Bad grounding connecting with a winch. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: masterkorp
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 03:28:26 pm
content: Hello everyone,I am havingtroubles with a winchand I am hoping yous guys could shed some light into the subject.I suspect my winch has bad grounding issues. the winch cable is connected to a switch that cuts ground to the hole truck, then to the battery.I am not sure if the cable is small or the switch does not support the Amperage needed by the winch.The winch works for small amounts of time, until i see a spark on the amp connector, and then it only hours a few hours after.How can I debug this with some sort of empirical data to back my theory ?

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 06:50:47 pm
content: I really doubt your switch will handle enough amperage. You may have to go buy a 30A automotive relay, and wire the switch through that to switch the Winch on and off. Come to think of it, depending on your winch, a 30A automotive relay may not be enough.Your best bet is to buy this kit from Warn Industries. I have used it on my winch kits in the past. it works great.https://www.warn.com/truck/accessories/power_interrupt.shtmlIf you think the price is too much, that relay you can often find at a local Camper and RV supply store for cheaper.

author: masterkorp
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 07:09:21 pm
content: Hello,Thanks.Tonight I will bypass the cut off switch for the winch ground with a 15.5mm thick cable directly to the battery. If that does it, then I guess I will find the problem.I already have a switch for the winch remote that cuts the power to the relay, so when driving i don't hit the button by accident.But my question his. Is there a way to can confirm this with the multimeter or any other tool ?Edit:I had a typo on the ground thickness cable.

author: masterkorp
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 07:17:56 pm
content: To add some more information.The cut off switch its likethis one

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 07:27:42 pm
content: don't forget to have a fuse on the winch power connector to the battery. No more than 12 inches away, preferably closer.Your winch should have a big cable for it's connection, at least an 8mm diameter cable, preferably a bigger one. If your cable size is only 5.5mm, depending on the size of your winch, it may not be enough. Winches drawn an insane amount of amperage from the battery and you need a cable that can properly support that current. You will also need to make sure that the ground from the winch to the frame (notice I said frame and NOT body) of your vehicle is as short as possible and that you grind away any paint or other crap before bolting down the connector of that ground wire.It sounds like the problems you have could be do to the Battery not properly grounded to your frame, and your winch is grounded to the frame. Make sure you either have a large cable (at least 8mm diameter, preferably bigger) or a large braided stainless cable to ground the battery to the frame. If you don't have that wire from battery to frame, that winch will try and ground out by other means, and it could start destroying other electronics of the vehicle. I've seen it done.Your best bet is buy a winch connection kit from wither Warn or Ramsey winches.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 07:29:10 pm
content: with that relay kit from Warn Industries I linked earlier, you don't need a bulky ugly cut-off switch like that. In fact, that relay is probably better, as with that switch you have, could be dangerous as it will spark as the switch moves from contact to contact.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 08:26:33 pm
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on February 05, 2015, 07:29:10 pmBefore the 5mm cable insulation melts and catches fire.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 09:17:26 pm
content: I had a 10,000lb winch on my truck. I was using 2ga cable for it. An 8,000lb winch, you should be using 4ga, a 5mm cable, as you described, sounds like a 10ga wire. That is way too small for a winch, even for a small 4,000lb winch you use for an atv 4-wheeler.Save yourself some trouble. Goto an auto store or 4-wheel parts store (like 4wheelparts.com) and pick up a wiring kit for your winch.

author: masterkorp
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 12:49:32 pm
content: Hello,After a few more fiddling the problem was a combination of bad ground with the relay malfunction.The relay isn't connecting A and F-1 when powering F-2. So if I short A and F-1 I can pull in.Shorting A and F-2 I can pull out.The relay is a single relay piece.Tonight I will fiddle more with it and get to the problem.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2015, 02:53:25 am
content: You still need to upgrade that cable and check your battery ground to frame. That wire you are using is way to small for a winch. It could very well catch fire under a heavy winch load.

author: masterkorp
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2015, 10:36:36 pm
content: Hello again,Yes I replaced the ground cable, I also have mistaken when typing theSo, i am unable to reproduce the problem with the relay outside the system.The A and F1 do have connectivity all the time. Now in a futile attempt I tried to use a open bench logic analyzer to the relay.I would like to at least be able to see the lack of connectivity when winching in. So I've tried to use the following (see attached picture I don't know how to place the picture inline on this forum).I fired the software, run capture, and turned on the relay, but nothing happened on the software.Can someone point me in the right direction ?