My winch on my 500 is not working all the time. You can use the "in"-"out" button and you can hear the contactor clicking but the actual winch only works about 1/3 the time. I have cleaned all the terminals and made sure the wires are tight, but besides opening the contactor, I dont know what else to do. Surely if the contactor is "clicking", it is working right? ANy suggestions?

 

Loose Ground=intermittent operation. Check ground at frame near sol. check worn, frayed wire. Low voltage on battery? I am a Master electrican but that does'nt mean sh!# sometimes. If you have a multimeter and a shop manual you can squash some of the guesswork. Radio shack and Home Cheapo have cheap meters.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

 

I can almost guarantee you that it is your positive '+' battery connection. Since you have to put the power wire on for the winch along with the regular battery wire, its really sensitive to having a perfect connection. Pull both wires off, Make sure that each one is perfectly flat and no corrosion, then retorque down. Make sure they are tight....

dave

 

Thanks guys.... I didnt pull either neg or pos off the battery, but just made sure terminal screws were tight. So you both agree it is not the sol. right?

 

I doubt its the solenoid. The reason the solenoid is clicking is because of improper voltage/current. Its a connection somewhere...either at the solenoid or the positive on the battery...or possibly ground...

 

Was the motor running? Those winches are real power hogs, and if the engine isnt running, the battery will run down real fast.