My wife suprised me with a Warn winch. The winch came with a mounting plate for the Rubicon.

Could someone please help me. I am looking to install the thing myself. The instructions indicate that you should find a dry place away from metal near the battery to install the contactor. Where have you guys mounted yours?
If you have additional tips about the installation in general it would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dujie

 

We mounted ours on a open spot on a shop shelf, ha ha, what the thing does is prevents you from running the winch w/ out having the key turned on but if you just remember to have the motor running while you winch you don't realy need it, but in dirt wheeles they put it on the inside of the air box and sealed the hole that you run the wires through but in reality the winch will work fine w/ out it being conected at all.

 

The previous post may be true of the older winches (ie the A2000 and A2500), but if you are talking about a Warn 2.5ci or newer, you must have the contactor. This stands true, because the load is not run through the directional switch anymore. The load merely changes direction within the contactor wich is controlled by the low current directional switch on the handlebars.

Now, as per the original question, I have had my contactor (for warn 2.5ci) mounted on a steel plate behind the winch for almost a year now. I made sure it was sealed properly before attaching it (in order to make sure water could not get in) and it has been fine there thus far. The reason I did this is because the wolverine does not have much room in the back end for anything like this. The front has more room. I know many other riders install theirs in their cargo boxes or up under the front hood as high as the cables will allow. The trick to installing it in the front is to switch the long leads for the short ones. If the longer ones are the Red and Black ones, simply change them out for the Blue and Yellow ones. Write the color change down in your wiring schematic and it will be quite easy to follow.

Hope this helps.

 

 

hi bud ive got an 03 rubi i put the contactor in the tool box in the rear end of the quad i drilled holes for the wires from the battery and the winch and the toggle switch. i mounted the contactor on the side of the box.then put some silicone on the wire holes to seal them up. make sure u run the wires opposite side of the exhaust pipe.i ran the wires along side of the left side of the quad and then turned them in front of the air box then to the rear of the quad to the ool box. its a little more work but its safer. the wires are just long enough to go to the tool box. good luck any more questions please ask

 

Hello everyone, Thank you for the great responses. I mounted the winch this weekend however I have yet to run the wires. The pictures in the mounting instructions show the winch motor to be facing the left of the quad when sitting in the machine. This brings the cable over the top vs. the bottom. Does this make a difference?

When attempting to find the "hot" wire, as they mention, what color of wire am I looking for? You know, I should just get a special tool at Home Depot or somewhere just to make sure I am not tapping into the wrong wire!

Thanks for you input...it is appreciated.

Dujie

 

hey dujie, i had the same problem with my 03'. i called the warn people and i got 2 different responses from them. the 1st guy told me that the rubi and the rincon cables run from the top, and that there made that way. i had a problem with my contactor so i called them back and the next guy said that the cable should run from the bottom. i agree with u. the directions i got for the mounts for my quad show the winch the opposite way. i had them send me a new contactor and i have'nt installed it yet so i'am hoping that the winch is installed correctly. as far as running your wiring, i ran the wiring from the winch on the left side of the machine, then when i got to the airbox i turned the wiring to the right side to keep it from the muffler side. i drilled holes in the back of the tool box in the rear of the machine and mounted the contactor on the side of the box onside. remember to put some silicone in the holes to keep the moistue and dirt out. good luck!!!

 

Hey Sparky, So which way did you finally mount the winch? Cable over the top or cable on the bottom. It appears to me that having it run over the top would be best. It would give you more effective calbe length. The winch proper is mounted lower than others that I have seen so the over the top seems better. I am not sure what affect that would have on the mounting bolts. I guess I am not too concerned about that because I am only going to be using the winch for plowing and for getting Polaris's out of the mud. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Dujie

 

I used a tester light. If i remember correctly, I used the pink wire coming from the ingnition. I would assume our ignitions would be the same.

A test light would be good though, it allows you to test wires without cutting the insulation off the wire.

 

hey dujie i mounted the winch so the cable is coming off the top. i hope its the right way to go. as far as i can tell with the mount i got for my rubi, the cable has to run off the top. iam having problems getting my winch running. i sent the contactor back to the service people. i got it back and the winch still won't run. i'am sending the rocker switch to the service people hoping that's the problem. if that doesnt work, the winch is goin back and i'll get a ramsey. good luck runnin the wiring!