Winch trouble. No pulling power!

Pics of your winch install?! You should update the other thread you started too.... Glad you made it happen..

I used welding cable to relocate my solenoid and no issues yet, fwiw

 

Pics of the install here:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...curt-front-receiver-clearance-question-2.html

 

Just a little FYI for the OP. Never ground the winch to the frame. The battery is grounded to the engine block, and the only thing grounding the frame to the vehicle is a small 8 gauge ground wire. Not good for the winch, or the wiring. Always ground a winch directly to the battery.

 

Got it hooked up the right way now. Was a long weekend and I guess I was trying to take a short cut.

 

Are you trying to pull with only a little bit of wire out? if so you lose pulling power the more wire you have on the drum. Only the 1st layer (almost all line out) has max pulling, from there it decreases with each layer. I wouldnt be surprised if the top layer only offers 5500lbs of pulling force.

 

Well at first there was definitely something wrong. I think hooking the ground up properly has got it working like it should. I am only attempting short pulls, maybe 15-20ft max. I still kinda expected it to drag my truck easier than what it is though even with minimal line out.

 

Where is this frame ground located?

 

How much line does the winch have? 80ft, 100ft.? Most winches are only rated "full pull capacity with the first wire/ rope layer out and drops 1,000 lbs. after each layer. An 8,500 lb. winch while a decent size isn't much for a truck like a loaded Tacoma (before suited for a lighter Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee, etc...

I use a 12k lb. Badlands winch on my '03 Ford Sport Trac that's built up and weighs right around 5,500-6,000lbs with gear and driver. You always want to have a winch that's rated twice the vehicle weight for those times when you have to pull a couple rows of line to get unstuck. Atleast that's what I've always rad and been told. My winch does dim the lights when it's in use and under load, it's always a good idea to turn off all unnecessary power draining sources when using a winch because of the amount of draw. The revving and holding of the engine at around 2k-2,500 rpm will help keep the current up through the voltage system, it won't affect the pull speed but rather helps the system keep the voltage/ amperage up in the range that's needed.

 

It has approx. 100ft. I have only tried using it with about 15-20ft out so definitely wasn't getting full power. I think 8500lbs is sufficient as it represents a little over 1.5x the weight of the first gen. I will probably try it out sometime this weekend in a tricky situation to see if it will get me out.

 

Those are great winches, to me it sounds like its pulling absolutely normally. An 8000 lbs winch won't drag your truck around with the brakes locked up super easy but should be a slow and steady slide with some groaning from the winch. I think you need to pull someone out and see what happens.

I pulled a lot of heavy trucks out with my xrc 8 and it never stalled, only dropped my battery voltage a ton! But it would groan and slowly pull. That's a lot of weight...

 

Good to hear. I'm thinking I'll get to try it tomorrow as they are calling for about 30cm of snow. People tend to go nuts on the first snowfall so I'm sure I'll come across a few people in the ditch.

 

Sounds to me like your winch is working as it should now. Go get some straps and pulleys which are way over rated for your needs and learn how to take the stress off your winch for tough pulls

 

I'm well aware how to rig up a winch for tough pulls. That's not what I was asking. To me pulling a truck with its brakes locked up on wet grass isn't a tough pull. As I said earlier though, maybe I was just expecting too much out of a 8500lbs winch. I just wanted to make sure something wasn't out of the ordinary.

 

So did you ever get to use it and see if it's better?

 

Not since I've fixed the ground. I was expecting it to get some use this past snowstorm but no such luck.

 

It might be the angle here, but is there any clearance from the plate to the fairlead? If the cable is rubbing on the sharp edge of the plate, it will not only tear up the cable, but cause a lot more friction creating a seeming loss of power. I saw a good pic somewhere, let me see if I can find it.

 

From the winch thread.

 

I cleaned the plate up a bit more after that picture. I was just test fitting the fair lead. I rounded the edges and opened it a bit more.

 

Could the line be wound on backwards? I know winches are forward and reverse motors and there should be an arrow saying which way to spool the line but would it make a difference if the line was on backwards?