I just bought a Prairie 650 and would like to mount a winch on it. This is only my second 4-wheeler and I'm a little confused about a few things.

On the literature I got from the dealer before buying the 650 it was stated that a winch mount was included for a Warn winch. However, after looking things over, I only see mounting holes toward the front and am still a bit confused as to how the winch would be mounted.

I know I could take it to my dealer for an explanation, but the dealer nearest me is over 70 miles. So, I figured I'd post here to see if anyone else has a 650 that they have succesfully mounted a winch on? I don't have the Warn winch yet (which might explain a lot I suppose), I just wanted to see if I can get a little insight as to what I might need to do. Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

BTW - I think the machine is awesome so far!

 

Paul, I just got done mounting a Warn winch. If you look at the front of the atv the winch is tucked behind that plate w/ the two holes. Two bolts hold it in place and the cable comes out the middle slot of that plate. I bought the winch from an Artic cat dealer so it came with an artic cat mounting kit and directions. So with no usefull directions I got it on in about a hour. It looks goofy but it works. I pulled a car, forklift, dumpster and it's still on there so I think I'll be alright.
There is some things I don't like though. When the winch is pulling in, the cable comes through the fair lead and takes a 90 degree turn up the spool (while chewing up the fair lead). I would think it would be better to have it pull straight in but maybe I'm wrong?
The slot in the mounting bracket is to small so the cable won't wind left to right it just ***** up in the middle.
Also is it posible to make the winch switch only work when the key is on? I don't need any kids messing around and pulling of their fingers. Thanks

 

The winch works better if you mount it with the mounting plate. I think it is now part# KVF650-050A. It eliminates the restricted slot issue, places it slightly higher, but it still sits below the radiator guard. It also tucks the winch inside the front frame tubes completely instead of exposing one end out in the wheelwell. I don't know which winch you have, but I wired up the Warn 2500 to require the ignition switch to be on(per the instructions). It is just a matter of wiring the correct solenoid or "contactor" terminal to the switched ignition wire instead of being connected directly to the battery voltage. You can call the company that makes the winch for detail I would think. If you have the Warn 2000 winch, check out the solenoid to see if it is the one that is recalled. Some of them can internally short and start a fire without any help!

 

For those who have mounted a winch on the 650, where did you mount the solenoid and what wire did you splice to? I just picked up the mounting kit for an A2500 and wondered if anyone had any thoughts before tearing everything down. Thanks.

 

I mounted my solenoid to a bar at the bottom of the battery with two zip ties.
Prairie633, I have the 2500 winch. It came with a orange wire that had to be connected from the battery to the solenoid. Is that what I'm supose to connect to the ignition?

 

I will look at it when I go home tonight and give you answer on Tuesday........

 

Finished mounting the A2500 last night. For any of those wondering I mounted the selenoid on the aluminum brace under the right fender above the voltage regulator. Andrew84 the red wire that I referenced before was the small red wire from the switch. You splice this into a lead that is hot only when the iginition switch is on, it makes sure the winch is powered only when the ignition is on.(The large short red and black do go to the battery.) I was originally planning to splice this into the handlebar pod but couldn't locate a power supply that was one with the ignition. I could only find one wire to splice this to and this was brown wire under the seat. All in all a nice installation but took alot longer than I expected.

 

The remote socket of the Warn A2500 has a green, black, and red wire. The red wire connects to an ignition switched wire. The actual ignition switch wire goes from the switch up to a male/female connector on the right side behind the small radiator cap panel.(The curved piece of plastic in the front, under the bars). The winch contactor always has battery power available thru the large guage battery cables, which are not fused or switched because of the heavy current draw during winch operation 100+ amps under some conditions. The red wire voltage is connected to the green or black wire of the remote socket depending on which direction you want. This makes the contactor send the proper polarity to the two motor terminal leads. If you mounted the contactor under the battery, you may want to check and make sure it does not get hot from the rear cylinder exhaust pipe which is a few inches under battery. I mounted mine in the rear of the storage box under the seat to keep it dry and clean. It wasn't a bad as I thought it would be and you don't have to remove the box. It took a while to mount, but it sure beats the way they slap them on at the dealers...........