Parasitic battery drain, possibly from the winch

[Irun]

After eliminating variables, it appears as though my Warn 9.5XP may be what's been causing my battery to go dead in less than two weeks. If I leave the winch attached, directly, to the battery, after two weeks the battery voltage drops to 10.2 volts. If I disconnect just the winch the battery voltage will read 13.2 to 13.4 volts after two weeks. What should I be looking for here? If it helps, the connections are all clean and solid, using the Warn supplied cables.

 

[Rut Row]

have you considered disconnecting the winch and see if the drain stops?

 

[sab]

have you considered disconnecting the winch and see if the drain stops?

When I read Irun's post, I interpret it differently than you:

After eliminating variables, it appears as though my Warn 9.5XP may be what's been causing my battery to go dead in less than two weeks. If I leave the winch attached, directly, to the battery, after two weeks the battery voltage drops to 10.2 volts. If I disconnect just the winch the battery voltage will read 13.2 to 13.4 volts after two weeks. What should I be looking for here? If it helps, the connections are all clean and solid, using the Warn supplied cables.

Isn't he saying that he's already done what you're suggesting?

 

[sab]

Just in case our resident Warn expert hasn't seen this - paging Mr. @Blackjack ...

 

[Blackjack]

Well while being pretty rare, parasitic loss is easy to diagnose. First thing to ask is if you have any wireless or add on controls attached? These are usually the main culprit that I have found. After that it is just a matter of checking all the connections to make sure nothing is out of place and there is no corrosion. If you find nothing out of place and still see a loss then the contactor will need to be replaced or you can just add a power disconnect instead.

 

[Rickyd]

After eliminating variables, it appears as though my Warn 9.5XP may be what's been causing my battery to go dead in less than two weeks. If I leave the winch attached, directly, to the battery, after two weeks the battery voltage drops to 10.2 volts. If I disconnect just the winch the battery voltage will read 13.2 to 13.4 volts after two weeks. What should I be looking for here? If it helps, the connections are all clean and solid, using the Warn supplied cables.

How much is the winch drawing? You have a meter that measures amps right?

 

[Rut Row]

When I read Irun's post, I interpret it differently than you:



Isn't he saying that he's already done what you're suggesting?

oops - agree. thanks!

 

[bucky]

Because I only use the winch once in a blue moon I always disconnect it from the battery. My TJ will sit for a month or more so I also have a battery disconnect switch.

 

[Irun]

Well while being pretty rare, parasitic loss is easy to diagnose. First thing to ask is if you have any wireless or add on controls attached? These are usually the main culprit that I have found. After that it is just a matter of checking all the connections to make sure nothing is out of place and there is no corrosion. If you find nothing out of place and still see a loss then the contactor will need to be replaced or you can just add a power disconnect instead.

I bought the winch new two years ago and it has one pull on it. All the connections are good, so I may need to just add a disconnect.

 

[Rut Row]

In case you are interested, I put a switch in the dash that activates a large disconnect relay. It works very well.