Superwinch Talon 12.5 SR installation

[Gnarvan]

Big Brown dropped off a Superwinch Talon 12.5 SR at my house yesterday. I pulled the solenoid and relays off the winch so I could remote mount them. I temporarily mounted the winch in the Aluminess bumper before it got dark and I called it a night. I will need to come up with some custom lengths of 2awg cable with ends to complete the installation.

Does anyone know of a place in the Portland area that makes custom lengths of cable?

I may end up buying the connector ends and cable and doing job myself. If I go that route which method of making your own cables works the best and lasts the longest? What are the best parts to look for? For normal wiring jobs I prefer the type of connector that has heat activated glue and seals the connector to the wire after you crimp it. I'm pretty sure I have some heat shrink tubing that will work with 2awg so at a minimum I'll be heat shrinking everything.

I like clean wiring setup that Zeta did on his Talon 14SR. Having the cap covers to cover any exposed hot leads on the solonoid and winch motor is a must in my book. It would be to easy to drop a wrench or some other type of metal into the winch box and short out your battery without these protective covers.

Pictures of install to follow later today as I progress through the installation.

[BroncoHauler]

I just checked the website of a full service battery chain that I know (PowerStride Batteries), but it appears they're only SoCal based. I've used them a few times. Spools of any gauge, red or black battery cables, and any connector you could want. They cut, crimp, heatshrink the cables how you want them. A perfect example of why specialty shops exist, even if they are a dying breed. I plan on spending time there when I finally get around to installing my onboard welder in my Bronco.

Good luck in your search, and can't wait for the install pics.


Herb

[Gnarvan]

I spent most of today picking up the bits and pieces to work on the winch install. I didn't get anything done on the winch but I did finish my seat project.

There is lots of room available on the passenger side to install the solenoid, relays and winch controller plug. After thinking about it for a while I decided to use the space in the winch box on the drivers side for mounting the relays for the lights. I will also be mounting a remote battery positive and negative terminal inside winch box. The remote terminals will come in handy when I need 12v power to run an air pump to inflate a boat. All of this winch box power will be off an axillary battery seperated from the main starting battery when the ignition is off.

Picture of winch body without solenoid, relays or winch controller plug

[Scalf77]

For the custom cable you need a crimper that handles that size or you can use the solder type lugs heating them up with a torch. Both kinds would be available at west marine, wire also. If you wanted to go the crimp method I do have a large crimper, that you are welcome to borrow. I live in the Beaverton area, off of the 217. I probabbly have some extra Battery cable heat shriink if you needed some. PM me if you want.

Greg

[Gnarvan]

Borrowing the crimper would help me out a lot. Thanks....I'll PM you

Right now I'm stalled on the install waiting for the paint to dry on the bracket for the winch controller. Once I get that installed I can install the winch and start figuring out how long I need to make the three cables from the solenoid to the winch motor.

This is how far I've gotten

Solenoid and relays are mounted. Winch controller port will be tucked into the corner. You can see one of the mounting holes in the picture.


Some of the electrical bits I'm going to use. The remote battery terminals and the round bus terminal will get used for the driving and fog light install.

[BroncoHauler]

If you're going to put heat shrink over the crimped part of the lug, it might help to put the (pre-shrunk) heat shrink down the cable first, then crimp, then slide the heat shrink over the crimped area and heat it up. Sometimes heat shrink is a struggle to get over the crimp.


Herb

[Gnarvan]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Sometimes heat shrink is a struggle to get over the crimp

Copy that, I learned that lesson doing some wiring on my BMW-GS.

I do have another question for the wiring wizards on the list.

I bought some dielectric silicone compound to put on the ends of the 2AWG before I crimp the ends on. After thinking about this stuff I was wondering if it would act like a lubricant and help the wire pull out of the crimp.

To use or not to use......that is the question.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by Gnarvan

Copy that, I learned that lesson doing some wiring on my BMW-GS.

Yeah, I've learned my lesson a few times. Nothing like making some nice connections, only to find I had to either go to a larger piece of heat shrink or cut off the terminal and do it again.


Herb

[scatter]

I've used the crimp connecters for years on the large guage wire, but after crimping I also heat up the lug and fill it with solder. And no I don't wear both suspenders and a belt. I just really hate poor electrical connections!!

[Gnarvan]

Picture update of the winch with solenoid, relays and controller plug installed. I'm off to Gregs house to take him up on his generous offer to loan me the crimper I need to do the job right. The next step is running the cables up to where I will be installing an aux battery. The aux battery install is scheduled for next Friday. It's going to kill me to have the winch so close to operating and still not be able to put the synthetic rope on. I guess I could run some jumper cables to the winch to test it and install the rope.

Having a fellow forum member offer to loan me a critical tool is another example of what a cool resource this forum is!!!!