Drive a Viking and You Will Never Be Stuck in Traffic Again Answerscom
This guide is made to assist you troubleshoot the most common ATV winch issues. It will also bespeak you in the right direction on how you should go about fixing them.
ATV winches are tough. They tin handle incredible amounts of employ and abuse. And as long as yous steer clear of the cheapest models and you treat information technology well with some maintenance at present and and so, you lot should expect many years of hassle-free winching.
Simply from time to time, even the best volition face up some technical issues that need to exist addressed.
Luckily, there is a lot you can exercise yourself to troubleshoot and repair an ATV winch that doesn't work as it'due south supposed to.
An of import prophylactic note
ATV winches are small simply however powerful and potentially very unsafe. If yous accept whatsoever doubts or lack the basic mechanical skills to perform the troubleshooting or repairs described in this postal service, you lot should rather take information technology to an authorized dealer and allow them take care of information technology for you.
A winch out of control has the potential to inflict damage to your equipment or peradventure cause astringent injury to yourself or others.
How this guide works
I've structured this guide so that yous tin start your troubleshooting based on what symptoms you are experiencing. After all, that's how information technology starts; suddenly, the winch will start behaving differently than it should.
This volition lead you to the root of the trouble much faster than past just randomly testing all the different things that can go incorrect.
For many of the symptoms, there are several possible causes, and some causes may give several types of symptoms.
After yous have adamant what's causing your problem, y'all'll observe a suggested solution to the event.
When the winch is completely expressionless
With the engine running, you push the winch switch, but zip happens. The winch motor is not turning. Not even making a click or a buzzing sound.
The fastest way to troubleshoot a winch that does non give any sign of life is by isolating the problem.
Before you spend too much fourth dimension investigating other possible causes, it's a good thought to decide whether the problem is with the winch itself or with the wiring.
To practice this, you lot simply need to perform this quick test:
The Jumper cable test
This test volition bypass all of the wiring and other electronics and will tell you lot if the winch motor is working or non.

- Disconnect all winch cables from the wheel.
- Disconnect the battery from the bicycle, or employ another battery so that you don't harm the bike's electronics.
- Connect the jumper cables to the battery. Polarity does not really thing for this test, but carmine to + and black to – is e'er a skilful starting betoken.
- Connect the negative cable to one of the terminals on the winch.
- Gently tap the other terminal using the positive cable. This is done to make sure the winch does not take a dead short. The drum should motion slightly. If it does not, stop the test at this signal. Some sparks when borer like this are normal.
- If the drum moved slightly when borer, attach the positive last completely. The winch motor should operate as normal in one direction.
- Then repeat the test by switching the cables on the winch. The motor should then motility freely in the opposite direction.
Now you lot should know what causes to wait at for further troubleshooting.
Cause i: Blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker
Some winches, only non all, have a circuit protector or a fuse that is meant to blow when the winch, for some reason, is pulling too much ability. A excursion billow may besides trip if information technology gets submerged in water.
Suggested Solution: If the fuse is blown, replace it with a new ane with the correct amp rating.
Suggested Solution: The circuit-breaker may demand to be reset manually if it'southward been tripped.
If the winch starts working again, you have fixed the problem.
If the new fuse blows again right away or the circuit billow trips, you lot likely have a brusque somewhere.
A short happens when the positive (red) cablevision gets in contact with whatsoever metallic office, like the wheel's frame, due to a damaged cablevision. A faulty switch may also crusade a short.
Suggested Solution: Repair or replace any damaged cables or broken switches that are causing the short.
If you tin't find any shorts in the wiring, a curt may also be inside the winch itself or in the contactor—more on that further down.
Cause 2: Improper or bad wiring
A completely dead winch frequently indicates that information technology'southward non getting whatever ability or that something is not grounded the fashion information technology should be.
Suggested Solution: Make sure the winch is wired correctly.
If it has been working correctly earlier and you haven't washed any modifications to the wiring, an wrong installation should not exist what'south causing your result.
But if you're in the procedure of installing a new winch at present, and you tin can't get whatever sign of life, information technology'due south a adept chance you've got the wiring wrong somewhere.
All winches should come up with a complete wiring diagram. Make sure you follow it to the point!
The basic principles on how to do the wiring should be the same on any winch. Merely it's worth noting that you lot will see some minor but of import differences between the different brands.
Unremarkably, the contactor'due south bombardment terminals have different setups, where connecting the wires wrong may lead to a dead winch.
When the winch has been installed on the bike for a while, the cable terminals may corrode or come loose.

