ThreePointFive Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 I have a switch for my TDS inside the cab that I haven't wired up yet but it would be very useful to bring into use. I'm a complete winch novice as I've only ever had the TDS, are wiring diagrams largely the same between the brands or do I need something specific to the TDS? After some googling I'm struggling to find a specific one that has a switch rather than the basic handheld setup. I've seen a switch directly (no relay or fuses) driving the winch on a generic diagram so I decided to seek the collective expertise of the forum before something gets melted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 I assume it's a mom-off-mom switch? TDS solenoids are the same as albright and just about any other all-in-one winch solenoid. In which case then you just need a three-core harness going to your winch, and piggybacking off the solenoid terminals. To winch one way, connect the middle to one of the outer terminals, to winch the other, connect middle to the other outer terminal. You can test by just shorting between the terminals with whatever you have to hand. Your switch just needs to facilitate this, centre terminal goes to the 'in' on your switch, and the two other go to the MOM on terminals. Run an inline fuse in the harness where it comes off the solenoid, or you have an unfused feed going into the cabin.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Handheld is in the end also just a switch so wiring is not too difficult. However, what you need to consider is priority.. Master - slave If you have 2 controls for the winch this could potentially lead to both being operated at the same time. Otherwise you could end up with a serious problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 I tend to put a secondary switch with warning lamp inside, interrupting the feed to the MOM switch, that way you can't bump the MOM switch and suddenly winch in/out accidentally. Helps with Arjan's example, but agree not fully mitigating, but assuming it is all fused you aren't likely to any real harm other than a slightly embarrassing moment scuffing around for a spare fuse.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 7 hours ago, Bowie69 said: I assume it's a mom-off-mom switch? TDS solenoids are the same as albright and just about any other all-in-one winch solenoid. In which case then you just need a three-core harness going to your winch, and piggybacking off the solenoid terminals. To winch one way, connect the middle to one of the outer terminals, to winch the other, connect middle to the other outer terminal. You can test by just shorting between the terminals with whatever you have to hand. Your switch just needs to facilitate this, centre terminal goes to the 'in' on your switch, and the two other go to the MOM on terminals. Run an inline fuse in the harness where it comes off the solenoid, or you have an unfused feed going into the cabin.... Yeah it's mom-off-mom. Your explanation is so much simpler than what I was looking at, so that's great. I'll definitely run the fuse, that was the most obvious thing missing. What kind of amperage are we talking about? I take it quite low as the solenoid is doing all the work. 7 hours ago, Arjan said: Handheld is in the end also just a switch so wiring is not too difficult. However, what you need to consider is priority.. Master - slave If you have 2 controls for the winch this could potentially lead to both being operated at the same time. Otherwise you could end up with a serious problem. Good points, I was running a switch before the rebuild but I didn't install it so I was never really aware of this as an issue. So I get this clear, would that mean having the hand held switch and the cab switch operate at the exact same time? If so, I think it would be incredibly rare for me to operate with the handheld inside the vehicle. Inadvertant operation of the switch is far more likely as I've moved it to the redundant panel by the right knee (on RHD models). I have a spare on/off switch slot which would be perfect for Bowie's solution but it's right next to the momentary switch and seems to be the one that gets knee-operated most commonly (it doesn't do anything at present). I could put an aircraft flip-cover switch in, but I'm not about that Top Gun Maverick life. I'll just have to be more disciplined in the use of the main isolator switch; if the winch is not being used, it is isolated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 1 hour ago, ThreePointFive said: I take it quite low as the solenoid is doing all the work. Think they are normally around ~10A, I've used 20A switches directly without a problem. But you can measure this, of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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