Hey guys, have a small winch issue. I have a Warn 2500 lbs. winch that I purchased from the dealer. It was a full kit specifically for my machine, a 2003 Kodiak 450. I installed it myself and followed every direction, and the winch works great. The problem is when I load the winch up with a pull it'll bog the whole electrical system down to the point where the dash display will shut off. If I work the winch in and out with no load I have no problems, it works completely fine. The main load wires for the winch run directly from the main relay to the battery, as the instructions said. The connections are tight, and the wires are not rubbing or shorted against the frame anywhere. Do I need a higher capacity battery or something? I put the winch on about a week after I bought the bike brand new, and have used several different batteries in the machine (all the same rated amp capacity) with the winch. Any ideas?

 

I don't have any specific winch experience but I'd try a few things;
1st I'd check the ground connection, it should be good metal on metal contact. Make sure what you're grounding to is connected to the frame metal to metal as well not mounted on vibration isolators.
2nd, what happens if you up the revs? It may be that the charging system just needs a few more rpm to make the output the winch needs.
Good luck!

 

Yeah, I went through and everything is nice and tight. The winch goes to the negative battery terminal for a ground. I have tried to rev it up to increase the output of the charging system, but it didn't seem to make a difference

 

Warn has a recall on the 2500 winch.Warn Industries - ATV Contactor Recall

 

Thanks man! I'm gonna fill that out right now. Didn't see what the recall was for though on he first couple pages.

 

That's awesome! Hope that works out!