Suggested Solution: Dissasemble and make clean all terminals, one past one, to brand sure you lot have a expert connection everywhere and that they are properly fitted. Any corrosion can exist removed with some sandpaper so that the terminals go shiny once more.
Cause 3: Defect handlebar rocker switch or remote switch
Any switch tin can break due to material fatigue when it's been pushed enough times. Cheaper winches commonly come up with less robust switches that volition intermission sooner.
It may likewise stop working due to h2o entering and corroding its internals. Once again, the cheaper ones are often less protected and are more likely to be interim upward after a few encounters with salt and water.
If a switch is damaged or corroded, it may not engage the winch at all when you push it.
At that place are several means you can go almost troubleshooting a bad switch:
Test if other switches work
If the wheel has more than i switch to activate the winch, you should brainstorm by testing them both to encounter if one of them works.

It is doubtful that both switches volition fail at the aforementioned time. If one works, but you become no reaction from the other, it has likely gone bad.
Bypass the switch
If yous have just one switch, you can decide if information technology'due south defective by testing if the winch works when you featherbed the switch:

- Start by disengaging the winch by putting the engage lever in the free spool position. You don't want the winch to be doing whatever actual winching when performing this test. Yous only demand to run across if the winch engine is starting or not.
- Disconnect the remote switch plug from its socket.
- Apply a brusque piece of wire to "jump" two of the opposing four (or three) pins. This wire is called a jumper lead; whatsoever piece of wire should work (16 approximate and up). The motor should now start.
- And so endeavor jumping the 2 other pins. The motor should now start and turn the other way.
- If the winch motor starts and runs in both directions when performing the test, the switch itself is likely faulty.
Suggested Solution: Replace the damaged switch.
Cause iv: Faulty or dirty winch motor
If none of the to a higher place resolved your event, and the organisation is simply just expressionless silent even when performing the jumper cable test, you are likely facing some sort of issue with the winch motor itself.
The voltage drop test
Another way to test the engine is by reading voltage drop across the motor. Y'all demand a multimeter to do this test.
- Set up multimeter to VDC (volts, direct current)
- Use some record or alligator clips to connect the multimeter direct to the winch—one to the grounding and the other to the blue or yellowish cable. Polarity does not actually thing in this test.
- Turn the key on and push the remote switch.
- The reading should be close to or in a higher place 12V. If it's not, it'south a good indication that something is not right within the winch motor.
Possible Solution: Make clean the motor. The electric motors within winches are actually quite simple and robust. But they are not completely fail-proof. And sometimes clay may enter the motor housing, creating a dead short.
Disassembling the motor and giving it a good clean may be all that it takes to bring it dorsum to life.

- Recollect to turn off the primal and remove the bombardment terminals before you do whatever work on the winch.
- With the motor disassembled, spray the motor itself thoroughly with brake make clean and gently rub it with a toothbrush or copper wire brush.
- Also, clean the within of the housing.
- If y'all accept an air compressor available, use it to blow off any droppings.
Make sure it is dry before you get together and test it again.
If cleaning does non help, it may take a burnt ringlet or a short in the motor armature. This may happen if y'all wire the winch incorrectly or if it's been overheated.
Possible Solution: Replace or repair the damaged motor. If the motor is damaged, it may need replacing or a consummate rebuild performed past a specialist.
Cause 5: Worn or damaged brushes
The brushes will habiliment over time, or they may become damaged from a damaged armature commutator.
Suggested Solution: Supervene upon worn or damaged brushes. If the motor has some historic period to it, the brushes may be worn and need replacing. And if the motor armature gets damaged, it may also damage the brushes.
- Open the motor housing and inspect the motor.
- Look for burnt spots or habiliment in the brushes. If they look worn compared to new ones, they are relatively easy to replace.

