What happens to your winch...

[Mudderoy]

This past weekend I was rewiring my switch panel. I have two switches that I've never hooked up. The winch on/off and winch in/out switches. I need to get a few things first but I was thinking. What happens to a winch if you try to bring the line in and it's already all the way in? Damages the fairlead? Creates a black hole and slows down time?

Being outside with the winch controller in your hand helps keep this from happening I think.

[89Laredo]

I think it would overheat and die...

[NW99XJ]

USUALLY when one is winching, one is in a position to have a spotter guide them/and/or...spot the winch line.
If you find yourself in a position where you are alone, and self recovering, and HAVE to be in-cab while going line-in....you shouldn't be so close to your anchor point when spooling in that you would worry about something like this.
There would be a way to attache a ferrous ring (encased in plasti-dip or something for protection) to the end of your line at the hook...... that would then trigger a normally closed micro switch at the fairlead once it came within a close proximity.
This of course would only be bypassed when the winch was set to free spool, and you could pull the hook away from fairlead to free spool out to your anchor point, or if you really anted to.... pull a few inches out, then "line-out" the rest of the way.
This set-up would be relatively easy to fabricate and install, using components typically used in home/commercial security systems.

But to answer the original question (sorry for the tangent) ...the winch SHOULD have some sort of a "load sense" or "thermal cut-off" built in, to where if you tried to spool in past the point in which the hook catches on the fairlead, it will shut itself off before the drum, gears, or motor is damaged.

[Mudderoy]

USUALLY when one is winching, one is in a position to have a spotter guide them/and/or...spot the winch line.
If you find yourself in a position where you are alone, and self recovering, and HAVE to be in-cab while going line-in....you shouldn't be so close to your anchor point when spooling in that you would worry about something like this.
There would be a way to attache a ferrous ring (encased in plasti-dip or something for protection) to the end of your line at the hook...... that would then trigger a normally closed micro switch at the fairlead once it came within a close proximity.
This of course would only be bypassed when the winch was set to free spool, and you could pull the hook away from fairlead to free spool out to your anchor point, or if you really anted to.... pull a few inches out, then "line-out" the rest of the way.
This set-up would be relatively easy to fabricate and install, using components typically used in home/commercial security systems.

But to answer the original question (sorry for the tangent) ...the winch SHOULD have some sort of a "load sense" or "thermal cut-off" built in, to where if you tried to spool in past the point in which the hook catches on the fairlead, it will shut itself off before the drum, gears, or motor is damaged.

In reality it probably is a very improbable issue. Noise from the winch, or the on/off switch should be able to bypass any thing that might go wrong. I was just curious.

I remember way back when I was 16 I spun out during a massive rain store driving home from school. So much so that I was well within a field. Someone in a lifted CJ stopped. I never saw their face, they just motioned to the winch. I got the winch cable, drug it out to my car, found a point to attach it and they winched me out. I disconnected the cable and they winched it in, I waved and got back in my car (now I was completely soaked) and drove the remaining 15 miles to my house.

I just liked the idea of being able to sit inside my Jeep and work the winch. Now, years later I realize that they guy (or gal) was taking a bit of a risk with some 16 year old kid hooking up the line. I mean I didn't know anything about how the cable should be used, connected, etc... I just hooked it best I could. I don't even remember what I connected it to on my car. No damage though.

[4.3LXJ]

Back in my youth, when I was just a kid I did that. The winch and cable start making lots of noise. Besides, when my winch operates it makes a loud whining sound anyway. When I did have the problem it was with a PTO winch.

[cantab27]

Back in my youth, when I was just a kid I did that. The winch and cable start making lots of noise. Besides, when my winch operates it makes a loud whining sound anyway. When I did have the problem it was with a PTO winch.

yep seen the pto chew stuff :D...

[NW99XJ]

In reality it probably is a very improbable issue. Noise from the winch, or the on/off switch should be able to bypass any thing that might go wrong. I was just curious.

I remember way back when I was 16 I spun out during a massive rain store driving home from school. So much so that I was well within a field. Someone in a lifted CJ stopped. I never saw their face, they just motioned to the winch. I got the winch cable, drug it out to my car, found a point to attach it and they winched me out. I disconnected the cable and they winched it in, I waved and got back in my car (now I was completely soaked) and drove the remaining 15 miles to my house.

I just liked the idea of being able to sit inside my Jeep and work the winch. Now, years later I realize that they guy (or gal) was taking a bit of a risk with some 16 year old kid hooking up the line. I mean I didn't know anything about how the cable should be used, connected, etc... I just hooked it best I could. I don't even remember what I connected it to on my car. No damage though.

