Warn 18k winch severe duty wiring question

[dilligaf13]

I picked up one of the Warn 18k winches a while back and have finally got some time to try to wire it up. In the pictures I took I can obviously figure out the power and ground. I just wanted to confirm a couple things.

The Overload Interrupt is the Generation 1 so it's the square box in the second picture

In the third picture, according to Warn the small wire next to the power goes to power and measures voltage as part of the OLI system. Where does it go to power, at the battery or in line by the winch?

In the third picture, what does the red wire that's split in two do and what do I need to do to fix it (is it missing something like an inline fuse or does it connect to something else)??

Thanks for the help

 

[Dustinbrwn]

Found this. Hopefully it helps as I am looking to pick one up as well for my 5 ton.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...q5Jg_B3r4oD8IQxgQ&sig2=hVoUJeEhyWTxtuPTw12muQ

 

[dilligaf13]

Thanks, that helps some. It appears the wire next to the power runs all the way to the battery. I'm still not sure what's going on with the red wire on the OLI that's broken in two. Not sure if they're supposed to connect or if something is supposed to be in between them.

 

[Hard Head]

I have a winch at the shop with one on it. I will take some pics for you. The remote cord is cut on yours, the power cord will be tough to crimp. The control packs are potted and are really not serviceable. The wire next to the positive is wired all the way back to the crimp on lug. I think my cables 1/0 and are around 8 feet long each. I usually cut the 1/0 cables and put in a quick battery disconnect. I am pretty sure the wire is blue that travels along the postitive cable. The first wire that is cut is power into the overload. There isn't a fuse in there. Someone cut it and the power into the OLI. On the Gen 2 OLI you can only spool out without the OLI. There is a OLI gen 2 mod that has been selling on GL. You can make a remote with a SPDT toggle switch to test it out! You can use the switch later if you like. I put a amp connector on a piece of 16/3 gauge SO cord and ran it into the cab to a dash mounted switch. That way I can use the standard remote and I can reconnect to the cab switch and operate the winch in the cab without running the remote in the window.

 

[dilligaf13]

I appreciate the help. Is there any reason why they'd intentionally cut that red power line into the OLI or do you think it was just accidental/stupidity?

 

[Hard Head]

It probably went bad and they tried to bypass it.

 

[Hard Head]

Here is one on a series 12

 

[dilligaf13]

So if I wanted to upgrade to the Gen II OLI would the kit in this picture have all the necessary components?

Do I even need an OLI?

 

[Hard Head]

You would need to cut off the male connector that does NOT have the SQUARE mounting plate on it and wire it into the remote cord. Only saying this since you do not have a remote cord with connector that this would connect with. What I would do before you do all if this is extend the wire on the remote cord and strip an inch or so of it out of the jacket so you can touch either the in or out wire to the common wire, Now to keep from shorting out the batteries by accidentally hitting the winch body, tape the area around the positive lead or put a piece of cardboard with a hole in it over the small piece of wire and connect up a jumper cable to 2 12 volt batteries in series. You can then find the hot common on the remote wire. Try the spool in and out function. If nothing works then the winch was damaged and tossed. I have seen pallets of scrapped bad winches come thru GL in NC, SC, and TX. Just do some simple tests first and then go from there. I have had my hands on over 650 of these winches so far.

 

[dilligaf13]

Is the power wire 2/0 or 3/0?

 

[gimpyrobb]

Bigger the better.

 

[juanprado]

Bigger the better.

hmn, I heard that before.....

 

[Hard Head]

They come with 1/0 but the length is around 4 feet. I use min 2/0 and 350 amp battery disconnect connectors. If you have long runs (> 15 feet) then use 4/0. Less resistance means less voltage drop which means lower amp pull which effects duty cycles. I hope your winch tested ok! The gen 2 kit should tell you how to remove the gen 1 OLI. just check the hole diameter in the amp probe since your positive lead has to go thru it Some brands of cable have different thicknesses of insulation.

 

[dilligaf13]

So I wired up a new controller, a used Gen 1 OLI I picked up, and ran power to the unit. I'm not getting any in or out movement. I'm not sure about the used OLI but it should still spool out, correct? Are these worth repairing or is it better/cheaper to just pick up another used takeoff? Thanks

 

[Dustinbrwn]

I would try bypassing the OLI and solenoids and just the jump the connectors to check function. That way you can rule those two out. If still nothing, then looking at a new motor

 

[dilligaf13]

How do you bypass the OLI and solenoid?

 

[Dustinbrwn]

"Disconnect F1, F2, and A from the motor. Leave the big Black wire to battery negative connected on the botom of the motor. Using jumper cables, jumper F1 to A. Then connect battery + to F2. Motor should run in one direction
Then change jumper cable from F1 to A to now jumper F2 to A. Now connect battery positive to F1. Motor should run in the other direction."

taken from another forum, but if you do a search there is plenty of info and videos on it. Search for jumping winch or hot wire winch. anything like that. I used this method to check the function of a 12k warn that was not hooked up and just used a few sets of jumper cables.
Let me know how it goes!

 

[Hard Head]

If the OLI is bad or removed you can spool out but not in. The winch allows you to spool out on a OLI failure so you can get slack in the winch cable to disconnect. Did you get voltage on one of the leads to the remote? You may have a control pack solenoid failure. You cannot get to the solenoids to bypass them since they are sealed in the control pack. You may be able to remove it little by little and replace with a commercial control pack. Now the question is, is the motor good? There are a lot of parts to disassemble, clean, lubricate, and seal when you tear one apart. I still have a few winches left that I can sell stripped to fully outfitted. I have a pdf with drawings and parts list but am unable to load them to this reply since they are not images. PM me with your email address and I will send it if you want one.

 

[Dustinbrwn]

did not know that they were a totally sealed unit. good to know. Are you able to replace the solenoid? (assuming its the Albright style?)

 

[Hard Head]

Not without depotting the control unit. I had one out of 760 with a bad solenoid and I scrapped it for parts. Sold the cable, tensioner, fairlead, remote, planetary gear box for more than the winch. I wanted to know the exact potting solution but Warn would not tell me. It is a 2 part silicon. They soften around 180C and the plastic/fiberglass housing melts at 190C. Not a lot of wiggle room! The solenoids must be rated at 300 amps since the max current setting for OLI's is 280. Some are set for 277 and some at 280 depending if BAE ordered it.