hey there...new to the forum, but it looks like a good one. i'm looking for some (hopefully) simple info on a winch install i'm going to perform on a 2005 yamaha kodiak 400 4x4. i've done installs of winches before...so the wiring is pretty striaghtforward to me, but there's a few questions specific to this atv that's i was hoping to get some advice on. The connector box on the winch has 3 sets of wires coming from it. One set goes to the battery (red and black) another set to the rocker switch (black and green) and another set to the winch itself (blue and yellow). All these come out of this connector box and I was wondering where is a good place to mount the connector box? If i put it under the seat I would have to drill a hole through the little storage area and then caulk it. my other option is to mount the connector box on the frame somewhere under the fender maybe. the issue here is if i mount it in the storage area under the seat i can't just run over the storage area's edge since the seat will pinch the wires. Right now, it gets very little mud and dirt in there and i was hoping to keep it that way. Is the hole through the storage area under the seat.....to underneath the fender area the best option (with caulk of course)?. Not sure how a dealer or factory would do it. on other machines it's always been real easy to figure the right path.
2. lastly, the one other wire that comes out of the connector box is a red wire that needs to be spliced into a 12v keyed ignition wire. can i use the accessory plug for this splice, since it is linked to turning the machin on/off. Is there another wire I could splice into....by the battery area. I don't have a manual on my machine so I'm hoping there's an easy port to plug this into.....or an easy wire to splice into. the winch will be a warn rt15 or rt25. thanks......i'll keep the future posts shorter. Thanks in advance.

 

I just did the same thing on an 01 kodiak about a month ago. I couldnt find a better place than the area under the seat to store the box so thats where she sits today. I think as long as you seal it up with a little silicone, you should be ok. As far as the 12v wire, I had to extend the wire all the way to the back(they only gave me about a foot to work with because they recomend you splice into the ignition) and then spliced into a wire comming off the starter relay. The wire that I used is hot all the time which is not the way you are suppose to do it, but its working for me. I cant really see the advantage to making it a switched suorce, other than maybe for safety. I do like not being forced to turn the key on to lift and lower my plow. Also, be carefull as one of those wires on the starter relay is onlyhot hen in park or reverse.

 

My hot wire on my 450 is spliced into the pink wire going to the accessory plug. Not sure about the 400, but the contactor is located under the hood on the front of the atv.

 

Yeah, I really wanted to put mine under that hood pannel too, but the negative and positive wires were not long enough to pull it off. I never thought of splicing into the 12v acc plug. Thats a pretty good Idea. I jut didn't want to mess with the ignition.

 

thanks for all the good info. one more question though. i'm thinking about going with the warn rt15 instead of the rt25. i talked with warn and they brought up some good points about it not taxing my battery as much if i use the rt15. curious though....what's this hawrse fairlead compared to the others? will it stand up to the angle the cable will be pulled when using it for a plow?

 

I really couldnt tell you much about the warns. I do know alot of people with them and none of them have ever had any problems with them that Im aware of. I went with a venom winch 3000lbs that I bought off ebay. My reasoning was that it came with the mounting plate as well as a lot of other extras and was shipped to my door for about $150. I figured I could buy two more if this one ever fails for the price of one warn. Everything about it so far has been great. The thing seems to be built very strong and I have no complaints. One cool feature was that it came with the rocker switch for the handle bars and it came with a wired remote that I can store in the area under the seat when not in use and whe I need it I plug it into the terminal that I installed on th front fender. It looks nice and factory and does come in handy at times when you cant be on the quad.

 

I just purchased a Ramsey 2500 wireless winch for my 05 450 Kodiak and the motor hits the front bumper brace. For now I have installed a spacer under one side to get clearance. Don't like this and am debating next step. Wiring to be done this weekend. This post should help with that

 

I would say go with the 2500 lb. Warn. You really need extra pulling power when your really stuck. I don't think that the 1500 lb. one would offer that. I've never had a winch kill a battery, I usually leave it running just for this reason.