JDB Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Anyone done the above - and if so what lessons did you learn and how would you do it again? I am using US Class III receivers at both end, with the winch on a removable mount, I intend to wire the solenoid in and fix it to the mount (any recommendations on a waterpoof box - Maplin seemed to be a good starting point??), then only having a anderson type plug to attach to the vehicle. So I think I need a run of 35mm sq welding cable from the front to the back with an anderson receiver on the end - where do I put it? do I waterproof it? At the front I thought of dropping a very short cable out through the grill and again putting a waterproof cap on it again? Inside the engine bay - going for dual batteries - (any pics of mounting second one in a Disco 1 appreciated), with a split charge system, and then wiring the winch direct (with a cut out) to the auxiliary battery. What have I missed? Any pics or descriptions of where to mount rear cables appreciated, and I was intending to tie wrap it to the inside of chassis structure? Where's the cheapest place to get welding cable and anderson connectors? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I'm part way through setting up something similar on mine, although my winch tray is designed to fit a Dixon Bate hitch. One thing I plan to do with mine is mount the solenoids inside the vehicle, partly for their protection and partly to reduce the weight of the demountable bit as much as possible. This obviously means that there needs to be three connections to the winch but, luckily, Anderson actually make a three pole version of their standard plugs. They're tricky to track down, but this company can get them for about £17 each: www.torberry.co.uk/ Eventually, I hope to sort out a wireless remote too, to make it that bit easier to use the winch front and rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 The further you mount the solenoid from the winch, the longer the path the current has to take. Also, connections (of any sort) are a potential source of voltage drops, resistance etc. Personally, If i was going to do this, I'd keep the solenoids as close to the winch as possible, and only have a 2 pole connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Surely it's the distance from the battery that determines voltage drop? Where the solenoid is positioned along that route shouldn't make and difference, AFAIK. It's the same thing with an Anderson connector - before or after the solenoid won't change the overall resistance (if any). The fact that a three pole connector would be needed after the solenoid is academic, as only two poles of the latter would be in use at any one time. The whole thing might be academic for me though, as I'm seriously considering mounting a set of solenoids at both the front and rear of the vehicle. I'm not sure yet though. I plan to set it up as a rear winch first (because the mouting is easier) and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Surely it's the distance from the battery that determines voltage drop? Where the solenoid is positioned along that route shouldn't make and difference, AFAIK. Incorrect, the position of the solenoid pack does make a difference, as it switches current down a Field winding wire (F1 or F2), back up the other field winding, then through the Armature windings (A) to earth, i.e. using all three wires. That means the distance between the solenoid pack and the winch is always 50% 'longer' than from the solenoids to the battery. The fact that a three pole connector would be needed after the solenoid is academic, as only two poles of the latter would be in use at any one time. Incorrect, all three poles are in use, that's 50% more resistance. On new, clean, corrosion free connectors, resistance may well be negligable. a little bit of dirt or corrosion leading to reduced surface area will increase resistance over time, and that will hamper performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Really? You learn something new every day. For my purposes, that basically makes the case for a solenoid pack at each end of the vehicle. I'm comfortable with using the three pole Anderson as the advantages of not having the solenoid pack on the winch itself are too good to ignore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 For the sake of completenesss, this is my winch trial-fitted on its' demountable cradle on the back of my old Discovery. One of the details that I was trying to achieve was to ensure that the rear door would still open with the winch in place, which it did...just! I don't have the Discovery any more, but the winch and cradle are sitting in my garage awaiting some fettling time to marry them up to my 110. Positioning the Anderson connectors was something I hadn't completely solved before I parted with my Discovery. One of the problems is that the cable isn't very flexible, making positioning tricky. I had half a mind to mount the rear one inside the back door but I'll admit it's not desparately elegant. The connectors are reasonably waterproof when fitted with the optional caps and can be made more so by filling the back of them, where the cables enter, with silicon. A better solution, however, is to terminate them inside a waterproof box that has a hinged lid for access. I haven't sourced a suitable box yet, but it's something I plan to look into for my 110. The front of a Discovery is even more tricky, as there's not a lot of 'spare' bodywork to mount things to. I thought I'd eventually end up with a box mounted on the spotlight bar that I had on the front of mine but, as I say, I didn't finish working out the details. Whatever you do, it'll help to make sure that the orientation and positioning of the plug relative to the receiver on each end of the vehicle are similar, so that the fly lead on the winch will reach both easily and can be as short as possible. Other details to consider are the weight of the winch on its' cradle and how it's to be transported. It'll have to be lifted out of the vehicle when you need it so you don't want it too far in from the back door. You also don't want 40-50kg of steel moving about in the back in the event of an accident so it'll need to be secured somehow. Ultimately, I plan to switch to plasma rope on mine for the weight saving on the cable and fairlead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 If anyone is interested, I have a number of second hand anderson connectors (the 300A variety) available.... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 doesn't do much for rear overhang. I suppose it's a world away from an integrated recessed bumper though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDB Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 PM Sent ref andersons! Yes Please! Darren - thanks for detail - excellent stuff. JDB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br00n1e Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I had a marshland demountable and fitted an albright solenoid to the tray with an anderson connector and then anderson connectors front and rear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDB Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 doesn't do much for rear overhang. .... does quite a lot I think - you only need to put it on when you need it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 That really is the point. It doesn't affect the overhang at all when it's safely packed away in the back Like many things though, it is a compromise and has a number of pro's and con's. On the plus side, you can use it at both ends of the vehicle, it stays clean and dry when not in use and, most importantly for me, the winch can be left at home for the 99% of the time when I know I won't need it. The downsides are the slightly increased complexity of installation, the slightly more prominent mounting and the fact that the thing needs to be lifted into position. For my purposes, the winch is a complete toy (that I won in a magazine competition, as it happens) and probably won't get a lot of use, so these compromises work in my favour. I appreciate that it won't suit everybody, though. As an aside, the mounting for the front that I envisaged would have had the winch positioned high enough so that the approach angle wouldn't suffer significantly. I fully intended to be able to drive with the winch in place at the front. I had the design for the bracketry all drawn up but never got as far as having it built before selling the Discovery. I'll have to dream up something similar for my 110 now. On top of everything else, it's a nice little engineering challenge too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDB Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 That really is the point. It doesn't affect the overhang at all when it's safely packed away in the back Like many things though, it is a compromise and has a number of pro's and con's. On the plus side, you can use it at both ends of the vehicle, it stays clean and dry when not in use and, most importantly for me, the winch can be left at home for the 99% of the time when I know I won't need it. The downsides are the slightly increased complexity of installation, the slightly more prominent mounting and the fact that the thing needs to be lifted into position. For my purposes, the winch is a complete toy (that I won in a magazine competition, as it happens) and probably won't get a lot of use, so these compromises work in my favour. I appreciate that it won't suit everybody, though. As an aside, the mounting for the front that I envisaged would have had the winch positioned high enough so that the approach angle wouldn't suffer significantly. I fully intended to be able to drive with the winch in place at the front. I had the design for the bracketry all drawn up but never got as far as having it built before selling the Discovery. I'll have to dream up something similar for my 110 now. On top of everything else, it's a nice little engineering challenge too ... large round of applause - exactly where I am coming from - I view it as "insurance" - when I get myself into somewhere I should'nt have - it will help get me out, and as you say 99% of the time I don't need it and can leave it at home! Really good to get the team advice on here as to how to fix it all up - much appreciated and welcomed - (as always). JDB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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