DTA Rev2.0 #14 - Replacing a winch contactor / solenoid and how to identify the unlabelled terminals

Warning: winches draw a lot of current, and are usually wired directly to the battery. If you get the wiring wrong, you may cause an electrical fire, and potential battery explosion! Be sure your wiring is correct, and get a second opinion if you're in doubt.
Here's how to replace and wire up a contactor / solenoid, and we show you how to identify what the terminals on the contactor are and what the terminals on the winch are when both are unlabelled.

[@antonymification212]

Thanks Man, this is the ONLY sensible description of how the solenoid works on the entire internet. The diagrams really help too.

[@DropTableAdventures]

Glad it helped! I ended up making this video because none of the tutorials I found actually explain what the solenoid is *doing* internally when you engage forwards and reverse. If you don't understand what's going on electrically, you can do nothing more than "connect from terminal A to terminal B" - which is a problem if you don't know what terminal is what...

[@FreelineUSA]

What a nice change. Only actual schematic on the net.

[@DropTableAdventures]

Thanks! I went looking before I did this, came up completely empty handed, surprising me...

[@nayuutamulya4360]

Good tutorial electrik

[@codyswilley]

So A terminal is a ground as well as the winch ground

[@DropTableAdventures]

A is not ground, it's the terminal where one of the winch coils is between that terminal and ground.

[@codyswilley]

@@DropTableAdventures I dont understand. I'm trying to wire a 3 post winch to a switch