dlincoln91

Well this past weekend i was winching and all of a sudden my winch stopped. The motor was warm but nothing out of the normal and it didnt smoke.
I have talked to some people and they say it is most likely a solenoid but i dont exactly know how to find the burned up one.
I have been using a micrometer to check the volts across the solenoids and i thought i had found it but apparently not.
All connections have been checked and are tight. Also i found that when i hold down the winch in button all 3 positive post on my winch are hot(get 12 volts). I dont know really where to go from here.
I also would like to pull in the rest on my cable.
there is 4 solenoids in my box and they are all bridged together
Any help is appreciated.

JK-Ford

First, you need to varify that you have 12 volts to the winch and control circuits. Then, find a continuity meter. If you don't know, continuity just means that the path is unbroken. From the sound of what you are saying, you probably have an open circuit somewhere. Touch the meter probes to the positive and negative terminal of each coil. You should remove at least one of the wires before performing this test. If the coil is burned open, you will read 0.0 or OL. If the coil is shorted, your meter should read 0.## ohms. If the coil is good, it should read some number on the meter higher than a dead short reading. . I can't tell you what the number should be. But the other coils ( same size ) should read about the same.
Next, perform this same test on the motor. Make sure that atleast one wire is disconnected on the terminals being tested. One terminal should be "Common". One terminal should be "extend". And one terminal should be "retract". Test the motor from common to extend. And then from common to retract. Once again, the readings should not be open. And should not be shorted. Both readings should be simular.
The next test gets a little harder. You have to varify all the control circuits. For this test you have to know how the control circuits work. Start the test with the motor disconnected. Press the extend and retract buttons on the pendant. Varify 12 volts to the respective relays each time the button is pushed. You also need to varify the the relay contacts are making and breaking when the relay is activated. You can varify the contact with the continuity meter. Or just by simply checking for power on the secondary side of the contacts.
Hope this helps. Just pick a place to start and ask more questions if needed.