When the winch motor turns in merely one direction
When yous engage the winch, either using the handlebar rocker switch or a wired or wireless remote, the winch motor will turn just i way.
It may spool in only not out once again, or it may spool out simply without being able to spool it dorsum in.
Before you spend time and coin on more than expensive parts, it's a good idea to make sure the problem is not in the wiring, as these kinds of issues are usually cheap and elementary to repair.
Cause 1: Improper or bad wiring
Again, the cause of the consequence possibly some sort of wiring issue.
Only earlier you check the rest of the wiring as described to a higher place, you should start by looking at the cable that goes from the remote switch to the contactor.
The cable itself may exist damaged, or the connector at the contactor may accept come loose.
Also, bank check if the pins within the remote command plug take go pushed out of position or bent.
Suggested Solution: Repair or replace any damaged wiring.
Cause 2: Defect handlebar rocker switch or remote switch
If the switch is only partially defective, the winch may not go completely dead but tin can work in but one direction. Test the switches as described above to see if they are all working properly.
Cause 3: Defective, rusted, or stuck solenoid
If you've ruled out that the problem is non in your wiring, you volition likely find information technology in the solenoid within the contactor.
What are a contactor and a solenoid anyways?
You can compare the contactor to an ordinary relay. They have the aforementioned purpose: To prevent sending all of the current directly through the remote switch, which would crave a very impractical huge switch.
The contactor is basically a huge switch that tin handle high currents. It'due south activated with a low electric current from a much smaller switch.

All ATV winches will have one, and its job is to switch between sending a positive and negative electric current to the winch. This is what determines which way the engine turns.
Within the contactor, y'all'll either discover 1 two-sided or two unmarried-sided solenoid magnetic scroll switches. One is activated when pressing the in push, and the other is activated when pressing the out push.
When the solenoid works as it should, it will physically motion when it's being activated. This is what makes the aural clicking sound when y'all activate the winch switch.
A two-sided solenoid will have four battery cable connections, where one side is wired + to – and the other side is wired – to +. These are oftentimes marked with carmine, black, blue, and yellowish, matching the wires that go on them. Some winches employ only red and black color coding.
Solenoids do, however, tend to break or get stuck. When information technology's stuck, you won't get it to switch between positive and negative electric current.
Suggested Solution: You tin try gently tapping the contactor with the handle of a screwdriver to free it upwardly. But this will but be a temporary prepare. It may soon get stuck over again until yous replace the contactor with a new one.
Considering of the wet and muddy conditions that lead you to get a winch in the first identify, the solenoids may rust over time. Rusted plungers will not motility freely, so that you lot don't get proper contact.
When you take off the contactor embrace, you lot will chop-chop see if corrosion is what's causing your result.
Suggested Solution: Replace rusted contactor.
How to test the solenoid
You lot can test the solenoid past hooking a test light on the cables that go to the winch.
Test first with the blue, then with the xanthous. If y'all don't go a lite with one of them, you likely accept a bad solenoid.
A skilful way to protect your new contactor is by slathering it with dielectric grease and make certain information technology's placed up high and dry.
When the contactor is clicking, but the winch doesn't piece of work
This one is widespread, and when information technology comes to troubleshooting, it has a positive side to it:
When y'all hear an aural click audio, yous know that the contactor is getting power when the switch is being pushed. This ways that everything up to the contactor, including the switch, should exist fine.
Crusade one: Battery is lacking or non fully charged, or bombardment terminals are corroded
Suggested Solution: Start by making certain the battery is fully charged and has a voltage reading of at least 12,4V. Remove the battery terminals and clean them to ensure a proper connection.
Too, make sure that the grounding cable on the winch motor housing is properly fitted.
This leaves either the winch motor or the contactor.
When you are in a situation like this, you want to rule out one or the other. Again, the easiest way to go most doing this is past performing the jumper cablevision examination as described in a higher place to run across if the winch is working or not.
Cause 2: Contactor is damaged or corroded
If the winch works as normal when you lot power it with jumper cables, the issue will very likely exist in the contactor.
The solenoids may be firing up, but they are non connecting. This may be due to corrosion or harm from overheating.
Suggested Solution: In this instance, the contactor needs replacing.
Crusade 3: Faulty or dingy winch motor
If the motor does not plough every bit normal when being fed power directly from the battery, yous know it has some event.
The possible causes for it not working and procedures for troubleshooting and fixing are the same as when the winch is completely dead.
When the winch works sometimes, simply other times it doesn't
If the winch works fine sometimes, but other times it but makes a clicking sound, the cause of the upshot will likely be the same every bit when you e'er get clicking, and the winch never works. Just follow the steps above, and you lot should find your problem.
If the winch works sometimes, only other times is completely expressionless, y'all are more than than likely facing a loose cable, creating a bad connectedness somewhere. Go over the wiring, and brand sure nothing has come loose.
When the winch turns very tedious or lacks ability when pulling
You may notice that the winch turns but does so very slowly. Information technology seems to seem to be down on power or may even stall out when pulling loads that it normally should manage but fine.
This may be due to a damaged motor, every bit described higher up, where you just get a clicking sound. Other possible causes are:
Cause i: Winch cable or rope is spooled onto the drum in the wrong direction
If the cablevision or rope, for some reason, is not spooled onto the pulsate in the right direction, information technology will piece of work against the automatic brake. This will be like trying to drive your car with the handbrake on.
Suggested Solution: Spool the cable or rope all the way out, and re-install it in the correct direction. At that place should be a sticker indicating correct pulsate rotation.
Crusade two: Insufficient battery power
Suggested Solution: Fully charge the battery. Supersede it if the bombardment is damaged. Clean terminals.
If the bombardment keeps draining, even after replacing information technology, the issue may be with the bike'southward charging organisation.
Related: ten Reasons Why Your ATV Battery Keeps Draining (Going Dead)
Cause 3: The grease used within the winch gears is old, gummed up, or full of dirt and water.
Suggested Solution: Delight refer to the procedure for re-greasing the gears when the winch won't free spool.
Crusade 4: Too much or old grease in the gears
If you put as well much grease in the planetary gears, take used the incorrect grease (too thick), or if the grease has gummed upwards due to water contamination and age, the gears volition not plow equally freely as they should.
Suggested Solution: Remove old grease, utilise correct amounts of new grease.

