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winch 15-20' from bat.. what wire

RootBreaker

RootBreaker

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so someone is telling me i should use 4/0 wire... since i am a distance away.. and if I dont I will burn up the winch.... anyone know???
also going to call ramsey if I could find their number!!!! or I will call e-winches.com and ask them... they are knowlegeable... :wink:
 
appreciate the help as im out of work in 20 mins... then stop at fazzios.... steel shop...

so is 1/0 the same as when people say 0 gauge....???

also so 15-20' would be cosure with 1/0.... ok.. so i will ground the cable to the frame.. ground... and it is 6' of 2 gauge... will remove the ground wire from my block on my second battery and go straight to the frame....
and run 1 wire the lenght...
 
I use 1/0 wire from the rear to the front then junction it off for my starter and winch. No problems yet! Grounded to my frame also. 0 is same as 1/0, then 00 or 2/0, then 000 or 3/0. -Mark
 
bigbird4wd said:
I use 1/0 wire from the rear to the front then junction it off for my starter and winch. No problems yet! Grounded to my frame also. 0 is same as 1/0, then 00 or 2/0, then 000 or 3/0. -Mark
Click to expand...

thanks guys... so now I will be able to use my limited funds for the bigger stuff... i found a site.. that shows... 2/0 is good for 400A... so I really need 3/0 which is good for 500A as at max my winch is 480A..... we will see... ill git r dun tonight... well at least winch wired.... spooled... need to get rear bumper back on and need to make a fairlead bracket built into my double tube bumper :wink1:


https://weldingsupply.securesites.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:OR:Insensitive:terms::PA2
 
I saw 1/0 cable at the place.. .used though... steel shop sells new stuff and used stuff... 125' for $80... but I dont need to spend that much nor need that much cable.. anyhow... I told the guy what I was going to use it for and he said..... HOLLY CRAP!!!! 4/0 IS WAYYYYY TOOOO BIG!!!!! :haha:

aight so i may as well go with 2/0... I will call local places first.. get prices then check the web.....even with shipping the web can be close....



also I talked to a guy at e-winches.com and he said one of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they ground their winch to the frame. .he said that is the biggest no no... .he said... you will send 460A peak through your frame... and say goodbye to electronics.... so guess I will replace both and go to battery..... also he said 2 gauge. .not 2/0 is ok for my length run but bigger is always better... so guess time to price 2/0 :wink1:
 
Be sure to use the same size wire for power and ground. I believe 2/0 is big enough considering my 9000# winch came with 8' of 4 gauge wire standard. Its all 2 gauge now. I use welding wire for everything. It is rated for more power and its normal use is for short periods of time. I will change to 1/0 when I find a terminal end that is big enough for 1/0 and small enough to fit on my solenoids.

BTW I think that the cables for the multimount winches are smaller than 1/0, and they go through a connector.
 
My chart (well, the FAA's chart) says 3/0 for 400A, in 14V system, at around 17', with a 1/2 volt drop, in an intermittent circuit (2 min max). All things the same, 2/0 tops out at 300A. Your truck won't fall out of the sky if you overload the winch, so you have a little fudge factor. I would probably use 3/0 if I were doing it. Either way, 2 gauge is too small, about 150A for the same conditions.

Go to page 23 if you want to play: http://www.faa.gov/education_research/testing/airmen/test_guides/media/faa-ct-8080-4e.pdf
 
Battery cable

You probably know that the bigger diameter the cable, the smaller the number (so 1 is bigger than 4), and the bigger the cable the lower the voltage drop and the more current it will deliver without getting hot, melting, etc.

I had my 1/0 cable made at a semi truck service shop as they have the cable in bulk and the ends and crimpers needed to make custom lengths. They use 1/0 cable on the big trucks as they need to deliver as close to 24v for starting the big diesels as they can.

You will also need to go with big cable all the way through the system from your battery to your winch. If you are going to replace your power cable, I highly recommend that you plumb in a master disconnect switch on the negative cable side coming off your battery. I like to set up my master switch in a location which is easy to reach from the driver's seat but not obvious to theives. In addition to anti-theft devices, master switches come in handy when you are up-side-down and on fire, as well as just working on electrical components of your truck so as to avoid those unpleasant adrenaline rushes when your wrench shorts out against the frame and such.
 
Just keep in mind they use the higher voltage to lower the cuttent draw. A 24V system uses 1/2 the amps of a 12V system.
 
You should run a manual battery disconnect switch for the winch by itself. There is no reason to have the winch hooked up on a day after day basis. I turn my winch power disconnect on right before I go wheelin, and disconnect when I get home.

Good point
 
did I say 2 gauge?

what I meant is...

is 2/0 enough? Tim says (I know some of your oppinions of him.... )4/0 only....


so 2/0 or 3/0... 4/0 is $4/75 a foot!!!! I need about 40 feet!!!!! plus connectors...
 
Open the link that bigjbear provided; it'll open in Adobe Reader. Go to page 33 of 66. At the top of the page will be "Figure 39. - Electric Wire Chart".

Here's how to read this nomograph. You might find it easier to print this page and use a ruler and colored pen/pencil to follow along...

- Look at the circuit voltage chart on the left side of the diagram. Find 14 volts at the top.

- Drop down the 14 volts column until you get to 20. This is wire length in feet (close to what you're looking at running).

- Look slightly right, into the graph. Note how there are horizontal lines running through the graph that are lined up with each wire length.

- Follow the horizontal line that is aligned with the 20ft. mark in the 14 volt column. Follow it all the way to the right side, until you run into the last diagonal line. It'll be marked "400"; that's 400 amps. Note that the intersection of the horizontal (14V, 20ft.) line and the diagonal (400A) line is almost right over a vertical line in the graph. This intersection also falls between the curving lines that represent Curve 2 and Curve 3; this region indicates intermittent (2 minutes max) operation of the circuit.

- Drop straight down that vertical line; you'll find a wire size of 4/0 is the minimum the FAA recommends for aircraft use in an intermittent application.


Of course, we're not talking about an airplane here, but it's a good point of reference, so you're not guessing at something that could burn your truck down. For that length of cable run, I personally would get the 3/0 and not worry about it. As already noted, keep your pos and neg cables the same size, and run them direct to the battery terminals.
 
jarheadk5 said:
Of course, we're not talking about an airplane here, but it's a good point of reference, so you're not guessing at something that could burn your truck down. For that length of cable run, I personally would get the 3/0 and not worry about it. As already noted, keep your pos and neg cables the same size, and run them direct to the battery terminals.
Click to expand...

thanks for the post... yeah... im going with 3/0 cable...
it was just confusing that Ramsey sells this winch with 2 gauge cable (only 6' long) and the Ramsey rep I have been dealing with laughed when I told him people said 4/0..... he said 2/0 is still too much but bigger is better.. he would go with 2/0..... but im going to go in the middle of the road... 3/0

so put quick disconnets near the winch.... and a disconnect under the hood near the battery....

thanks all for clearing up the cloud in my head.... :bow:
 
Hijack> Fazzio's steel yard haven't heard that name in like ten years brings back a whole lot of good fab memories. The battery is in the trunk of my Nova I bought the cable from there in 1991 and it still works great. Hijack<

I would buy the biggest you can get and fit cause you can't have enough cable size and if it's to big it doesn't hurt the system within reason. But if its on the small side it could hurt the system, or your truck. Cause the first time your out wheeling and the cables melt and you can't winch yourselve out and spend the whole night or day stuck the extra money that should have been spent on bigger cable is going to seem really cheap. :D
 
Stop playing with the chart, and never listen to the sales rep. Just do the math, it's pretty simple.

R=V/I

V is the voltage drop that you are willing to accept (you choose)

I is the current draw you are considering in amps (available from winch manufacturer)

R is the resistance of the wire. Resistance/foot x # of feet (available from wire manufacturer)

Calculate R and then figure out what gauge wire you need with your required # of feet of wire to get that resistance.
 
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