winching power issues

[striga22]

hey guys i have a gq rb30 turbo with a warn high mount on it and i dont think the winch works to its full, im not sure what sort of alternator i have at the moment but i was thinking if i put a 130 or 140 amp it will keep up with the winch, for an example i'll be winching for about 4 mins or so and on the volt meter it will be sitting on just under 12 volts but then it will drop down to 6 volts so what i am thinking the more amps the quicker it is to recharge my batteries and to the motor. just after some input cheers

[PacMan]

Maybe the batterie is just to small or old.
You can not feed a winch by a 140A alternator.
A 4.8kw winch engine will draw on full load 400A.

4800watt / 12volt = 400amp

[striga22]

yes but it would recharge my battereis alot quicker than what i have now i would have thought

[Shadow]

I think you need to just slow down with your winching, maybe winch for 2 minutes then give yiour winch a break for 5 minutes.

will let the battery catch up and keep your winch cool.

[vanbox]

X2

Unless your willing to spend big $$$ on power storage and cabling then you have to give your winch a break. Too low voltage causes the winch to get hotter faster and will eventually do terminal damage to it.

This is why I went hydraulic. Cheaper to set up and reliable!

[Patroler]

also there is a limit to how much current different batteries will accept, more amps won't neccesarily charge them faster, depending on age battery design etc.
Possibly your batteries could be sub optimal, i'd start with getting them load tested.
Then maybe alternators
Or just slow down a bit - thats my vote anyway

[turbo gu]

I went from a N70 with around 600cca to a Blue optima around 800 cca and the speed difference was quite noticable.
I have done a few longish winches and never had a problem.
I use a Titan solenoid with some heavy duty cable to minimize the voltage drop.
Winch is a warn high mount with a 6hp motor.

[striga22]

ok this is what i want from my winch i want to have constant power and more grunt out of it it is a high mount and i have seen some with alot more toque than mine so what would be the best way about it my batteries are about 8 months old one is a 700cc and the other is a 650cc

[turbo gu]

ok this is what i want from my winch i want to have constant power and more grunt out of it it is a high mount and i have seen some with alot more toque than mine so what would be the best way about it my batteries are about 8 months old one is a 700cc and the other is a 650cc

What motor is on yours? A 6hp is worthwhile upgrade if you have standard motor.
Are you using both batteries to winch or only using one?

[striga22]

it is a 4.6 motor, and both batteries are linked

[turbo gu]

it is a 4.6 motor, and both batteries are linked

Upgrade to the 6hp.

[hammey]

A 6hp motor is good but it should be your last upgrade.
When you say your batteries are linked,how are they linked?

I just setup a highmount winch on a production car for this years obc using twin yellow top optimas and an allbrite switch pack.
The way i cabled it was 2 separate 50mm2 cables both for the positive AND negatives from the body of the motor. I crimped them togther with a 95mm2 lug then ran each to its own terminal.
I also upgraded the alt to battery cableing, and used the gold marine battery terminals( file them flat before bolting down the cable lug onto the terminal).

IMO batteries are the key, they dont have to be ubeaut whiz bang ones but they do need a good reserve capacity and good cca.
On my comp winch with twin 6's on 24v i was using normal old century batteries, they were just BIG (N150's) and had storage to burn which is the secret.

I also grind the flat spot for the earth lug on the motor bigger so the cable lug sits flat perfectly.

Lastly, get used to ripping your motor apart and blowing out the carbon dust and checking the brushes and cleaning up the communtator reguarly.

hope this helps
cheers smitty