Well, I installed my Warn 2000 onto my Vinson today. I did not hook up the solenoid, because I didn't have the one-way diode to prevent feedback. I want to make sure I installed the thing right. I hooked the negative on with switch to the neg. battery, positive switch to positive battery. I then hooked #1 on switch to #1 on winch and #2 on switch to #2 on winch.

Do I need any type of circuit breaker installed?

Also, as I read the owner's manual I came to "stretching the wire rope". It says to "spool out the entire wire rope length leaving 5 wraps on the drum, then power in the wire rope under a load of 500lb". Well, apparently I didn't have a 500lb load and the cable did not pull back correctly. I hope I didn't damage the cable, I'm going to have to try and pull the cable back off tomorrow and try again. Any ideas as to what I can pull that weighs 500lb w/o my atv moving?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

The best wayI have found is to attach the cable to a tree, truck, etc., and winch tje quad into the cable. I always ride the brake a little when doing this. More weight than 500 lbs won't hurt. As far as the solonoid goes, I would DEFINITELY use it. It is a safety item, and can prevent some major problems (read; Fire) later on.
Hope this helps!

 

The reason they want you to "stretch" the cable is because the cable isn't wound on tightly at the factory. If you try to use it without rewinding it first, it may get crossed up on the spool, and then you'll have a mess. The best way I've found is to hook up to a solid object like a tree or car bumper, and freespool the cable out leaving around 5 wraps on the spool. Then, just engage it again, and start powering the cable in keeping resistance on the cable by using your brakes. If you use your winch very often, you'll need to do this occasionally.