Winch wont start everytime

On a recent adventure I had opportunity to use my winch and discovered the winch motor would not consistently start when I hit the wired remote switch. This would happen in both the 'in' and the 'out' directions. And under load and without load

It seemed to want to start as I could hear the relay (or something) in the solenoid box engage each time I hit the in button but the motor would not consistently start turning. It would take several tries to get it to start. Once the motor would start to pull, it would continue to pull until I let off.

I am looking for impressions/ideas before I open everything up.

The specs on the setup are:

Smittybilt 10,000 lbs X2O model winch
4 gauge power and ground direct to the yellow top battery.
140 amp GM alternator with engine running while winching

Thanks for the help.

 

Do you still have the remote plug in wired ? Sounds like it could be the switch, Id plug the remote in if you kept that option and try it before I took it out. Could just be the solenoid or something is dirty.

 

It didn't seem to be the switch,, Each time the switch was hit, I could hear a corresponding a response in the solenoid, not a click but a sound that seemed to be an attempt to to engage the winch motor.