Thats a great story!

[Mudderoy]

Thats a great story!

Probably when I really got interested in off road vehicles.

[4.3LXJ]

yep seen the pto chew stuff :D...

Yeah, it did. Bent the fairlead and folded over a tow hook on the frame. Learned not to do that one again

[bluedragon436]

Probably when I really got interested in off road vehicles.

When?? When the person with the lifted CJ winched you back onto the road?? or When you got done with your first offroad adventure in the mud of the field?? LOL I know my want for one came after having all kinds of fun in the mud and such with my 99 Cougar!! Well that and I've always liked the Jeeps!!

[Mudderoy]

When?? When the person with the lifted CJ winched you back onto the road?? or When you got done with your first offroad adventure in the mud of the field?? LOL I know my want for one came after having all kinds of fun in the mud and such with my 99 Cougar!! Well that and I've always liked the Jeeps!!

No I used to take my friends, and girlfriends, to a local park and do donuts in the field. Sliding around was always a bunch of fun, getting stuck, not so much.

[bluedragon436]

No I used to take my friends, and girlfriends, to a local park and do donuts in the field. Sliding around was always a bunch of fun, getting stuck, not so much.

LOL... And so the love for offroad vehicles such as Jeeps that won't get you stuck after playing in said field!!! LOL...

[Mudderoy]

Thinking more of connecting up the internal switches for the winch... Found this online...

2121

This is for the SuperWinch Epi 9.0.

Red = Power
Black = Ground
Blue = Motor Control (In or Out)
Yellow = Motor Control (In or Out)

My current understanding is the SuperWinch Epi 9.0 doesn't require power, it's basically on all the time. So since I have a POWER switch and a IN/OUT control switch I'll have to wire up the power switch that basically enables or disables the IN/OUT switch.

The IN/OUT switch momentarily toggles to the front of the switch or the back of the switch. In other words you have to press and hold it, otherwise it returns to the middle, or off position. This is good for winch control! :D

I'll have two relays. One relay for the in and one for the out. Now I don't think either of these lines on the SuperWinch require any great amount of current, but I'm not going to take the chance since I'm using really thin wire from the switches. I did this so I could get a lot of control wires to my switch panel. Trade off is I have to run relays to handle the electrical load.

Each relay will require a 12 volt trigging voltage. So where normally the switch is wired to the 12 volt source voltage I will instead feed this voltage to the winch power on/off switch. I'll then route the output of this switch to the in/out toggle. Basically the only way the in/out toggle switch will have power is if the winch power switch is on. That also means that the little light inside the in/out switch will NOT illuminate until the winch power switch is on. No light on the winch power switch then in/out winch control won't work! :D

I just need a couple of standard automotive relays, those plug ins for the relays, and two wires long enough to run from the relays to the electrical connection strip that I have under the dash.

In cab winch control, here I come!

Here's a crappy schematic I did to make sure I understood what I needed to do.

2122

[denverd1]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-1.htm&h=480&w=640&sz=20&tbnid=eCBmFdheB4DA6M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__HjQj0kY7BaGttI2kLQZclnIHl8I=&docid=Be9UEVfeWgxdLM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=scR-UZSNConx2AXl7YDwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQ9QEwAQ&dur=2384
http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-2.jpg

[Mudderoy]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-1.htm&h=480&w=640&sz=20&tbnid=eCBmFdheB4DA6M:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__HjQj0kY7BaGttI2kLQZclnIHl8I=&docid=Be9UEVfeWgxdLM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=scR-UZSNConx2AXl7YDwDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CGUQ9QEwAQ&dur=2384
http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/incab/incab-2.jpg

Thanks I already have a switch panel and switches. Besides this wouldn't mount anywhere very nice on the limited dash space of a 97+ Cherokee, at least not with in easy reach. That's why I went to an overhead switch panel.

2123

As you can see I have some more work to do, but this is the first attempt. :D

[denverd1]

Thats a great idea and cool switch panel Tony!

[OrangeXJ]

like said earler I don't think you will be winching by yourself. You can tell when the winch is in a bind. When I use mine when done I hook the hook to a D ring and winch it tight it makes a diffrent sound when it has no where to go.

[denverd1]

i was surprised by how much the spool keep turning after you've released the button. so maybe just bump it a few times when you think you're getting close.

[denverd1]

wow. Greg, sorry if that rubbed you the wrong way!