winch questions

Forgot to ask this in another post: I've washed my winch cable also after using it in mud... working in the metal finishing biz, I feel like I want to oil the cable, but haven't done anything like that yet. It's a brand new winch and cable, only been on there for muddin twice and it didn't get that bad, just splatter and on the cable. Hmm, also I notice when I use it the battery voltage indicator says it drops down to around 9 volts. I have a stock battery, should I replace with a deep cycle optima or something?

Um, and another thing: How many electrical attachments to the jeep (01 TJ)would be too much for the factory alternator? Thanks in advance!

Reply to
Troy
Loading thread data ...

Hi Troy,

When you get a "new" winch you are advised to stretch it and lightly oil it. After a few uses with my winch I release all the cable - check it - clean it - lightly oil it - reel it back up correctly.

I put in a simple hand throttle to keeps the battery charging when using the winch. I will replace my stock battery with an Optima when it's replaced, but for now it's OK but does not meet specs for the winch.

You will know when you are beyond the alternator's capability. Unless you are going to use a lot of off road lightning it will be fine.

Andy

2001 TJ

Reply to
Andy

How much is "alot". I was thinking of putting 6-7 foglights on mine due to the fact alot of offroading I do will be at nighttime. I've got an '85 CJ7 and I'm not sure the stock alternator will handle that ...? Then again, I have no idea.

Reply to
griffin

If I recall my Warn instructions correctly, it said not to oil the winch cable...

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Bransford

You might find this article useful:

  1. Upgrading You Electrical System Part 1 - Off-Road.Com

It is a multi-part article that discusses the basics of automotive electrical systems and upgrades.

Briefly: The author says that his TJ came with the optional heavy-duty

117 amp alternator and that the stock one is rated at 90 amps. Counting on his fingers, he figures that the base draw for his TJ (fans, ignition, fuel pump, instruments, running lights, etc) is 30 to 40 amps. Add another 9 amps for every 100 watt light. His Superwinch can pull well over 400A full load, anything over what the alternator can produce has to come from the battery and then be made up for later by the alternator, while it is running everything else. Don't forget that alternators put out diddlysquat at low RPMs. If your alternator cannot keep up you'll eventually run out of battery reserve. Click click click, no start.

The formula for finding amperage from wattage is (W/V)==A or wattage (100) divided by voltage (12) equals (8 and change, round up for a safety margin).

Good luck!

[snip]
Reply to
Lee Ayrton

NO alternator that can be mounted onto a Jeep can keep up with a winch under load. So as long as basic battery management is performed, i.e. don't run the winch under heavy load for prolonged periods of time without giving the alternator a chance to keep the battery somewhat charged, all that is really needed is a good quality heavy-duty battery. I'm running the stock 117 amp alternator and a single Optima battery and do heavy and often prolonged winching all the time without any problems.

You're not running anything off the battery aside from the engine when winching so additional loads like lights would be rare. And it's the battery that the winch is really drawing from with the alternator just providing what it can.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Bransford

Reply to
twaldron

I have the warn 9000 winch which is removable. I perfer this model since:

1) My jeep is a daily driver, I do not need and extra 100 pounds on the front. 2) It will not get stolen since it is safe in my garage 3) It is not exposed to the elements everyday since it is stored 4) I just installed a 2" receiver hitch on the front of my jeep, I do not need the winch plate or guard. 5) I have it wired for the back as well. 6) I can share it with my other jeeps.

But you should get the following for you winch

1) a good battery, the winch will draw a lot of current 2) install a hand throttle so that when you are winching you will not forget to increase the rpm and kill your battery.

I think the winch was the best investment I ever made. Also if you are buying a winch spend the extra money, for example the difference in price between the 8000 and 9000 is very little. Think in the future, it is better to get a bigger one right away!

Reply to
Snowboardripper

I hope you never have to really put that winch to the test under a heavy load.... your receiver hitch is most definitely not up to the task. Not even close.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Bransford

Reply to
twaldron

I confused a followup poster with the original poster, the F/U wants to run a half-dozen fog lights for night-time off-roading and I conflated that with the OP who worries that his electrical system will not keep up with his winch.

