winch woes.

My 9000lb tabor winch has been acting funny recently.....actually I don't really think it's the winch,it's either the 4year old optima red top or my 2year old 160amp alternator.
I had to winch my girlfriend out of a snow bank today and the winch stalled out on a very light pull.I couldn't even spool the cable back onto the drum even though I was reving to 2500rpm.

It was acting the same way a few weeks ago when My buddy and I were using the winch to pull out a tweaked door pillar on his blazer.Wouldn't even power out five feet of cable without stalling out.He jumped my battery with his car and the winch acted perfectly normal.

Battery or alternator?My starter turns over normal even after sitting a couple nights in 10* weather so it seems like the battery is doing it's job.
I'm leaning towards alternator......What's your verdict?

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the alternator put out amps according to demand???

good clean connections that are tight?

yep cables are 0 gauge welding cables in good shape....
Could a failing alternator regulator be the issue?

did you run fine after? if the alt was on the way out, or out I would think you'd lose volts and die after a little driving around, expecially after winching a bit. Any chance you can spin over to en autoparts place and have them check the battery and/or alt ?
I have had some problems lately with my elec system. turns out the one battery clamp is tight, but the bolt I attach everything too is loose in the clamps, so not gett a good connection. wire brush, soap n baking soda and some elbow grease has fixed it temp, till I get new one. Will drive around fine, then trying to restart will be dead (now and then) till I wiggle, clean or tighten them.

take a look at the solinoids mine were getting corroded and caused that same issue, a few minutes of cleaning and it works great again

check the ground going from the battery to the jeep.. Also when winching put a tester on it,, If the voltage drops its the battery or altanator if it doesnt its the solenoid in the winch or your connections

When it stalls out is the winch motor still trying to run or does the whole winch die. Also check the connection at the remote plug in. I've had issues with mine coming loose during a long pull and I thought it was over heating. Turned out to be just mud in the connection.

I had to winch my girlfriend out of a snow bank today and the winch stalled out

Click to expand...

Damn dude, How big is your girlfriend ?

hahahaha.:looser: lol

I never have any problems with the jeep not starting or anything after winching.The winch will spool in a few feet of cable and then run really slow for a few seconds then it will run normal for a few more feet untill it won't spool at all.....kinda like the battery is dead but it isn't.

Gerr said:

take a look at the solinoids mine were getting corroded and caused that same issue, a few minutes of cleaning and it works great again

Click to expand...

X2

I just took my spare battery and jumped to the optima in the jeep and the winch spooled in without any problems.
I think that rules out solenoids???

Put a meter on the battery and at idle with no accessories on it read 14.60v
spooled in/out about 3feet of cable and the meter dipped down to 11.60v
Engine off battery read 12.57v

Could my winch problems be a dead cell in the optima?Or would that show up on the meter?

Gerr said:

take a look at the solinoids mine were getting corroded and caused that same issue, a few minutes of cleaning and it works great again

Click to expand...

if that was the case then why would jumping the battery with another battery make the winch run normal?