Ask the Editors: Winching With a 400EX
It has been done before but the stock battery would struggle.
This is a tough question because out of the box stock, the Honda 400EX battery isn’t really designed to run any winch, regardless of size. You may notice a pattern with 4×4 ATVs and Side-By-Sides that come equipped with winches that they typically spec a battery with the highest storage amps, CCA (cold cranking amp) rating and the ability to deep cycle if possible. Your stock battery comes in well short in all categories here. This is because it’s designed simply to start the quad, nothing more.
If it’s capable of running that 1,500 pound winch (which is relatively light even by ATV standards, at least), you’ll absolutely want to keep your machine running during, the revs up and use the winch in short bursts (10-15 seconds at a time).
We can only answer with an “if” there – as you may find it simply lacks the amp draw capacity to function. The danger here is even if it does seem to be working, you could be severely diminishing the life of your battery without realizing it. Keeping all of this in mind, you may want to consider devising a mount for a dedicated battery for the winch based on its recommended power specification. Then just keep it topped off with a trickle charger when the ATV is parked.
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