Best way to wire a boat trailer electric winch?
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Junior Member
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From: Dothan, AL
Best way to wire a boat trailer electric winch?
Is is possible to use the trailer brake set up? Or can I use another fuse? Or must I wire it directly to the battery? Thanks,
Jeff
Jeff
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Eastern TN
Jeff -
How much current does the winch draw?
Just thinking about a winch-class motor in general, I'd guess you will need to run some HEAVY cable from the battery to the rear.
Does the winch manufacturer have a web site?
I'm assuming you got it used and don't have the installation instructions...
Good luck!
How much current does the winch draw?
Just thinking about a winch-class motor in general, I'd guess you will need to run some HEAVY cable from the battery to the rear.
Does the winch manufacturer have a web site?
I'm assuming you got it used and don't have the installation instructions...
Good luck!
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Joined: May 2001
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From: Wentzville, MO
jmp343,
If you do run cable from the battery, run at least 6AWG no smaller than 8AWG. Depending on the size of the winch, For that length of run the larger the wire better.
Don't fotget to fuse it.
My $0.02
If you do run cable from the battery, run at least 6AWG no smaller than 8AWG. Depending on the size of the winch, For that length of run the larger the wire better.
Don't fotget to fuse it.
My $0.02
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From: Dothan, AL
The winch is a Powerwinch T1650. It is made for a boat trailer. They have them at Bass Pro Shops. It comes with a 30 amp circuit breaker and 12 gauge wire for wiring to the battery. The boat only weighs about 600 pounds fully loaded. Then it is pulled up the incline of the trailer. The winch is rated for 2000 pounds. I was hoping it would word through the trailer brake system.
Thanks,
Jeff
Thanks,
Jeff
Last edited by jmp343; Mar 31, 2003 at 12:18 AM.
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From: Under the flightpath of old ORD 22R
jmp343,
When I tried to find the HP rating on the motor, the sites that I found with the Powerwinch T1650 show it as a 40 amp circuit breaker rather then a 30 amp fuse. I don't know if this was a typo on a few sites or not.
If you can look for a plate on the motor for a HP rate I could give you a better idea of what to use for wire size in hooking up the battery.
Using the fuse commection I would guess a 30 amp fuse has a 16 amp motor draw ( huge swag at this point ), which length of run taken into account 12 awg wire would handle it ( 14 awg would also work but depends on the route that the wire is run ). This is an example only, not what you should specifically use.
One word of caution in finding a route for the harness, keep it away from the Exhst and Xhst manifolds on the motor.
Wire once it gets hot, the amp capacity is lowered.
So if the say 14 awg 90* C wire had been used, the standard amps that 14 awg is speced at is 15 amps, but once you increase the temp of the wire to 80* C, the actual amps that it can carry is ~ 10 amps.
The large fuse maybe for motor in rush at start up rather then constant load of the motor.
Motor size examples 1 HP is 16 amps full load but is spec'd as 14 awg wire ( not taking heat into account ).
The breaker used on this example is a 30 amp breaker or a 25 amp time delay fuse ( in rush current vs operating current ).
So to tell you to buy 6 awg will do the job, but you will pay throught the nose for 6 awg cord vs 12 awg cord.
Let me know the HP rating on the motor, and we can go from there. Rigth now I am leanign towards 12 awg SO or SOJ cord from Home Depot ( black cord in a box in the bulk wire section, buy it by the foot, oil and gas resistant wire ). Don't try cutting the harward store extension cord, this is usually not SO or SOJ cord.
Steve
When I tried to find the HP rating on the motor, the sites that I found with the Powerwinch T1650 show it as a 40 amp circuit breaker rather then a 30 amp fuse. I don't know if this was a typo on a few sites or not.
If you can look for a plate on the motor for a HP rate I could give you a better idea of what to use for wire size in hooking up the battery.
Using the fuse commection I would guess a 30 amp fuse has a 16 amp motor draw ( huge swag at this point ), which length of run taken into account 12 awg wire would handle it ( 14 awg would also work but depends on the route that the wire is run ). This is an example only, not what you should specifically use.
One word of caution in finding a route for the harness, keep it away from the Exhst and Xhst manifolds on the motor.
Wire once it gets hot, the amp capacity is lowered.
So if the say 14 awg 90* C wire had been used, the standard amps that 14 awg is speced at is 15 amps, but once you increase the temp of the wire to 80* C, the actual amps that it can carry is ~ 10 amps.
The large fuse maybe for motor in rush at start up rather then constant load of the motor.
Motor size examples 1 HP is 16 amps full load but is spec'd as 14 awg wire ( not taking heat into account ).
The breaker used on this example is a 30 amp breaker or a 25 amp time delay fuse ( in rush current vs operating current ).
So to tell you to buy 6 awg will do the job, but you will pay throught the nose for 6 awg cord vs 12 awg cord.
Let me know the HP rating on the motor, and we can go from there. Rigth now I am leanign towards 12 awg SO or SOJ cord from Home Depot ( black cord in a box in the bulk wire section, buy it by the foot, oil and gas resistant wire ). Don't try cutting the harward store extension cord, this is usually not SO or SOJ cord.
Steve
Last edited by SSCULLY; Mar 31, 2003 at 10:38 AM.
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From: Windsor,Ontario,Canada
FYI,
Warn uses 6 gauge wire for their ATV winches. They are rated at between 2000 lbs and 3000 lbs. I know that pulling a boat out of water is a no brainer, not much resistance. But if you ever get into a situation that you need to pull that thing out of the water you do not want the winch failing. Do you have a manual crank if the fuse blows? As the system ages there will be corrosion where the connections are. I have a 9000 lbs winch on the front of my truck. I have replaced the solenoid wires once so far, it is 6 yrs old and gets used and abused. Don't forget that your connections will be under water when launching/recovering the boat. A few dollars now is cheap insurance against leaving a boat in the water till repairs are made.
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
Warn uses 6 gauge wire for their ATV winches. They are rated at between 2000 lbs and 3000 lbs. I know that pulling a boat out of water is a no brainer, not much resistance. But if you ever get into a situation that you need to pull that thing out of the water you do not want the winch failing. Do you have a manual crank if the fuse blows? As the system ages there will be corrosion where the connections are. I have a 9000 lbs winch on the front of my truck. I have replaced the solenoid wires once so far, it is 6 yrs old and gets used and abused. Don't forget that your connections will be under water when launching/recovering the boat. A few dollars now is cheap insurance against leaving a boat in the water till repairs are made.
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
Last edited by JMC; Apr 5, 2003 at 01:05 PM.
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From: Dothan, AL
Thanks all, for the reply's. I ended up wiring 10 gauge directly to the battery. I then cut the positive connection on the trailer brake hook up, and connected there. This system is already grounded. I replaced the 30 amp breaker that came with the winch with a 30 amp fuse. I have used the winch for a year with the 30 amp breaker along with the 12 gauge wiring that came with it on another truck.
My main goal in wiring this time was to be able to plug in the connector to the winch. Before, it was always left hanging under my truck. I can now remove it and put it in the truck.
Thanks, again
Jeff
My main goal in wiring this time was to be able to plug in the connector to the winch. Before, it was always left hanging under my truck. I can now remove it and put it in the truck.
Thanks, again
Jeff