Winch electrical question

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

Hi again everyone

I purchased a Tigerz11 10 000lb winch today on special from the supplier. Happy with the deal, you guys should check it out!

However, after buying it I've got completely confused over what will happen if I connect the winch to my aux battery.I have a Redarc isolator. I know that the Redarc protects the starter battery from discharging too far to the point where it won't start the vehicle. So, if I wire the winch to my aux battery, will it work normally, or will the Redarc prevent this in some way? I figure that a direct connection to the battery will allow the winch to work, and the Redarc will direct the charge of the alternator to the aux battery whilst the car is running and I'm winching away. Is this the right way to wire it up?

Thanks for your help.

Reidy

[reida1991 Member Find all posts View Profile Close reida1991]

After a bit of google, I have established that I should connect the winch to the main cranking battery to gain higher voltage thus less amp draw when running my winch. If I simply wire the winch to my cranking battery, will it work normally with the Redarc in the system? People are talking about marine battery switches and running overrides past the isolators to join the two batteries. So, to put it plainly, if I wire the winch to the main battery, winch my Prado out of a mess, and drive off, will there be any negative effects?

Reidy

[4wd Supplies Member Find all posts View Profile Close 4wd Supplies]

Hooking the winch upto the main battery is the way to go mate as you will be getting the full charge from the altenator. However I would also be installing an isolator switch to disconnect it when not in use. There will be no ill effects wiring it up this way but always make sure your car is running and the battery charging when winching because these things will run a battery down in no time at all.

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

Yep, hook it up to the main battery, and fit an isolator switch for safety. That way, no one can start your winch unless they can get under the bonnet to flick the isolator.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

There seems to be as much debate over this as Ford/Holden or Toyota/Nissan.

The general argument for 12v items is that if it is used when the engine is running then connect it to the main battery and if it is used when the engine is off then connect it to the Aux battery. By this argument the winch should be connected to the main battery.

When I installed my winch I also did a lot of research and decided to connect it to the aux battery - the main reason people give for doing this is to provide a degree of isolation between the winch and the cars ECU to prevent transient spikes from damaging it. I have no idea over the validity of this argument but for how long I am likely to run the winch I don't imagine it's going to drain my aux battery.

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

I also run mine off the aux, can't overload the vehicles electrics and alternator that way and
the aux is a lot larger. Plus I don't want to flatten the cranking battery and end up stuck with no
way to start the engine.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I also run mine off the winch

I take it this is a typo and you mean aux?

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

As the general concensus has been, run it off the cranking battery and keep the revs up to 2000rpm or higher when using the winch for slightly longer recoveries. I'd be more concerned about overheating the winch motor and solenoids than running the cranking battery flat. It's not like you'll be using your car in a NZ winch challenge comp or anything. If you do happen to run the winch for so long and to the point where the winch stops working and your battery goes dead and the car stops running, just hook up jumper leads from the aux battery to the cranking battery and start it again. But like I said, you should be more concerned with overheating than running a battery flat. If you are ever in doubt with battery power consumption when winching, just do it sparingly and rest it for a couple of mins in between use.

The main problem with running it off an aux battery is if you do run the aux battery too low, it'll take too long to recharge it to the point of where you can run the winch again for another minute +. Plus if you have a fridge sharing the aux battery too then it'll be starved of power if the battery runs low/dead. The cranking battery will supply more charge, and re-charge much quicker.

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

I run mine from the main (cranking) battery. Some things to note are, all dual battery systems charge the main battery up first, when the main battery is fully charged, then it changes to the 2nd battery. If you have a deep cycle as your 2nd battery, you will kill it if you use your winch and it is connected to that 2nd battery, as deep cycles do not like massive current draws that winches produce.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Have a search for a post by Chopper on thi subject. He explains how an ideal set up should be put together.