Rear winch power cable routing?
#1
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Rear winch power cable routing?
For those that can run a winch on the rear of your XJ how did you route the power cable(s) back? My plan is to run a positive cable back and then ground the negative lead to the frame through a bolt welded onto the "frame" rail at the back. I can't figure out how I should run the positive cable back through to protect it and not have it excessively long. Any help () would be helpful and appreciated.
#2
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I would just run it underneath on the inside of the frame rail like your fuel lines, but on the passenger frame rail. Use some of these guys.http://www.fastenermart.com/html/CM117-7072.html You can find them anywhere.
#3
Make sure you get fatty cabling. I picked 2/0 flex. It's removable though. I keep the cable in the trunk and then when/if I need it I just run it from the battery back. I did the same thing with the front cable, but I used 2awg since the run is so short.
#4
rear winch
ive been wheelin for 25 yrs w/ 3 different jeeps & 1 early bronco, i always had a winch on a winch plate w/ a 2" receiver insert so i could use it front or rear of each truck. i used the big hd 2 prong quick disconnect plug like they have on the front of tow trucks to plug in jumper cables w/ wiring to the battery. with a short hd cable w/ the matching plugend attached to the winch,i made a long cable to reach from the front plug to the rear & just layed it over the hood & roof if i ever moved the winch to the rear receiver hitch. so far in 25 years of wheeling i have never once needed to use the winch @ the rear, if you always go offroad w/ other trucks you will most likely never need a rear winch, but if you go out alone it might be needed sometime. one big advantage of this setup is i only put the winch on the truck to go on offroad trips, other wise i just left it in the garage. no extra weight to drive around with & not in the way everytime i needed to open the hood.
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I would just run it underneath on the inside of the frame rail like your fuel lines, but on the passenger frame rail. Use some of these guys.http://www.fastenermart.com/html/CM117-7072.html You can find them anywhere.
ive been wheelin for 25 yrs w/ 3 different jeeps & 1 early bronco, i always had a winch on a winch plate w/ a 2" receiver insert so i could use it front or rear of each truck. i used the big hd 2 prong quick disconnect plug like they have on the front of tow trucks to plug in jumper cables w/ wiring to the battery. with a short hd cable w/ the matching plugend attached to the winch,i made a long cable to reach from the front plug to the rear & just layed it over the hood & roof if i ever moved the winch to the rear receiver hitch. so far in 25 years of wheeling i have never once needed to use the winch @ the rear, if you always go offroad w/ other trucks you will most likely never need a rear winch, but if you go out alone it might be needed sometime. one big advantage of this setup is i only put the winch on the truck to go on offroad trips, other wise i just left it in the garage. no extra weight to drive around with & not in the way everytime i needed to open the hood.
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A coworker ran the cable on his Toyota pickup through flexible blue electrical conduit and used heavy zip ties ties to secure it to various points along it's length to the rear. The exhaust was a concern of his also and after studying it, he found the path he needed to take to get it up and out of the way of everything. Seems to have worked out quite well and the conduit adds extra protection the cable.
#7
since a winch has a huge amp draw on the battery i think running both neg & pos. back to the batt. is a safer way to go. the neg would not need the same protection the positive needs however, i too would sleeve the pos. in something to keep it protected from harm.
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#9
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Keep the ideas coming.
#12
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x2 on sleeving that positive cable if you run it underneath, I wouldn't put it next to the fuel lines either. I had a fire on my boat earlier this year from the battery cables to the starter on a genset chafing on a pipe fitting underneath a fuel transfer pump. the vibrations from the genset chafed through the battery cable in about a week, the pump had a small leak. Luckily I was able to get it out with a hand held extinguisher, didn't have to blow the halon.
#13
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x2 on sleeving that positive cable if you run it underneath, I wouldn't put it next to the fuel lines either. I had a fire on my boat earlier this year from the battery cables to the starter on a genset chafing on a pipe fitting underneath a fuel transfer pump. the vibrations from the genset chafed through the battery cable in about a week, the pump had a small leak. Luckily I was able to get it out with a hand held extinguisher, didn't have to blow the halon.
I think I'm going to pursue and idea I got from my winch's previous owner; run the cable down the inside of the passenger side frame rail and then into the frame rail just forward of the tranny x-member. It comes out where you put the nut strips in for the hitch behind the rear bumper. I just have to make sure I can feed the wire down the length with wire loom on it so it's protected.
#14
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I ran 4/0 aluminum cable from the engine bay into the fender, then down into the enclosed area of the rockers. I was only able to do this because my rockers were completely rusted away and I replaced them with 2x6 rectangle tube. I only have one decent picture. I still need to find a decent way of adding a fuse on this. In the rear cargo area I'm terminating the cables into aluminum positive and negative plates that are roughly 2x5 inches each, should give plenty of room to drill/tap holes for hooking wires up. My only concern is the corrosion and oxidation of the dissimilar metals.
Last edited by Dan91; 11-16-2012 at 11:20 PM.
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For a fuse try the Blue Sea 5503 ANL fuse block. It's rated for 750A. I'm using the 5005 in my system because I'm limiting the current to 300A. My winch is only rated at 280A at full load. If I change winches later and require higher capacity I will upgrade at that point. Check out Electronic Industries also for the best pricing I've ever seen on Blue Sea stuff (you have to call them for a quote).