do it yourself, just don't buy that copper clad aluminum crap. Buy Oxygen Free Copper wire. This will give you the most amp delivery to your winch.

Make sure you get the larger connectors, I think they are the 175A ones?

Crimp the lugs really good, and use MAP gas and a torch and solder them on. Then alittle heat shrink tubing cleans it up nicely. Like I did below for the battery connection. Also, everywhere I was reading, and also SmittyBilt Tech Support, said don't wire the batteries via a Fuse. Use a solenoid rated for the amp draw of your winch, or a manual emergency cut-off switch rated for the same amps or more.

 

These quick connects are ones I use. Makes life easier. Jumper cables are same.


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Thanks. My dad would know where to get bulk for cheap if not free and he has a crimper. I noticed smittybuild has a 24ft kit that states oxygen free etc. I'll still check the local connection first appreciate it.

ps. I looked into a bumper and its an added cost that appears mostly cosmetic for me. I have a friend with a 2003 4dr long bed v10 that has used a drawtite front hitch for 5+years pulling kids out of mud pits with zero issues. I won't be four wheeling in no mans land either so my winching would be sparingly used and with snatch block with couple tree saver straps etc.

 

Just build your own bumpers, like I did!

 

I have 2 trucks with front and rear receivers and 2 cradle winches. I look for the best price of Anderson 175A connectors and ring terminals on ebay. I also buy 1/0 pure copper wire by the foot on ebay. This little wire crimper is awesome. Use a 4 pound maul to hit it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEMCo-Batte...imping-Tool/281912922165?epid=2295857907&hash=item41a351d035:g:zL0AAOSwseZb2KWM

P.S. I have an 06 and 02. I put the 06 front end on my 02 and the Warn 05-07 front receiver hitch. Foto is of the red 02. Leaving my 2" ball mount up front makes a nice bumper protector and step to stand on.

 

Thats a fancy crimping tool, jumper cables and the connects DC posted are the way to go... just make sure you have good connections and use grease to keep them from corroding.

 

Those are not jumper cables. Those are the ground wires for my winches and are 2/0 OFC Copper Audio Cable. Audio Cable are bigger. So they are actually 3/0. The wire barely fits into those 3/0 ring terminal lugs.

 

Sounds good. Again appreciate the good info. Just been putting so much stuff off I figured I could pull the truck in the shop and just finally get to work to use it in the summer.

I found a few local guys that supply it but its much more expensive then online so will be researching a reasonably priced online vendor. Its funny the company my dad works for said for years they had the quick disconnect but they always broke in the snow. So now all their service trucks have a special welder quick disconnect. think round plug on each wire vs a square two slotted plug. And they last much longer. They used them daily all the time. I feel I wouldn't use it as much as I feel so an occasional use would last me much longer though.

 

Those welder plugs are spendy. FYI, I got my cable from Sky High Car Audio. Nice guys to deal with too.

 

quick disconnect winch wires anyone have a brand they like or do most folks diy them? i.e. buy the wire and the quick connect ends etc. doesn't seem to be much price difference so looking for personal experience good/bad. I'll have the appropriate safety's wired in etc.
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some complete kits by superwinch, roughcountry, bulldog, tuff stuff, some no name amazon brands.
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if you do go to commercially produced one, make sure they are comparable. I've got a Superwinch and Ramsey kit. The Superwinch does not have long black cable to run back to the front, just a shorter one to go to the frame. At least when I bought mine they did.
Hemlar Parts has good prices on Anderson style connectors.

 

I checked into this before deciding to make my own. SmittyBilt, for example, uses 3ga wire. When you run the calculation for amp draw (422A at full pull for the x20 15.5k) of them, then calculate the maximum amps through 3ga wire then calculate the length needed, there is no way that 3ga wire can handle that many Amps, not even close. Granted, you would only ever be pulling 422A in bursts.

But I didnt want to take the chance of the cable heating up and catching fire. So I made mine using 2/0 (00) Audio Cable which is actually about 3/0 (000).

If you look at my bumper build thread, you will also see that I placed some battery disconnects to use as a port for jumper cables or another power item. I daisy chained the connection off the winch for those, this way I did not have to run another wire to the front and back for those. This is good also, because now I can turn the power off to the quick disconnects, as I do the winches via the solenoids, so I do not always have a live wire going from the front, under the body along the frame, to the winch/disconnect in the rear of truck.

I just personally would not trust the Warn or SmittyBilt power cables. 3ga is not enough. Maybe for a 8k or 9k winch, certainly not any larger.

 

use at least 1/0. 2/0 is better. put a fuse or circuit breaker within 1 foot of the battery. i use a 175a circuit breaker/disconnect made by Buss i got at ozone(autozone)








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No. Do not use fuse or circuit breaker. Only manual emergency cut-off or high amp solenoid. A circuit breaker or fuse can melt closed instead of open.

 

not true. i was a commercial electrician/foreman for 20 years and am retired now. I was also an auto mechanic for 10 years. Circuit breakers are used to protect the wire. Circuit breakers and fuses are designed to trip or blow. A quick disconnect will not blow or trip. A solenoid will not blow or trip. Neither will protect the wire. The info you posted is wrong and misleading. I know for a fact you are not an electrician, I am.

 

I have personally seen fuses and circuit breakers that have fused themselves closed and the wire heated up and caught fire. Just sayin.

The idea behind the manual cut-off switch and the solenoid, is so that you only have the cable to the winches live......when you are using them only. Turn power off to the winches when you are not.