Warn M8000-S wiring - is it undersized out of the box?

Hopefully a simple question, but something that's been bugging me since I bought a Warn M8000-S winch.

The wiring between the winch, battery, and control box is #2 gauge wire. At varying loads, the winch seems capable of pulling up to 435A. (warn specs, also below)



Does that mean the wiring is undersized? I thought #2 gauge maxed out in the ~130A range (obviously varying a bit on temp) I must be missing something.



Thanks!

 

If you feel it is to small for your use go larger!!

Quite possible your winch got packed with the wrong cable my old cable is around I will try and see what size it is

Only you know what kinds of use your going to have

I can`t recall but I think the Motor overloads would trip before the cable got to warm.

Now I use 1/0 welding cable to run the winch leads to the rear of my vehicle

Then I seldom winch down to the last layer of the drum or drag 8000 pounds

 

I'm actually just referencing the specs of the wiring from the Warn site. (I've verified that's the cable size in the box too - it's not that it was packed wrong.) With Warn being the top end of winching, I figured they'd provide a system that was up to spec, which is why I assume I'm missing something.

 

i run the warn m8000-s and have put it to the test many times since picking it up last spring. i feel that the wiring included is up to where it needs to be as i've run the winch really hard and never had any issues with power or heat.

 

So, I sent email to Warn to see what they'd say. TL;DR: the 2 gauge wiring is fine for the M8000-S application. More details below, read top to bottom. I should also say that I was impressed with their responsiveness.

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To: Warn Customer Service <cs@warn.com>
Subject: Support: Wiring on M8000-S Winch

Hi, I notice that the M800-S has 2 gauge wire, but I also notice that it's specs state a pull up to 435A at full load. It seems to me that that means the wire may be undersized. Am I misunderstanding something? Is the wire sized correctly?
Thanks!
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From: Warn Customer Service

Yes the wire is sized appropriately for the winch as it’s only a intermittent use item.
Regards,
WARN INDUSTRIES INC.
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To: Warn Customer Service

Thanks for getting back to me. I think I’ve got it. What you’re saying is that in a situation like this, where usage duration of the winch is measured in seconds/low minutes at a time, the wire may heat up/be less efficient than a larger diameter wire, but that’s fine so long as the usage duration doesn’t cause significant overheating (and thus melting of insulation, etc.)

Does that sound right?
Cheers!
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From: Warn Customer Service

That sounds exactly correct.

Regards,
WARN INDUSTRIES INC.