Warn winch question

I used my winch for the first time last week.

Are you suppose to let the winch do all the work or are you suppose to give it gas spinning tires while the winch is pulling?

 

Help the winch help you

 

I'd go easy on the spinning tires. Spinning tires suddenly acquiring traction transfers shock load to all the driveline components and is a good way to break something.

If the wheels are freely spinning - they're not helping the winch much anyhow.

All that said, giving it a *little* gas while in gear to unload the winch and cable is a good thing.

 

well i did a little of both on the last trip.

i first started by letting the winch do all the work, and noticed that it was struggling so i gave it some gas, i noticed that the cable would get alot of slack in it, so instead of running over the cable i stoppped and let the cable catch up. and it gave a little tug and i proceeded to give it gas agian.

ok here is my dilemma. now my winch wont retract the cable unless i first wrap the cable around my arb bump, as soon as i do that it starts to retract the cable.

did i break something? is there some sort of grounding effect that im completely by wrapping the cable around my bumper. or does the winch need tension on the cable to retract as a safety thing?

im very confused about this, and worried about going wheeling agian, due to not knowing if my winch will work.

 

The only way the winch should be getting slack is if your truck is doing the work and moving you forward faster than the winch can retrieve the line so if you're alternately slipping and getting traction then yes, the winch will get slack in it.

You shouldn't have to wrap the cable around anything to get it to retrieve line; it should do that even if you have a bird's nest of cable sitting in front of it. Two things I can think of- the first is that you are spooling cable but in loose wraps that are slowly tightening on the drum before pulling in rope. Ideally the cable should be wound tightly and the strands overlapped; this prevents it from getting loops or loose sections in it which is bad for the cable (assuming you have wire rope and not synthetic line). When respooling a loose cable, the best thing is to have someone walk it out till its tight then walk it in while someone else works the control. Keep tension on it; it doesn't have to be a heavy load, just enough to keep it from kinking, looping, overlapping, etc. Use gloves any time you’re handling the cable but you’ll also want to switch to the red tag line that Warn provides or use something similar as the hook gets closer to the fairlead- YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET YOUR HAND NEAR THE FAIRLEAD- one slip or mistake and you can easily lose your hand!

The other problem I can think of and the one I think you may be having is that the clutch is not fully engaged. My guess is you threw the clutch to free spool the cable out then didn’t get it fully engaged when you went to wind it in. On the ARB bumpers you must clock the winch before mounting it- directions are included with the bumper to do this. If you can't throw the clutch lever all the way and feel it move into place then that's probably the problem. I have large hands and I hate the small opening on the ARBs as I have a hard time with mine also; I've actually looped the Warn safety strap over it and used that to make sure it was pulled into the correct position on occasion. If you need to, you can adjust how much it's clocked with it mounted but it's a PITA.

What size is your winch if you're bogging it down? You need to get a recovery kit together in order to get the most out of your winch- this should include at a minimum a pair of leather gloves, a tree saver strap (never hook the cable on itself or wrap directly around a tree), a couple of properly rated clevis' and a cable repair kit. You can use something like an old blanket or coat for a line safety if you don't buy one. You really need to add some more clevises and a snatch block too. As you learn to use it better you’ll add more gear.

Speaking of learning, I would VERY strongly recommend getting some instruction on how to properly use your winch- and that probably doesn't include the local mudbogger or shady tow truck operator with a clunker tow truck. At a very minimum you should go to Warn's website and read their pdf on using the winch. iH8mud has some good stuff on using them too including going over the physics behind them. There are several good books and videos out there too; Bill Burke has some good ones and some on youtube also. A good winch can do amazing things to recover you or others but it can just as easily kill you if you screw up.

 

Well the roller that te spool of cable is wound on doesn't move at all when I put the button. As soon as I wrap it aroun my bump then it will retrieve the cable.

I'm not sure if I solenoid is ticking when I press the button. Shoul I be able to hear it?

Any other ideas?

Anyone out there broke a winch before?