As for the rest, perhaps I worded it poorly: I agree that no alternator available will support a 400A load, the balance comes from the battery, and I said so. As for extra loads while winching, I dunno: Nightime, swamp, winching, I can see someone lighting it up like the near side of the moon. Mebbe not you, but someone would.

Yes, the alternator will recharge the battery between heavy loads, as I said -- but the points I was reaching for there are that alternators don't put out much useful current at idle and that a system where load (from extra lights) approaches alternator output at speed (and exceeds it at idle) it will take a lot longer to refresh the battery. If the base nightime draw for your rig is 40A and you've got 600 watts of extra off-road lights, there's not a lot of amps left to recharge with from a standard 90A alternator. Given the right combination of prolonged idling, running accessories, heavy winching, a festoon of lights above, around and under a Jeep, combined shutting down with no recharge time, an unwary and unlucky Jeeper could find himself unable to restart, which was the worst case I was pointing at. For some folks, electricity will always be an occult thing and getting more power is a matter of adding 3M splices and wire. Not that there's anything wrong with people who misunderstand electricity: I couldn't understand chemistry to save my life.

Do I think he should park his Jeep, run -- not walk -- to a parts store to buy and install a megahuge 175A alternator? Nope. The HD 117 amp unit is probably fine. I was just trying to give enough information so he could understand what he was dealing with so he could decide what he should do.

It looks like I didn't do so well at it, eh?

Reply to
Lee Ayrton

Very true. Winching aside, if you're deep in the nowhere, hike off and return hours (or days) later to find you left your lights on, you're hosed and your heavy duty alternator and batteries won't help. I always carry a portable jumper battery in the back for such occasions.

Steve

formatting link

Lee Ayrt>

Reply to
Steve

Hi Jerry,

You sure that a 2" receiver can't handle it? Yes, most class III hitches are rated at 5-6,000 lb, but class IV 2" receiver hitches can rate up to

10K. The front mount receiver hitch at the bottom of the following link has a rated winching capacity of 9K:

formatting link
I'm soon gonna build bumpers and was planning on integrated 2"x2" receivers front and rear to handle a portable winch cradle for all the good reasons listed by snwbrdrpr. Assuming that I design my bumpers to take advantage of all possible vehicle mount points and that the receiver tubes and surrounding bumper are sufficiently beefy (3/16") and properly welded, do I need to be concerned about using a 9K winch on a portable cradle?

Anyone got any good links on bumper design/construction when integrating a receiver tube?

Steve

formatting link

Jerry Bransford wrote:

Reply to
Steve

Hitches are weight-rated differently than winches are. They're rated for "rolling weight" of the trailer which is nowhere even near the actual weight of the trailer. So if it's rated to tow a 3500 lb. trailer, it's really pulling WAY less than 3500 lbs. A winch is rated for the true pulling weight... and I doubt whether the front 2" receiver you mounted on your TJ is rated for much more than 3500 lbs. rolling weight.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Bransford

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

Jerry, I have the 9.5 ti Warn. Under maintenance it says "Using a light oil on the wire rope and winch hook can keep rust and corrosion from forming." Now, I'm not saying every time out. It really does not attract dirt. However, I wheel mostly in Kentucky and it's humid and muddy here.

Andy

Reply to
Andy

Reply to
Will Honea

Maybe there was some confussion on my set up. I have a custom made receiver that is mounted on top of my front bumper and attaches via the same holes as the tow hooks. It is mounted exactly where the winch plate would normally go. This is a 2 inch reciever,and is rated.

To each his own, everyone has an opinion on items and what works for some does not work for everyone. This setup has worked for me.

Reply to
Snowboardripper

To prevent rust. Lightly oil it - not every time out - just when you do maintenance on it. Doesn't attract dirt at all.

Reply to
Andy

I also was under the impression that the internal friction between the strands was a major factor in cable strength.

maybe way off, but I believed that the cable shouldn't be lubricated.

Reply to
MacIntosh

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.