Hadn't used my winch for over 6 months and in the meantime had to replace the battery. After a recent snow I went to do some plowing and found that my winch wasn't working anymore: when I pressed the rocker switch I'd just hear clicking from the solenoid.

So, thinking it was the solenoid I replaced that but still the same results. Now I'm guessing that it's the winch itself but I'm wondering if there is anyway to diagnose this. I pulled the winch out and connected a voltmeter to the two wire but really have no idea what I should be seeing/or not seeing when I press the rocker switch. Can anyone tell me what it is I should be seeing on the voltmeter? I do get a reading but if I remember correctly, the meter goes up but then comes back down to zero's even if I keep the the switch pressed.

I'm a total n00b when it comes to pretty much anything mechanical so I really don't know if this would be normal behavior for the winch electrical system or not.

Vitals:

2004.5 Sportsman 500
Warn 2500 winch

Thanks,

Joe

 

Figured it out! Off to plow. :-)

 

What was it?