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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

That was one idea I had, but the only issue I see with that is the cable has to be routed right by the muffler. Need to protect it from the heat also.

This is exactly what I'm doing. I just don't want to have the cables laying around loose so I'm going to make them a (semi) permanent installation. I want to just throw the winch in the back and have the wiring already on the jeep so I can put the winch in the receiver and plug it in. I just can't figure out the best way to run the power to the back end. I don't get out wheeling a whole lot, but it seems most of the times I've gone it's been by myself when we're up at the in-laws so odds are higher I will need the winch on the rear.

 

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.

 

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.

 

This! I didnt catch that in the explanation there was talk of not running the negative wire. This is a must.

 

Well I decided to try and just use the chassis as the ground cable because of cost of the welding cable and because the chassis has more conducting metal than the ground cable would, lol. Just have to make sure the connections are good at the winch plug and at the battery (upgrade ground cable).

Keep the ideas coming.

 

why?

 

Less chance of resistence caused by crappy clamp on terminals and poorly cleaned or loose grounds. Just my opinion.

 

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.

 

Yep, I understand. That's why my plan is to weld bolts to the frame at the rear (and probably a larger one at the battery), run heavy wire from the battery to the frame and from the frame to the rear connector, and completely seal the grounds with silicone as is done in military truck applications. Makes it a bit more of a pain to take apart later, but keeps the connections sealed from the elements.

The plan it to wire loom the entire length. If routed and restrained correctly it should be OK, but I don't want any inadvertent chaffing going on.

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.

 

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.

 

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).