Fitting a winch to TJM T13 bar

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Went and bought some bits I needed to install the control box today, split tube and bolts, etc. Looking at the box today I noticed the cables aren't completely tucked into the rubber boots where they enter the box, there's a little bit of copper showing. I had the cables replaced with longer ones by the auto electrician down the road, looks like the cable he used was just a bit too thick for the cable and insulation to fit in the rubber boots together. I'm not too happy about it as I can see water getting in the cable and/or box that way. I'm going to open it up and see how hard that will be to fix, can't see any other way short of heatshrink tube to seal the gap. I'll be taking it back if I can't sort it out myself, after all I paid good money for the job.

On the subject of opening the control box I was going to beef up the seal with some silicone or there was another product I can't recall the name of (Red something). Are there any other preventative measures I should take to protect the control box from water ingress?

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Grrrrrrr! Pulled the box apart only to discover the rubber O ring seal is broken in 2 places. It's very thin (like fishing line) so it's possible I did it opening the box (had to use a flat bladed screw driver to pry it open after removing the screws), no way of knowing if the sparky did it. I've put it back in as best I can but obviously it's compromised now. Short of obtaining a replacement seal from Tigerz11 (highly doubtful) what other way is there to obtain a watertight seal now?

I don't think I can fix the small gaps between the insulation on the cables and the rubber boots on the box myself, there are crimped lugs on the solenoid ends that would need to be re-done. Would a section of heatshrink tubing placed over the cable and boot and the heated to shrink it create a good enough seal?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Chuck a photo up but heat shrink should be fine as long as you can get it all the way over the crimp. It pisses me off when this sort of thing is presented as satisfactory workmanship. No conductors should be exposed. Is the o ring that is broken one that runs around the box to seal it? You can get kits to make up an o ring from a length of o ring material cut to length and glued end to end. If it is some weird square shape that may not work. Again pics help. Is the box the same as a Warn or other? You should be able to buy a replacement.

[Rogerthatv2 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Rogerthatv2]

If its hard to get to try a product like Plastidip to protect the wires, just like heat shrink once applied.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Chuck a photo up but heat shrink should be fine as long as you can get it all the way over the crimp. It pisses me off when this sort of thing is presented as satisfactory workmanship. No conductors should be exposed.

I'll get a photo up in the morning. I gave them plenty of time to do the job, at least a week, so it shouldn't have been rushed. I didn't notice the gap when I picked up the box (was in a rush to get to work) or I would have not accepted it. The insulation has been trimmed to just under the base of the rubber boots so if you move the cable you can see a gap.

Is the o ring that is broken one that runs around the box to seal it? You can get kits to make up an o ring from a length of o ring material cut to length and glued end to end. If it is some weird square shape that may not work.

Yes, the seal runs around a gutter in the baseplate of the box and the lid of the box fits over the top. It's very thin so I'm not surprised it broke. Unfortunately it is square in shape.

Is the box the same as a Warn or other? You should be able to buy a replacement.

It's the big Tigerz11 one with the Thomson solenoid inside, don't think it's the same as a Warn. It looks the same as this one :-
http://www.tigerz11.com.au/product-c...ntrol-box.html

[JPH Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JPH]

Pop some photos up, worse case scenario I reckon silicone will do the trick. You don't intend to take it swimming in deep water too often do you? Surely it can be worked out.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

You don't intend to take it swimming in deep water too often do you? Surely it can be worked out.

Well no but it's going on the bar next to the winch so there's a chance it might get wet Josh. I'll get some pics up in the morning when I have better light.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Some pictures as promised :-






The O ring seal actually sits in a gutter in the lid of the box not the base as previously posted. It's only about 1mm thick, the nearest replacement I can find is this :-
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RUBBER-O-...item5645147cf3

I'm not sure if it would fit into the gutter and how I would join the ends though.

There's also little O rings on each of the screws that goes into the base. A few of these have been wrecked (screwed into far perhaps) but I'm guessing these will be relatively easy to replace and if not some silicone in each hole before the screws go in would be enough.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Fido can uou peel the rubber back? Heat shrink underneath that would be fine. As for the o ring I struggle to see how a tiny flimsy thing like that would seal anything. You can make up new o ring and just cut it at an angle and overlap the tapers or glue it together with super glue. But I don't think you will get the square corners. Best to contact Tigerz and see if you can buy new. I would still use a liquid sealant too. However I don't have a winch. At the moment.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Fido can uou peel the rubber back? Heat shrink underneath that would be fine.

I'm not sure as it is pretty thick and stiff. I may be able to pull it down a bit further, looking at my pics it does look like those boots have been pushed in a bit.

As for the o ring I struggle to see how a tiny flimsy thing like that would seal anything.

Yeah it's pretty pathetic as seals go, not surprising that it broke really. It is covered in silicone grease which probably helps but it only sits in a track on one side of the box, it relies on pressure to do the rest. Because it does sit in a track I reckon I could get away with using that material I linked earlier, provided it fits in the track of course.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Called up Tigerz11 regarding the seal and they've advised me to just silicone it up, they don't carry spares.

Is there any particular type of silicone best suited to the job (i.e. one that bonds with metal)? Would a bead run on one of the flat surfaces (either lid or base) just inside the edge do the trick?

Haven't had a chance to play with the cable boots yet, still hoping I can bring them down and over the bare copper bits.

Also I'm guessing I should treat the holes drilled to mount the control box with some sort of rust preventative. What product(s) are suitable?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Fido if you can find a silicone that is neutral cure. I use one of the many Sikaflex sealants (and I can't remember which one) in the industrial size but you won't need anything like that quantity. Should state neutral cure or non acid on the information. And when I drill holes I use cold gal (I've been using Dymark zinc gal and it seems to be pretty good plenty of zinc powder and dries quickly) and if colour is important put a colour over the top of that. Just make sure any oil or grease is removed before painting.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Thanks MJ, will call into Bunnings today and see what I can find. Colour won't matter too much as the box is going inside the bar channel so won't be on show.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

I got some Sikaflex-11FC Adhesive Sealant from the silicone section at Bunnings today. I'm not sure if it's neutral cure as there's no mention on the packaging. It's polyurethane based rather than silicone though so I'm hoping that is still OK?

Also picked up a small tin of White Knight Rust Guard cold gal primer, couldn't find any Dymark products.

Have also grabbed some heat shrink tube in case I can't get the boots down over the cables. I was told you can use a gas torch to shrink the tube (don't have a heatshrink gun) but I don't want to go melting anything. Any tips on alternative ways to apply it?

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

I think I may have bought the wrong Sikaflex product, the data sheet suggests it's more of a glue :-

http://www.wpw.com.au/pdf%27s/Sikaflex-11FC.pdf

Should I have bought this instead?

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_...roducts&page=3