- Disassemble the winch and gears. Take photos underways to remember where everything goes. The planetary gears themselves do non come autonomously.
- Put the gears in a tub of degreaser for some hours.
- Stop cleaning odd old grease using a toothbrush or like.
- Go some CV joint grease or some other grease with a relatively thin consistency.
- Article of clothing a prophylactic glove and apply your finger to utilise a nice even only not likewise thick coating on every gear except the sliding ring gear.
- Too, grease the bushings at each terminate of the spool.
- Reassemble everything.
When the winch spool is stuck
If your winch cable has become all jammed upwardly and goes in no matter which way you lot run information technology, this niggling play tricks may get you lot out of a pinch.
- Become the winch to the bespeak where the jam prevents it from unwinding.
- Wrap the winch cable effectually a solid object, a tree, or the bike'due south own bumper and gently run the engine for the jam to release.
This works well-nigh of the fourth dimension. Other times it but makes the situation a lot worse.
Some other tip is to put the winch in a free spool position and use another winch to pull it out.
When the winch motor gets very hot very quickly
While some rut is normal whenever the winch motor is beingness put under a heavy load, yous may find that it gets abnormally hot after being used for a brusque time.
Also, notation that operating the winch over a long period may also overheat it, with the risk of permanently dissentious the motor. Accept breaks to let the motor to cool downwards.
Cause one: The bushing that sits in the winch motor end cap is too tight
Suggested Solution: Remove the winch motor stop cap. Use some fine sandpaper or emery cloth and give both the motor end shaft and the inside of the bushing a low-cal rub.
Cause ii: Damaged winch motor due to incorrect wiring or previous overheating from pushing information technology too difficult
Suggested Solution: Supersede winch motor.
When the winch won't engage or disengage
The motor may exist turning, but you cannot become the winch to engage. Or you may have problems getting the winch to disengage to the gratis spool position.
When the engage lever does not budge, the trouble tin be with the knob/ lever itself or with the gears; information technology operates.
Cause i: Stuck engage lever due to corrosion or debris preventing it from spinning freely
Suggested Solution: Make clean, remove rust and apply new grease.
The lever needs to come out to be cleaned, and any rust must be removed. Some levers can be removed without disassembling the winch.
- Simply remove the bolt holding the lever in identify, and jerk the lever out.
- Clean it, and remove any corrosion using some fine sandpaper.
- Apply some grease and reinstall.
Other winch models require some disassembly for the lever to come up out.
- Take off the winch cover.
- Remove the bolt that holds the spring-loaded detent ball in place.
- Wiggle the whole lever out and give it the same treatment as described to a higher place.
Now that your winch is already disassembled, it may exist a skilful thought to service the gears while you are at it.
Crusade 2: Sliding band gear won't operate due to dirt, corrosion, or grease
Suggested Solution: Clean and remove corrosion. Utilize oil.
Inside the winch, on many models, there is a ring gear that needs to slide freely sideways for y'all to be able to engage and disengage the winch.
If this gear or the outside diameter of the winch housing it slides up against starts to corrode, information technology volition become stuck either in the engaged or disengaged position.
Dirt and other debris won't assistance the situation either.
Disassemble, clean, remove rust, lightly coat gear and housing surface with oil, and reassemble.
