'08 Winch Questions

[Nailhead]

Hello all after a long while.

I have a winch that only spools out cable-- it won't retrieve it. Handy.

Tell you the truth, this winch has been as reliable as Mideast peace: I've never been able to count on it, and the primary reason has been corroded contacts causing intermittent operation, which led me to assume that the contents in the controller box were suffering from the same issues what with its location out in the winter salt spray.

Wrong-- I buffed up EVERY connection in the box, on the motor, in the two exterior connectors, on the battery (again), in the controller connector, applying dielectric grease to all. It still only pays cable out, won't retrieve it.

I've verified continuity from the solenoid terminals all the way to the switch in the controller: all is well, good contact. The switch, near as I can tell, does what it's supposed to.

I downloaded all the wiring information I could find, and none of it is relevant because of the potted circuit board on the box cover, and the two two-pin connectors: one leading into the motor, the other on the battery cables themselves, feeding that damn circuit board.

The winch will operate correctly in both directions if the solenoids are jumpered; it will not work right otherwise.

I called the local Dodge dealer looking for a replacement controller box: one exists in the country. ONE, at $800 & change, no return. I'm not feeling that. A Warn control box for a Warn-branded 12KLB winch costs $266 in contrast, complete with a new hand controller.

So, other than getting Madoffed buying that replacement controller box-- what can be done about this?
Does anyone repair these control boxes?
Can they even be repaired if that little circuit board is toast like I'm suspecting?
Can the motor be swapped out for a non-Chrysler, Warn controller-compatible one?

I'd really like to repair this thing in a way that would maintain compatibility with the Warn wireless remote I installed back when the winch actually worked.

Anyway, any help appreciated.

Thanks.

[coder]

If the winch only spools out but not back in it's most like a failed thermal protection switch. You can bypass it for a few bucks here's a link to the instructions on the DodgeTalk.com Power Wagon forum. You'll need to create a login to see the pictures. I did it to my truck years ago as a preventative measure and it still works.

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showpos ... stcount=32

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showpos ... stcount=33

[Vee]

I had the same issues. I fixed mine by replacing the harness from the plug into the control box with a Warn replacement plug for a M15000. I also bypassed the thermal switch and the low voltage interrupt. It was a pain, but cost less than 60 bucks to fix, and now no nannies.

[Nailhead]

Excellent-- thank you!! I knew there was a way around this nonsense.

Hey, Vee, care to share the details-- I need all the help I can get here.

[Nailhead]

If the winch only spools out but not back in it's most like a failed thermal protection switch. You can bypass it for a few bucks here's a link to the instructions on the DodgeTalk.com Power Wagon forum. You'll need to create a login to see the pictures. I did it to my truck years ago as a preventative measure and it still works.

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showpos ... stcount=32

http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showpos ... stcount=33

That was a treasure trove of essential information; thank you very much!

[Vee]

I bought the control plug harness on Amazon. Look for the M15000 harness. It doesn't have the low voltage wire so I took off that whole harness. You do have to drop the winch to install, and the wiring is different from the way Dodge wires it, so if you struggle with wiring you may need to get help as it was quite challenging. The control box relays are the same as all Warns, so ignore Dodge and wire the way Warn does. I wish I had more details, but I did mine a few months ago and I didn't take any pictures.

[altaguy]

Not sure if it's relevant but I had winch spooling issues with an 05 powerwagon winch. Took it to an authorized Warn service center and they said it had a bad solenoid and that it had the wrong controller. They wanted over 400 CDN to fix it. I brought the winch home and found a pdf file for troubleshooting this winch. All the solenoids were good and the controller was good. The problem was where the small wires went into the controller plug. I purchased 4 new solenoids anyway so that I had spares if needed and a Warn 39886 socket kit off amazon canada all for $100. The winch works great now.

The pdf is 1.1 MB and I'm not sure how to attach it to this message or how to maybe add it to the PWR site but if anyone wants a copy I can email it to you.


Additional info - The winch troubleshooting guide I have is for the powerwagon and covers the low voltage interrupt and the thermal protection switch. 2 solenoids control winching in and the other 2 solenoids control winching out also if you didn't know.

[Nailhead]

I bought the control plug harness on Amazon. Look for the M15000 harness. It doesn't have the low voltage wire so I took off that whole harness. You do have to drop the winch to install, and the wiring is different from the way Dodge wires it, so if you struggle with wiring you may need to get help as it was quite challenging. The control box relays are the same as all Warns, so ignore Dodge and wire the way Warn does. I wish I had more details, but I did mine a few months ago and I didn't take any pictures.

Thanks! I may leave that LV harness alone because it seems to relatively trouble-free according to the posts I read on DodgeTalk.

[Nailhead]

Not sure if it's relevant but I had winch spooling issues with an 05 powerwagon winch. Took it to an authorized Warn service center and they said it had a bad solenoid and that it had the wrong controller. They wanted over 400 CDN to fix it. I brought the winch home and found a pdf file for troubleshooting this winch. All the solenoids were good and the controller was good. The problem was where the small wires went into the controller plug. I purchased 4 new solenoids anyway so that I had spares if needed and a Warn 39886 socket kit off amazon canada all for $100. The winch works great now.

The pdf is 1.1 MB and I'm not sure how to attach it to this message or how to maybe add it to the PWR site but if anyone wants a copy I can email it to you.


Additional info - The winch troubleshooting guide I have is for the powerwagon and covers the low voltage interrupt and the thermal protection switch. 2 solenoids control winching in and the other 2 solenoids control winching out also if you didn't know.

All my solenoids tested good when we jumpered them, but the wiring at the remote plug (specifically on the handheld controller) leaves some to be desired: the green pin has come loose in the plug shell so it won't fully seat in the plug on the controller box cover. Why they couldn't have used a heavier connector I wish I knew.

I might already have that troubleshooting guide in that PDF that was mentioned above. That's highly recommended, BTW-- every PW owner would probably benefit from downloading that manual. Thank you for the offer, though.