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Warn Whinch Killing Battery

14K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  swale 
#1 ·
Hi,

I seem to be having trouble with my whinch and battery.

Was out riding yesterday and needed to use the whinch a couple of times as usual with me LOL:lol:

the last time I got myself pretty damn stuck and needed a fair bit of whinching but after a bit of use VOLT displayed on the instrument cluster thuought this may have been a glitch so when I got myself out of the sticky situation I turned off the ignition (stupid I now realise) and it wouldnt start battery was dead.

This is infact a new battery a yuasa ytx20 H lbs 320cold amps

Obvously the engine was left idling while whinching and after a bit of runnning the battery was charged in no time and easily cranks the motor over never gone flat so highly doubt this is a battery issue.

I friend came up with the idea of dual batterys trouble is where to put it.

And shouldnt the engine be able to keep it going.

Any suggestions/advice greatly appreciated
 
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#2 ·
Winches draw a lot of amps, it was a battery problem. The PC680 is the most popular solution and I believe last year a couple were testing a cheaper option. I've actually had my engine die while winching do to the ignition losing voltage after the battery was dead and the stator couldn't feed the winch and power the quad.
 
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#4 ·
so this is a solution???? whats the difference?
 
#3 ·
At idle your machine isn't charging the battery up very fast at all. The winch is drawing it down much faster. Especially long hard pulls with the winch will cause the issue you describe.

P.S. Have you ever had your winch apart and cleaned up?
 
#5 ·
Have a look at the current draw for a Warn 2500 lb winch below.

The current draw for your 3000 lb winch is similar.

The charging system on the atv is only 25 amps.

Two hard pulls on the winch could easily drain the battery. It's not abnormal for this to happen.

Two batteries would be much better but tough to find a spot to put them as you noted. I guess you have to figure how often will you winch enough to drain the battery to make it worthwhile to put an extra battery in?

A lot of serious off road trucks have two large batteries in them for this reason alone.

12V DC PERFORMANCE SPECS:
Line Pull
Lbs.(Kgs.)
Line Speed
FT./min(M/min.)
Motor
Current
Pull by layer
layer/Lbs(Kgs.)
024(7.3)18 amps1/2500(1134)500(227)19(5.8)51 amps2/2200(998)1000(455)15(4.6)88 amps3/1930(875)1500(680)11(3.3)125 amps4/1700(771)2000(907)9(2.7)165 amps2500(1134)7(2.1)204 amps
 
#6 ·
also just to add in here when going to hook up use free spool not power out.
when you power out you are still using energy that you could be saving for extra pull power.
and remember the more cable you have out the more pulling power you have the smaller drum changes the aspect ratio of a pull therefore as you reel in you loose pulling power making the winch draw more amps to do the same job.
(did i say that right?) some one chime in if i said that wrong
 
#7 · (Edited)
so is the pc680 a viable option to combat this is it significantly better than my current battery yuasa ytx20hlbs?

I cant realy see a realistic way of putting a second battery on the thundercat 1000
 
#8 ·
The PC680 is kind of like a deep cycle and AGM hybrid. It can take heavy loads and last longer. THat's all I run in my quads now.

BUT, even with the PC680, you will drain it quicker by winching a stuck quad at idle than if you were to rev the machine a bit. Remember, your charging system is 25amps, but that's when it's revving...not at idle. Not sure what it's rated for at idle, but my guess is not even half that. Total guess though.

Winches draw more amperage under load too, so if you have a winch under load while your ATV is idling, you're likely drawing almost 3 times more than what your charging system is putting out...that'll zap a battery in no time.

If it were me, before I buy a new battery to replace one I just got, I would try revving the machine a bit (don't need to redline the thing...just rev it a little bit) while you winch and see if that doesn't cure your woes.
 
#9 ·
What I've found with normal batts is one good hard winch session and they are toast. It kills the capicity and each time winching makes it worse, my battery will start the quad all day long but won't winch 5 feet. The PC680 style will handle the deep draw over and over again without harm. It's also sealed so water can't get in, another problem with stock style batts if you mud/water ride.
 
#10 ·
I think the battery you have is a pretty good one. So along with what was already recommend, I would try using a snatch block on the really tough pulls. I may help your battery too.

FYI: For good battery life it's not a good idea to drain it down less the 10v or so. Ride around enough after to get it back up to full charge.
 
#11 ·
so realisticly its a case of free spooling when pulling out, keep revs up and allow it to charge between uses.

Im gonna order the odessey battery as I feel that the yuasa has got the juice for my job

thanks for the tips people
 
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