Battery draining after winch install.

[Breezio69]

Hey guys, I have been having a problem with the Heep after working on it quite a bit over the summer. It was sitting for about 4 months getting started probably once or twice a week, depending on when I needed it moved in the garage to weld.

Every time Id leave it for a while it would start up just fine with no hesitation. Then I finally installed my Xrc8 comp winch and wired it to the battery. Now it cant even sit a day without dying... and it dies ALL the way, not even a click or an interior light on when I get in.

I wired it exactly like the instructions said, in fact I found it rather "idiot proof" the way they set up the wiring for you from the box.

I havent even used the winch yet, I still need to string the cable up on it, but when i go out to do it and its dead it turns in to a big ordeal just getting it started.

Also, the battery is only a year old and the alternator was replaced at the same time. When its running at idle I get 13.5 volts which should be normal. I can run it for 5 minutes and start it back up an hour later, but 24 hours later its drained again.

Nothing changed with anything electrical except the winch install in the last year, now i dont even feel safe taking it on a drive up in the mountains.

Thanks

 

[mako my day]

The winch is drawing power. "captain obvious" start jeep, run winch. See what it does. then report back.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

can you post the wiring instructions, or at least how you wired it up? you're asking us to troubleshoot an electrical issue with no way to even inspect the wiring. obviously this is not normal or nobody would have a winch

 

[Breezio69]

I wired it exactly like smittybuilt intructions said, there is pdf on thier site i guess i can post up. Its basically hook wire A to A, B to B so on and so on. It was made very simple out of the box. hell the wires even had little stickers that said A, B, C.

I have double and triple checked the wiring, and its just a positive/ negative to the battery. I did run the winch with the car on, worked like normal, next day, dead as a door nail... Ill hunt down the pdf and post it


Couldnt figure out how to post exact page, but here is the text

ELETRICAL CONNECTION​

For normal self-recovery work, your existing electrical system is adequate. A fully changed battery and proper
connections are essential. Run the vehicle engine during winching operations to keep charged.​

Pay close attention to proper electrical cable connection as follows (refer to Diagram 1)​

Be sure to observe the following steps for a correct and safe electrical connection:
1. Short Red cable (B’) connecting to the red terminal (B) of winch motor.
2. Short black cable with yellow jacket (C’) connecting to the yellow terminal (C) of the motor.
3. Short black cable with black jacket (D’) connecting to the black terminal (D) of the motor.
4. Thin black cable (A’) connecting to bottom terminal (A) of the motor.
5. Long black cable (1.8m), one terminal (a) connecting to the bottom terminal (A) of the motor, and the other terminal
negative (-) connecting to negative (-) terminal of battery.​

6. Long red cable positive (+) connecting to positive (+) of battery.

 

[WB9YZU]

Let's figure you got the motor wired right...

It still shouldn't draw power with out at least 1 of the solenoids engaged.

So here is what you do to eliminate the winch as the source of the drain:

Disconnect the + power lead to the winch at the battery.

Put a VOM set to 10ADC (some meters, you may need to move a lead also) in series with the positive battery terminal and the winch. Without doing anything to the winch, the meter should read zero.

Now try the MA scale. The result should be the same.

Anything other than zero is a leak of some sort in the winch, and you need to call their Tech Support because it's under warranty.

If the result is zero, you have some other issue. Dirty battery terminals not allowing battery to charge, bad cable connection from alt to battery...

And here is another great thought. If you have a spiral wound battery, and you let it go flat, or drained it flat, it may not come back from there no matter how old it is.

Good Luck!

 

[old_man]

Verify it is the winch by disconnecting the positive wire to the winch and make sure the problem goes away. I would be surprised if the winch is the problem.

 

[Breezio69]

Let's figure you got the motor wired right...

It still shouldn't draw power with out at least 1 of the solenoids engaged.

So here is what you do to eliminate the winch as the source of the drain:

Disconnect the + power lead to the winch at the battery.

Put a VOM set to 10ADC (some meters, you may need to move a lead also) in series with the positive battery terminal and the winch. Without doing anything to the winch, the meter should read zero.

Now try the MA scale. The result should be the same.

Anything other than zero is a leak of some sort in the winch, and you need to call their Tech Support because it's under warranty.

If the result is zero, you have some other issue. Dirty battery terminals not allowing battery to charge, bad cable connection from alt to battery...

And here is another great thought. If you have a spiral wound battery, and you let it go flat, or drained it flat, it may not come back from there no matter how old it is.

Good Luck!

I should note i cleaned/ put terminal protector on the battery connections and on winch when I wired it. That aside...

I didnt really get what the test was that you were saying, could I just do a volt check on the + on the solenoid with it hooked up exactly how it is?

Im sorry I just dont get exactly what your saying... to me it is coming off as, disconnect the + cable of the winch, then use a lead wire to test the winch... in my thinking isnt that the same as just having the + hooked up?


Thanks for all your help guys, I just hope its not the battery because I found my receipt and I literally bought it october 16 2011, not even a year old. I also dont have the cash to drop on an optima or better battery at the moment

 

[Wayne Sihler]

What you want to do is put the meter between the battery post and the disconnected wire to the winch..., then check the reading between them,,,which should be -0-,anything else,then the winch is drawing power when off,,,,,,,which it should not,,,

 

[Breezio69]

Well, it was my less than a year old POS battery. Must have started draining pretty bad when it was sitting while I worked on it. Probably couldnt recover from it.

As soon as I get some $$$ Im going to do a dual setup, so this brings another question. Can I do an optima red or yellow primary, with a slightly smaller marine deep cell battery to fit the passenger side (took out air box while I was tinkering yesterday)

Looks like I could fit a decent size battery and clear my air filter/ rad, but it would for sure be smaller than the optima

 

[Aaron Red]

For anyone else experiencing battery drain after installing a winch, it sounds like there might be a parasitic draw coming from the winch even when it’s not in use. A good first step is to disconnect the positive wire from the winch and test for a draw with a multimeter to confirm if the winch is the culprit.

It’s also worth checking the solenoids, as they can sometimes stick and cause power to continue flowing. If your winch has a wireless remote system, that could also be drawing power if it's constantly searching for a signal. If you find a draw, consider installing a kill switch or wiring the winch to a keyed power source so it’s only active when the ignition is on.

Hope this helps anyone troubleshooting similar issues!