Winch maintenance?

[KingKhan]

Hey gang, once you have a winch on your truck. Are you supposed to pull this line out every so often?

 

[smritte]

You should do that twice a year. The motor brush's corrode from sitting and the solenoid contacts can also corrode. That's the number one failure on a winch. If it does happen, you now need to tear it down to clean them. Way easier to run it in and out occasionally.

I haven't seen a brushless motor on a winch yet but someone runs a solid state control instead of a solenoid. (warn still runs solenoids).

 

[Sean Elias]

Oh damn, seriously? Yikes! I haven't done mine in , EVER! I've had this for 3 years!

 

[smritte]

I learned the hard way.

 

[Sean Elias]

I'm hoping I won't be in that same line! When you pull the cable out, does that engage the motors brush to start scraping off any corrosion?

 

[smritte]

Yes. The corrosion is on the brass segments on the motor. The brush's make contact there.

 

[Martin Cunningham]

Yikes, I've only been doing once a year. Although 2 years ago, I actually used the winch, so that counts.

 

[smritte]

I've gone as much as three without issue. My last winch (which was older) stopped working at three though.

 

[Grady]

I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend!