can you hook up a winch without a solenoid? and if so how. thanks.

 

Some of the old 2000 lb winches used a big honkin switch instead of a contactor... I think most everything now uses a contactor, though, as it is handy to have the switch up on the handlebar, and putting a switch and cables of the required capacity to handle the winch's full current on the handlebar wouldn't really be practical.

Anyhow, welcome to the forum.

 

Hi Little rascal,

You can but I would strongly advise against it as it would be very dangerous.

Think about getting pulled into a tree or rock and you can't stop the winch action fast enough. That could get really ugly very fast.

 

The WARN 2000lb model uses a large switch which switches the full load of the winch. There is a solenoid in the system, but it is to make the winch operate Only when the key is turned on. If you have a larger winch, the switch for the 2000lb model may not be heavy enough for a larger load and could melt or catch fire.