Winch question

[ftwflh]

I have a Rugged Ridge 8500 winch and the other day I was winching junk cars and scrap out of the woods and it got to where it would just die.Let off for a few and it would take off again.Had the Jeep running.Would you think it was pulling battery down or in the winch?

 

[BusaDave9]

Yes. It could be running your battery down. A winch draws much more current (about 400 amps) more than any alternator can supply. You can actually drain your battery when the engine is running. If you were to stop your Jeep at that time you wouldn't be able to start it again without a jump.
For that reason you should stop your winch periodically.
Another reason to stop your winch periodically is so it wont overheat. Thats another possibility on why it may be stopping.

 

[CJim7]

X2^
Another way to 'help out' a winch is to double-line wherever possible.
just yesterday I had to winch out a friend of mine who nose-dived his full size chevy into a ditch. I couble lined hm out in a heartbeat.

Double lining increases your pull capacity x2, triple lining x3. Essentially, double lined, an 8000lb winch is capable of 16,000lbs....triple lined, that capacity is raised to 24,000 lbs.

A side note on winches, the rated pull capacity is at the drum. because of the amount of line or cable that is usually spooled under the pull point, the pull rate is greatly reduced. Many people dont realize this...the more line/cable that is spooled in, the weaker the winch is.