Winch: Description and Operation
WINCHDESCRIPTION
The winch uses the electrical power from the vehicle charging system to power a motor that winds wire rope into the winch drum by means of planetary gear reduction.
The winch assembly includes the following:
- Motor: The winch motor is powered by the vehicle electrical system and features a thermal protection switch that automatically stops the motor function in the power-in direction if the motor gets too hot.
- Winch Drum: The winch drum allows the wire rope to be stored on the winch and transmits force to the wire rope.
- Wire Rope: The wire rope allows the winch to be connected to an anchor to provide a pulling force.
- Fairlead: The fairlead consists of four rollers and acts as guide for the wire rope and minimizes damage to the rope.
- Automatic Brake: The winch is equipped with an automatic brake that will stop rotation of the winch drum if the winch motor is stopped.
- Clutch Lever: The clutch lever allows the winch drum to be disconnected from the winch motor to allow the wire rope to be pulled from the winch by hand.
- Remote Socket: The remote socket allows the remote control to be attached to the control pack to allow the winch to function.
- Remote Control: The remote control provides the interface between the winch operator and the winch. The remote control provides the ability to power the winch in, out, and stop the winch.
OPERATION
Winch: The winch uses the electrical power from the vehicle charging system to power a motor that winds wire rope into the winch drum via planetary gear reduction. By nature, a winch is capable of generating very high forces and should be used with care. Do not operate the winch without reading and understanding the complete winch owner's manual.
Low Voltage Interrupt: The winch is equipped with a device that will interrupt winch function if the vehicle charging system voltage drops to a low level. The winch will not power-in or out for 30 seconds if this device is tripped. If the interrupt is tripped, the vehicle should be operated at high idle for a few minutes to allow the vehicle charging system to recover before continuing to winch.
Winch Motor Thermal Protection: The winch is equipped with a thermal protection device in the motor. If the winch is operated for an excessive duration, the device may interrupt motor function to protect the winch motor. During this time the winch will power-out but will not power-in. Allow the winch motor to cool for a few minutes before continuing operation of the winch. The winch will resume normal function once the motor cools.
Remote Control: To operate the winch, the toggle switch is pressed down to power the winch in and up to power the winch out. The winch will stop if the switch is left in the neutral (center) position.
Clutch Lever: The clutch lever is used to allow free spooling of the winch drum. Rotate the clutch lever on the winch to disengage the clutch.