Winch not respooling

[Semtex6]

I have a Warn 12,000lb winch that spools out under power but when you hit the switch to respool the cable...nothing happens. I have tried two different hand controllers that work on my Warn XD9000 with the same effect so I know it is something internal on the winch.

I'm thinking this may be a solenoid issue but since I haven't had the chance to tear the winch apart yet, I thought I would see if anyone has run into this before.

Any suggestions?

[Fred]

yep just solinoids or wires crossed, It's no good, give it to me for the dodge

[Ricky Booby]

That warn won't fit on a dodge. But it'll fit my TJ just fine.

Vote #2 for the solenoid being bad. Is it new, or did you get it second hand? Maybe previous owner rewired it?

[Semtex6]

yep just solinoids or wires crossed, It's no good, give it to me for the dodge

Thanks for the confirmation but sorry, the winch is already in my Dodge Power Wagon and it's pretty happy there.

[crazy4ink]

x3 on a bad solenoid.

[Semtex6]

Is it new, or did you get it second hand? Maybe previous owner rewired it?

Bought the truck used and the winch came stock on the Power Wagon. Doesn't look like it was used too much (if at all) before I bought it but I flew to Detroit to buy it and their winters are pretty tough on equipment. I'll check the solenoids this weekend.

[Semtex6]

Just as a follow up to this.

I read through the technical sheets on the winch (thank you Warn for the quick e-mail on them) and tried a few of their recommendations. Here is where I was at:

1) Tried disconnecting the thermal switch - didn't change anything

2) Tried a second remote - didn't change anything (and they both work on my Warn 9000 on the Rubicon)

3) Tried jumping all four relays (one at a time of course) by jumping the ground and power terminals directly to the battery. The motor works fine and spools in and out when doing this.

Thoughts...

1) That there may be an issue with the remote connector/wiring on the winch

2) That there may be a bad relay, however when trying to spool in, there is no noise whatsoever from any relay and they work when jumped so I don't think this is the problem

3) Bad thermal switch (although I thought disconnecting it should have solved the problem)

4) The battery has plenty of power so I don't think it is the low voltage switch

Here is what I found out.

Turns out it was NOT a solenoid issue. When Chrysler partnered with Warn for the 12,000 lb winches for the 2005-up Dodge Power Wagons, for some reason they (Chrysler) added a couple additional safety features that only f**k the winch up. They must have been worried that the vehicles would be purchased by "winch rookies" so they wanted to avoid warranty issues. They added a thermal relay switch (to automatically shut the winch off if it gets too hot) and a low voltage switch (to shut the winch off if your battery voltage drops too low). Here's the kicker, if the thermal relay switch goes bad, you have to replace the whole motor because of the way the switch is mounted! Additionally, I was told by Warn that since the winch was ordered by Chrysler, you are supposed to go through them (Chrysler) to get parts or have it fixed (vice going through Warn).

By trying a simple test, I found out that my thermal relay switch was bad. Instead of replacing the motor, a simple jump on the thermal switch connector and she's back in business! All told, parts came to about $6.50 to fix the winch!

[airforce26yrs]

Good fix

[HillBillE]

Good fix

X2!

Just a side note, some of the newer Warn controllers will not work on the older winches, and vice-versa.

They plug in the same, but they either have a different wire pattern, or don't have the same set of 'pins'.

So even if the remote fits the winch, it may not operate it correctly.

Glad you were able to fix it! I've always wanted one of those new Power Wagons!