testing a used winch

I recently got an old Warn M8000 from a freind for next to nothing. before i take the time to mount it i want to test it out so i hooked it up to a fully charged battery and it wont do anything. Should a battery alone have the amps needed to power the cable out without a load or will it need to be hooked up to a running vehicle to take advantage of the alternator output? I checked the remote by continuity testing the pins. it is a three pin unit and I had continuity on both the in and out switch positions. I still need to open up the solenoid box to look for shorts but i do have power when i check between the battery negative terminal and the positive connnection on the winch motor. Does anyone have any suggestions?

if you hear clicking it means the solenoids are working and the fault is in the wiring to the motor or the motor itself

Make sure that the spool clutch is engaged, and not in the free spool position.

yea the batt alone will power the winch....