Moving winch solenoid

[howellm70]

Started thinking about how to mount the warn winch I bought a few weeks ago and really can't find a clean way to mount the solenoid on the bumper. Has anyone moved the solenoid inside the engine compartment or inside the truck itself? Where/how did you mount it?

I'm trying to decide on the best place for access and aesthetics. Originally thought about mounting it in one of the seat boxes but wat a PITA it would be to get to and use. Thanks for any help.

[Mike Hippert]

Mike the Seat-box works good if you relocate the plug for the winch control to the front of the seat box so you can plug it in down by your feet. You should be able to bolt it to the inside of the seat-box so that the front of the solenoid pack is up against the front of the inside of the seat-box. Then just drill a hole where the winch control plugs in. I think you will have to run 4 heavy wires to the winch and one small wire.

PS if If this is not clear then its me not you, I have tried to explain this before and left people very confused.

[howellm70]

Michael -

I think I understand what you're talking about. I like this idea and had thought about it in the past but figured it would be more work than it is worth. A couple of questions to clarify: (1) did you mount the cover to the remote input on the solenoid on the outside of the seat box? (2) how did you secure the solenoid to the walls or floor of the seat box?

If you have any pictures please send them my way.

[Mike Hippert]

HMMMMMMMMM..................

I did not do it, my PO did it and I took it out because the PO and I destroyed the winch. Everyone that I have seen and the one that was in mine was just mounted to some 1/2" wide 1/4" thick steal or aluminum bar that was bent around the solenoid box and bolted to the seat box.

I think you need to pull the mount the cover to the remote input on the solenoid on the outside of the seat box so that you can put it on.

[roverx]

Michael,

Here is another suggestion. I have a Warn 8274-50 and mounted the solenoid under the driver wing. Two bolts through the bottom of the metal housing secure it to the inner wing and you just reattach the plastic cover. This location seems to keep it dry and out of harms way. I have installed dual control plugs, one in the front of the wing between the turn signal and running light and one in the cab. I opted for a plug in the cab over a momentary on/off switch as I have kids and didn't want them to accidentally hit it. I got the second plug through Warn for about $ 35 and just made a longer lead. I also have a master cutoff switch for the winch mounted on the seatbox right under my seat with a on/off light on the dash. I'm a big fan of not having the winch powered all the time. Beyond the obvious front end collusion shorting out the power lines. The hot think now is for kid to free spool your winch cable out and over your rover and connect the hook to the rear bumper. Then shorting out the solenoid pack which winches in your cable slicing you rover half. This may seem like a lot of work but well worth the time. I attached a shot of the front where the plug is

Cheers

[dmarchand]

Can't blame Scott for pimpin his ride....

I located my warn solenoid control box in the battery box, with the plug for the winch control coming out in the driver footwell.

To see the inside of the box, go here: http://www.d-90.com/forum/attachment.php?=&postid=5579

CVC has to be happy that I'm linking to older threads instead of double posting...:grin

[Mike Hippert]

AHHH photos, you can't explain it any better.:cool:

[howellm70]

Thanks for the help guys.

David - that picture is perfect. Is it easy to remove the remote plug from the front of a warn solenoid? I don't have mine in front of me right now but I thought it was riveted on. Did you leave the black plastic surround around the solenoid when you mounted it in the seat box? - I couldn't really tell from the pic.

[dmarchand]

No, I removed the black plastic surround. And drilled the rivets out of the remote plug. Very easy to do.

[howellm70]

David - 1 follow up question for you. In looking at the picture of your dual battery setup, what did you do to get the 2 batteries to sit level? The stock batter tray is too narrow to fit 2 optima's ...I'm thinking about fitting a peice of wood into the tray to provide a flat surface for the batteries but wanted to know if you had a better solution.