Any idea what the average amperage a winch uses?

jkufen · Jun 17, 2013

I have a Warn 9,000 pound winch on the front of my b2 and I am in the process of making a battery isolator for my two batteries. I found the diagram that says cheap battery isolator for $50 so that is what I am using for my setup. Just curious though how much amperage would my winch pull? The diagram uses an 80 amp solenoid and 4 gauge jumper cables as the cable. If that will work I will use it I just want to make sure it will work.

bobbywalter · Jun 19, 2013

typically the solos are 85 amp or so.

the motor can/will pull 400 amps though. 4 gauge is the minimum to feed it.

i been messing up solenoids lately so i need to disassemble and relube my winch and maybe rebush my motor.

jkufen · Jun 19, 2013

Yeah I want to get the welding wire and run it but right now I am going to have to run the 4 gauge wire just to get through my orv trip next week.

Lil-Pony · Jun 19, 2013

Not meaning to thread jack, should the winch be ran off of the car battery or a secondary marine battery.

jkufen · Jun 19, 2013

Either way really. I have a buddy that uses a yellow top battery as his winch battery and starting battery. Im sure you can go either way just depends on your batteries.

RonD · Jun 20, 2013

Car batteries have thin plates that can discharge high amperage(200 amps) for a short time, if they are discharged too much they tend to not fully recharge, so over time if drained to say 50% and then recharged they would last only a few years, instead of the average 5-7 years.

Deep cycle batteries have thicker plates, so they can not discharge high amps quickly, usually they will start an engine(100amps), just don't crank quite as fast.
These are made to be drained down to 10% and then recharged, hence the "deep cycle" name.
These would be best for a winch which doesn't need a high amp output(under 100amps), but steady amps for a longer period.

The isolator to use is based on the alternator amps, 60amps, 90amps, 120amps, isolator is only used for recharging two batteries without having a direct connection between the batteries during drains on the batteries.

The gauge of wire to use is based on amps and length, so longer distance requires larger wire

jkufen · Jun 20, 2013

Well I just realized that the truck battery I have is a deep cycle battery. I didn't know it until I searched the battery part number but hey I only paid $40 for it brand new with a warranty. I worked on the truck today and got the battery to fit in the factory spot so I didn't have to run the cable like I planned. Hopefully it'll be enough to run the winch and the truck! Guess I'll find out next weekend.

Any idea what the average amperage a winch uses?

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