Thread: hidden winch on D3/4 with standard bumper and NO roo-bar

Nice Job Matti. My only concern is the exposure of the remote control socket. With a previous vehicle I had a very exposed socket and even though covered with a rubber grommet water got inside and corroded the connections. Its in a very easy accessable spot for you I agree but did your winch come with a wireless remote? If so perhaps a better place to put it would have been under the bonnet and less exposed to the elements. I know some people dont like wireless remote as there is a lag between pressing the buttons and the winch starting to wind. I used my winch last week for the 1st time, pulling out a Pajero that had gone down a hill that it should not have... and it worked a treat.Others on the trip did not even know I had the winch until I fliped the number plate!!

Originally Posted by dirvine

Nice Job Matti. My only concern is the exposure of the remote control socket.

Thanks Dirvine, (and to all the "thanks" posters) I like to do the "photos" thing because its an enjoyable part of this forum to look at the vehicles we have and how we go about different things.
On my last D1 I had it (the socket) in a similar location and "touch wood" it didn't cause any issues back then - maybe #POP058 PaulT can give me an update on its longevity to date .
And also being a sparky the issue isn't too big a concern for me to "fix" in the field. I can see your point though.
Yes - it does have the remote feature as well. Not too much of a delay to be worried about in my opinion- "close enough for the girls I go out with!"
Matti

Clean, nice work.

As has been mentioned - is your winch the remote control version?

It is Tombie - It comes with the remote dongle thats inserted into the socket for wireless operation. Had a few goes of it before the factory supplied battery went dead - (1 x A23 12V battery). So I bought a couple of spares of the glovebox.
I prefer the wired setup though and actually sitting behind the wheel. I can see the benefits of winching from outside the car when its someone else's vehicle being recovered (and the tail of the winching vehicle is tethered to a tree.)

Fun Fact: Researching button batteries for my regular job - the A23 "battery" is a stack of 8 x LR932, 1.5 volt cells (button batteries) with heat shrink around them to make it look like one battery. A few batteries are like this construction, just stacked button batteries. Tear the outer covering off and the 8 cells tumble onto the desk.
DSC_9158.jpg

Yeah common...

So I’m going to scare you a little now.

The receiver unit is not IP rated at all, so where you have the box, it’s very likely even a shallow puddle could short it and have your winch running..

May be worth at the minimum removing the receiver and extending its cables to put the receiver up high and dry.

Fortunately, all good cheapie winches come with a mains isolator as standard to backup their no IP rated electronics.

Originally Posted by Milton477

Fortunately, all good cheapie winches come with a mains isolator as standard to backup their no IP rated electronics.

No good when you turn it on and it takes off!!!

Absolutely. I extended the wires & moved the plug into the engine bay where I can get to it easily & the remote receiver lives in the cubby until needed.