u-joint

So, I just got my brand new bumper and brand new Smittybilt XRC-10 winch installed, and when I went to go spool up my line I noticed the winch won't come on.

I am not sure whats wrong, other than maybe the winch is defective

I've double checked all the wiring (although I haven't take a multi-meter to it yet). But, when I put the remote into the solenoid, and push the little red buttons, nothing happens.

I notice that the remote sits loosely in the solenoid. Basically one, without any force can plug or unplug the remote. Is the remote supposed to be this loose? It feels like it could just fall out

Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Smittybilt's offices are closed, so I obviously can't call them at the moment. Before assuming it's a defective product I wanted to double check that I was doing everything the way I was supposed to, but Smitty's instructions leave a LOT to the imagination.

rndptkea

You're gonna have to check it with a meter first, make sure you got juice ...

u-joint

Yep

Like I said, I will, but any other suggestions

Like what about how loosely that remotes sits in there... that seems kinda odd. It has a metal retaining/locking clip, but the plug doesn't go in far enough to lock it. Do I just need to push harder? Or is this a push and turn thing?

Smitty's directions are written assuming you know what you are doing, and considering this is my first winch that is not the case.

jeep2007

It's very simple. positive to positive and negative to negative to the battery. If the switch won't come on you have a defective winch. If you installed an inline fuse and it is bad, since you have no meter remove and run power straight to battery. Good luck!

u-joint

Thank you

Thats what I am suspecting. The wiring was idiot proof, just match colors.

I did notch Smittybilt did a poor job packaging the winch. They used minimal padding, and what little they did use was broken into a million pieces by the time UPS got it to my door.

I am suspecting the solenoid was damaged during shipping. Looking at it more closely, I can see a deep, round, dent in the Smittybilt logo on the solenoid about 3/8" diameter like something in the box ramed into it.

B09RUBI

On the smittybilt winches you have to push the connector in and turn it clockwise which locks it in. it only turns a little before its locked

u-joint

That is exactly the type of input I was looking for.

I will go back out and try that shortly.

jeepmedic

BINGO !!!!

Same problem I had....felt like a fool when I figured that one out

B09RUBI

I had the same problem with my 8 but figured it out that you have to turn the connector clockwise to line up contacts

u-joint

Other than this little snag, and poooor instructions, this seems like a good winch.

I did a lot of research, and unless the winch has "WARN" stamped across it, you are going to get mixed reviews.

Ultimately, I wheel with a guy who has one, the XRC-10 Comp (with synthetic line) and he likes his. So, who am I to argue with the review from a personal friend, so I went with it. For $550 I got a 10,000 pound winch, synthetic line, and fairlead... that sounded like a great deal to me.