It may as well exist difficult to become this ring gear to slide if someone mistakenly has practical grease on the outside of the gear or to the inside of the gear housing.
While the other winch gears should be lightly greased with some CV-articulation type grease, this is not true for the ring gear.
The grease volition create likewise much elevate, making the gear hard to operate. A lite coat of oil is all that should be used here.
Cause 3: Mechanical gear failure
If the gears have become damaged somehow, yous may not be able to budge the appoint lever at all. Using the winch to tow someone, or trying to yank on someone that's stuck, is a common rookie mistake that is likely to strip the gears.
Suggested Solution: Replace damaged gears.
Y'all need to disassemble the winch and inspect for damaged gears. All damaged parts can be replaced to go the winch back in working order.
Crusade iv: Warn: Stuck twist fashion stop-knob
Warn, and many other ATV winch manufacturers utilise a design where you need to twist a knob at the end of the winch housing to switch betwixt free-spool and locked position.
However, this design seems to be a bit more fragile than the angled knob oftentimes seen on larger winches. Some models have issues with the knob getting stuck due to bad design.
What happens is that the knob gets stuck when information technology is over-rotated, and the clutch bar gets hung up on a minor plastic sliding ramp that's part of the design.
You can disassemble the knob to put everything back in place, but if your winch is affected past this issue, yous volition before long become it stuck once again if yous are not conscientious.
Suggested Solution: Go upgraded parts from the manufacturer.
If you face issues with engaging or disengaging a winch that uses this type of knob, I suggest taking information technology to the dealer to get upgraded replacement pars if information technology'southward yet under warranty.
When the ATV winch won't free spool or is tough to free spool
Even if you managed to go the winch to disengage properly, information technology very difficult to gratuitous spool. It requires a lot of force to pull out the cablevision/rope.
Crusade 1: Burr on the sliding band gear, creating elevate against the inside bore of the gear housing
If you lot engage or disengage the winch under load, it may create a burr outside the ring gear. This creates mechanical friction and makes it harder to gratis spool the winch.
Suggested Solution: Use a file and gently remove any burr. Employ oil earlier reassembling.
Crusade 2: Grease on the sliding band gear
The sliding ring gear and the inside diameter of the winch housing that it slides against should not exist greased.
Not just does this makes information technology hard to engage the winch, just it will as well create drag, making it hard to free spool the winch.
Suggested Solution: Remove grease, apply a thin layer of oil.
Cause iii: Bent flanges on the winch drum
If you winch at an bending, all the cable will stack upwards on one end of the drum.
This may non merely go the pulsate stuck, merely it may also damage the drum itself by forcing the sidewalls outwards.

Suggested Solution: Disassemble and try to straighten the drum walls. If information technology cannot be repaired, the drum needs replacing.
When the winch is slipping nether load
Cause ane: If the winch is slipping, this may be due to the clutch not engaging properly
Suggested Solution: Endeavor troubleshooting why it won't engage as described before.
Cause ii: Stripped gears
Whether it is due to using the winch, the clutch not existence completely engaged, or from incorrect use like towing or yanking, the gears may exist stripped.

Suggested Solution: Disassemble the winch to inspect the gears, and replace them if needed.
Source: https://boostatv.com/winch-wont-work/
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