[shull]

Needing some more help here....

The other day I was doing some pre-ride checks. Flipped the wench into manual and attempted to pull some line out. Got about 18" and stoped..... Into auto and fed out a few feet, then back to man and tried to pull......Nope still got a foot or so then the wench locks up. I spooled all the way out in auto and retracted being careful of the layers and tension. Still won't pull with wench in manual..... Any Ideas?????

 

[blue_grizzly_04]

I assume when you say "manual" you are refering to "freespool"? Could your winch cable be wrapped underneath itself? My winch cable was caught once underneath itself from being pinched between itself and I couldn't get the freespool to work. I had to use my treesaver strap on a tree and I left the winch in freespool mode, hooked the winch cable to the strap and backed the machine up slowly untill the bind came free.

 

[xtremegrizz]

Blue_grizzly-04 said it all. That was the same idea I had. Had the same thing happen to me once but was able to pull on it for a few min and after a few of the right said words it came free. Solved the problem by buying some synthetic winch rope.

 

[shull]

Yep, by "manual" i did mean free spool.

Nope there is no kink or loop. I used the wench motor to spool out all the cable then carefully spooled it back up, watching my layer and tension. After all said was done switched to free spool and pull........ get about two turns on the drum and she binds up. Acting like an internal issue. This thing being brand new and dealer installed I might have to take it to them. I'm just trying to avoid it if possible. I have a general lack of trust of the techs at the dealership and I know they will keep my Grizzly tied up way too long.

 

[blue_grizzly_04]

BlackGrizz,

Seeing it's not the cable being stacked, it could be the mechanical brake dragging somewhere. Most all Warn winches come with "dynamic brakes" or what most would consider a mechanical brake. Free spool is designed to dis-engage this mechanical brake allowing the drum to turn freely, so I would imagine that the brake must be not fully letting the spool free wheel out. You could take it all apart yourself and take a look inside or seeing that it's so new you (as much as I hate to say) should take it back for service. Did you try hooking up to a tree and put the winch in freespool mode and back up slowly? Have someone watch the spool for you and try that. If you can get it to come out then power it back in then repete the process it may just lossen up the brake enough. Just a thought..

 

[shull]

Great feedback folks. I'm inclined to think its the braking mech myself. Thanks for the work it free idea blue, I'll give that a try first. I'll let the dealer at it as a last resort. I know they'll slow leak the repair and I hate missing ride time.

Thanks again for the replies ya'all.

Scott

 

[grizzfan]

05 Black Grizz--I had a similar problem w/ my Warn winch. I had to do the same as Blue Grizz to spool it out...Once I started to winch back in (just pulling the weight of the bike on hard gravel), the winch was really weak and started to smoke..turns out the motor is blown out. To top it off, it fried the entire winch wiring, the overheat sensor, gearshift safety switch (foot brake) and the reverse switch. I am currently waiting for a call from a customer service managers @ Warn. I'm trying to get them to give me a new wich or at least, pay to repair this one. It cost me almost $400 worth of repairs so far because of this problem--The winch is 2yrs, warranty expired--I'll keep escalating until they give me something.

Anyone had to deal w/ Warn before? Any chance they give me somethin'?

 

[shull]

Ouch GrizzFan- That sounds frustrating. Good luck with Warn, keep us up to date on how they treat ya.

Seems like you should have blown a fuse prior to smoking everything. You might want to verify the power for the wench motor was correctly wired.

I'm headed back to the lake on Friday, I'll be trying to work the wench some. I will be sure to pay attention to the load and smells developed.