winch, the voltmeter dropped again. This process repeated until I had all of the cable spooled back on the winch under tension. I didn't have anything else on that could have sucked juice from the battery.

I put in an Optima Red Top battery when I installed the winch. Now this may be a stupid question but since this is my first winch I'm throwing it out there. Is this normal? I installed the Optima battery because I thought it would handle the draw from the winch. Do I need to install a dual battery setup?

Any help from you experienced winchers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
A winch is a starter motor.. they draw a good amount of current, far more than your alternator can provide. Sounds normal... ignore the gauges and listen to the winch motor, you can tell when it needs a break.

Also, when re-spooling the cable, why are you inside? set the wheels straight and guide the cable where you want it by pushing and pulling to keep it wrapped nicely while standing as far up the cable as you can. it'll prolong the cable life.

There's a popular low-buck alternator upgrade you might look into if you find you are using the winch often.
 
Thanks for the response. I was inside because the instructions in the Warn manual say to apply light brake pressure to tension the cable. The Mrs. was busy Sunday morning so I was jumping in and out of the Jeep trying to make sure the cable was wrapping properly and applying the brakes. What a pain in the butt that was!

So what's the deal with the low-buck alternator upgrade? Is it something that'd be a good idea to do, or only if I'm winching alot?
 
you could use your parking brake (since it's not full on or off only), or just winch up a mild hill.

Braxton, what do you propose he use for a sealed battery that won't leak on angle?
 
I have three red tops, never an issue. I would buy them again. I do have a 160 amp alternator, but that only means I can recharge a little faster. Two batteries is a definite plus. Worst thing you can do to any electric device is starve it for power.
Even with three red tops, my volt meter will drop just like you described. It comes back pretty quick though. Just remember when winching in a real life situation, continuous use will heat up the motor on the winch, breaking down the windings and so on, so after a couple mins give it a break and some recharge time for your battery.
 
If he has the money (and based on what red tops currently cost, I'm sure he does) get an odyssey. Without a doubt the best for what we do. Otherwise, wal-mart's everstart maxx batts are 1/3 the price, in some cases have twice the power, and can be readily recharged after dying...they don't leak on angles either.. I'm done with optimas. Johnson controls bought the optima name and has been using it for the past few years to sell subpar batteries for outrageous prices .. it's all about marketing.
 
1) What size cables are you using from the battery to the winch?
2)Its probably normal, a higher idle can help some, again, for spooling Id be out guiding like Rich said....
 
BTW JC made the DieHard for years, when they were a real good battery....
DieHard switched to Exide and that resulted in a CAL for millions...

No idea what JC's quality standrads are these days
 
SkyHiK5 - I used the cables supplied with the winch. They are 2 gauge x 72" long. When I respool I'm going to follow the advice you guys gave me. Jumping in and out of the Jeep every 3 to 5 feet of cable was a pain. I never thought of using the e-brake...duh!
 
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