Winch Wiring

[Aussie Frontier]

So I got me one of these

and am going to bolt it to one of these

My question is this

I can either bolt in another battery in the back or run the cables up to the front main battery
What size cable to run and where did everyone get their cables from?

Now if I could get me one of these

Then I could have the winch front or rear .Its actually a commercially made front tow bar for a Frontier or Pathfinder in Nth America

Can I use heavy duty welding cable?

 

[equipt]

Yeah I would use heavy duty welding cable and I would run the cable in the chassie rail and fit it up to an anderson plug on the back then its nice and tidy. If you run a 2nd battery make sure it is hooked up to a proper battery system coz if you have to do a big winch you will drain it real quick.

 

[Aussie Frontier]

Kool thats what I was thinking.
I already have the battery isolator and a bike battery in the back for the compressor so I will just bracket up a second battery place for when I am playing with racecars . Battery on one side and fire extinguishers on the other lol
It will only get used when we are dragging a car out thats burried deep in the sand traps .
We dont always have a 4x4 available soa winch on my 4x2 will do the job just as well

Ok next question
The winch rating says 460Amps at 9500lbs so at full load .
What size cables should I get. 200 Amp will cover most things

 

[equipt]

I would probably ask in the shop but I did a bit of searching and found this site that would suggest a cross section of 164.7mm Square.

http://www.energymatters.com.au/cli...hp?main_page=wire_calc&calc_action=cable_size

The site is for solar power but should still be fine coz it is 12V

 

[Jase V9X]

Most winches are wired in 32mm2 cable or 2gauge.
I have just wired up a mates 12,000lb winch and the cable supplied was 2gauge.

cheers
Jase.

 

[Aussie Frontier]

Its weird how different sites rate their cables differently
some say 25mm2 is 200 amp and yet same site will say jumper lead cable is 600amp for same size cables.
Jaycar lists 2G cable as 160 amp

I read on a few sites the guys are going to half the full current rating as generally you wont be running your winch on full load for extended periods of time.
The general consensus seems to be to run 25mm2 that will be a 200amp cable and then connect via Anderson plugs
But then the Anderson plugs are only rated to 175amp
ah well I figure 175 should still be enough lol

 

[4 naving]

You can get jumbo anderson plugs that are rated higher. i have one its about 4x the size of a standard anderson plug and the connectors are the correct size for 25mm2 wire where as the standard wont fit the wite your using....

 

[Krankin]

use a 25mm2 flex copper conductor cable....no probs.

 

[Aussie Frontier]

Kool so 25mm2 welding cable should do the trick.
I will wire in selector switch so can switch between the small battery for the air compressor and the bigger battery for the winch.that way I wont be overloading a system and will be able to keep both batteries charged.
Yes 3 batteries will be overkill but the second larger battery will only be in the truck for now when am playing at the racetrack.
The compressor has been getting a workout lately with guys getting flat tyres at work so have been pumping up flats .

Further down the track ill look at swapping my factory front bullbar for a winch bar possibly even an Xrox

 

[Krankin]

Kool so 25mm2 welding cable should do the trick.

I guarantee it.....and if you are using genuine welding cable it carries more current than the equiv in auto cable.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

I guarantee it.....and if you are using genuine welding cable it carries more current than the equiv in auto cable.

Yeah what he said, go to an electrical wholesaler & order double insulated weld flex. Personally I'd go a bit bigger though, won't cost much more. I did mine in 70mm (just happened to have some spare) weld flex and what a pain in the arse it was, but I ran mine a bit differently to most

 

[joffo81]

Hi Aussie Frontier,
Where did you get the receiver cradle to bolt the winch to? Looks like a great idea to me. Do you mind telling what it cost?
Cheers
Joffo