Winch problem

[erikm1981]

I’ve got an old Ramsey winch on my bad boy buggy, always worked fine but never really used it. Had a bad battery terminal cause the buggy to die and went to use the winch to pull up to level ground so I could tow and it wouldn’t work. Got the buggy back up to the cabin and fixed the terminal. The winch is connected to different battery so that wasn’t the problem.

I’ve got 12V coming in to the solenoid but nothing going out. I get a click when I push the in/out switch but zero power going to the winch motor. Does this mean the solenoid is crap?

[Walker]

Sounds like a corroded cable connection or a bad cable to me. Put jumper cables on it and see what happens.

[Quackerbox]

Tap the solenoid

[Big Lee]

Tap the solenoid

With a hammer or butt end of a screw driver.

[erikm1981]

Tap the solenoid

Gave that a try a few times and checked connections. All good connections no rust or loose wires.

ill try the jumper cable idea

[60 Deluxe]

It sounds as if the plunger or contacts are moving in the solenoid. That would be the click that you are hearing. If you can disassemble it, you should quickly find the problem. Could be contacts that are bad or missing or a plunger that isn't moving enough to make the connection. I can't see it so I can't even tell the style they used on those winches. On the 110volt solenoids, it was almost always the winding that failed. Easy fix as it was as simple as removing a c clip, switching out the coil, and then hooking up the wires. Yours may only need a squirt of WD40 or similar lube.

[erikm1981]

It sounds as if the plunger or contacts are moving in the solenoid. That would be the click that you are hearing. If you can disassemble it, you should quickly find the problem. Could be contacts that are bad or missing or a plunger that isn't moving enough to make the connection. I can't see it so I can't even tell the style they used on those winches. On the 110volt solenoids, it was almost always the winding that failed. Easy fix as it was as simple as removing a c clip, switching out the coil, and then hooking up the wires. Yours may only need a squirt of WD40 or similar lube.

I’ll pull it and see what I can find out. Thanks for the info

[Quackerbox]

The good thing about new winches is no solenoid and cheap.

I chased issues with an old warn that got water in it. Pulled locked up gears, messed with contacts on switch. When it got past that I bought a new one

[bboswell]

12v into solenoid but not out sounds like bad solenoid to me. Try jumping the solenoid

[erikm1981]

12v into solenoid but not out sounds like bad solenoid to me. Try jumping the solenoid

I tried that earlier and nothing. As little as I use the dang winch I’m about to just call it. Was going to pull it but the dang thing is riveted to the body. So I’m sure I’ll tear that all up.

[Walker]

Take those cables off the solenoid and clean the terminals and cable ends with a wire brush. Do the same at the battery.

[brokeno]

Harbor freight has some deals on winches

[60 Deluxe]

This is the first Ramsey solenoid that I found a drawing for. It would be interesting to troubleshoot, but I'm not sure that it can be repaired. Looks to have two solenoids enclosed in the same module. If the winch won't work in either direction, then check the winch motor windings first. You would do that using the jumper cable method or by disconnecting the input wires and testing for continuity and ohms with a volt/ohm meter.

[erikm1981]

This is the first Ramsey solenoid that I found a drawing for. It would be interesting to troubleshoot, but I'm not sure that it can be repaired. Looks to have two solenoids enclosed in the same module. If the winch won't work in either direction, then check the winch motor windings first. You would do that using the jumper cable method or by disconnecting the input wires and testing for continuity and ohms with a volt/ohm meter.

thanks a ton for the help. Going to give it all one more try today and see what happens.

[Tejas Wildlife]

Check your ground at each connection point. Half of all the electrical problems I have trouble shot in my 70 yrs were from bad grounds.