That's awesome news. I haven't installed mine yet and this makes me feel a lot better about installing it now. Plus now I will put a better ground wire on the motor too. Thanks Casey. Happy you didn't tear it all down before you found it.

Thanks for the followup. It's good to hear it was a grounding issue and not a failure of the winches motor.

Same type problem while pulling myself out of a snow drift on a trail at 10,000’ in Colorado one winter. Turns out that under that heavy load my ground wire melted in half. I installed a heavier gauge wire, found a good grounding location and never had another issue. On all my new winches I’ve made it a practice to go over them to double check for any of these type short comings before I install. The afternoon spent digging out of the snow in the wind is something I’d rather not do again! I’m glad you found that broken wire without removing the winch!

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Ouch! Rough situation

Awesome, glad it turned out to be an easy fix vs component failure. I appreciate you taking the time to show how you extended write. I cannot tell you how many times I am tearing apart and redoing people's wiring because they didn't take the time to properly heat shrink and wonder why their components stop working because the electrical tape started to unravel.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Bad electrical drives me nuts.

Great to see this video honest troubleshooting makes me feel better about some of the things that happen in my Jeep.

When it comes to electrical issues it’s normally one of two things. It’s either a bad ground or the last person that worked on it.

Thanks for sharing! Very useful going into my own winch install. I've had the terminal wire foil me in the past after doing some cleaning. Was just loose enough to fail starting out on the trail. 😔

It's always a relief when it's something simple.

i am surprised they didnt check all the wiring at the shop. good work Casey 👍🏾

I was a heavy duty mechanic for 4 years, and I've overlooked little things like that while diagnosing too many times to count. It happens, and you caught it before replacing the motor, so that definitely counts as a win. Also, that little "warbler" tool is called a Universal Joint, and they are lovely.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

100% - i like to show all sides of Jeeplife

Hey Casey, A great lesson to be learned. Thanks!

I ordered a Zeon Platinum late November and I'm hoping it arrives this month. This video will me and others troubleshooting if things go haywire.

glad you got that fixed Casey! For such spendy winches you'd think they provide a heavier ground wire. Glad it was a relatively easy fix for you and it's back up and running.

It's like that old Bush song: It's the little things that kill. Happy New Year!

I worked electronics/electrical mechanical on helicopters and jets for twenty years in the Marines, these kinds of problems are typical with big power/big vibration of such things. Probably half the troubleshooting we did was related to such problems. We had hundreds if not thousands of individual wires in the wiring harnesses and cars/jeeps are very much the same. Sometimes such problems can be caused by an intermittent ground that's not supposed to be there, but provides a temporary and occasional ground when the proper ground is broken.

That's awesome you found the disconnected ground. 👍 Faith restored in Warn winch again.😄 Also, I like the factory steel bumper, but i don't like how it buried and hides the winch inside the bumper. You can't even access the drum. And it's not an inexpensive factory bumper and yet still requires an additional winch plate I think i may go with an aftermarket bumper with top mounted winch. One that doesn't need additional winch plate. Id also probably go with a lower profile winch like 9.5 xp

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

I like how secure it is. Jeep dropped the ball needing accessories to mount a winch though.

Humm...! it's weird that the Warn techs didn't catch that when you visited them???? , i'm glad you found out before taking the bumper apart..... do you get to keep the spare motor??? be safe Casey!

I have had issues with that same wire before. You would think they would have a better way than a spindly ground wore. Glad you didn't pull that winch off because they're a major pain to remove and reinstall.

The 12-s has such a small ground from Warn. I changed mine to a 10 ga wire when I installed. I also relocated the solenoid box under the hood to keep it dry.

At least you didn't have to tear out the whole winch good catch

Damn grounds! Glad you got that figured out.

Sorry this happened to you but THANK YOU for sharing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If my winch ever quits that will be the first thing that i Check :)

What a bummer! I have had horrible luck with warn winches, I have a few of them and most have problems, only one that works good is a really old one on my fj 40, I recently installed a super winch on my eco diesel but haven't used it yet

I'm sure you know already, but those Tekton Swivel-head ratchets in your box are the cat's pajamas.

Great catch man

Yeah, that's a really small gauge wire and very easily broken. Because it's such a thin wire, and buried beneath the bumper, its also easy to overlook. I'm surprised it wasn't bundled with other wires and routed through a loom for protection. Well, what are you going to do with the new winch motor? Kind of unnecessary now. Glad you were able to locate the problem before having to remove the bumper . . . that would have been a several hour time investment.

it happens to everyone man, sometimes its the smallest dumbest thing. at least it works now!

Good find!

Good stuff....i have installed a couple of warn winches and enjoyed trouble free usage from them...but i forgot about that scrawny little wire....thanks for the reminder should trouble shooting be needed. On a safety note and perhaps you realized this upon review. You hands perceived proximity to the fairlead opening, while gripping the winch line and pushing an intermittent winch control button....that could be a whole other type of education video for you. Cheers PC.

Heck yeah! Good find!

Hey Casey, glad you found the issue before tearing into the bumper. My husband was not too happy about the rusty chassis bolt you used as a ground. He says you should connect all electronic devices directly to a battery ground or a battery cable, not a chassis bolt with paint on it. He was throwing stuff at the TV and saying unmentionables while watching you do that!! LOL!! :-)

@Mattfromfla

2 жыл бұрын

Hey M.T. Mobile, I love the visualizations your comment gave. However, I do not agree with its advice. The frame, body, and battery are actually all grounded on the engine. This allows for you to ground components to multiple locations so that the paths are spread out and they all do not follow one route. If everything follows one route it can cause noise which will adversely effect components, especially ones with processors. This is why most components come with a long positive and short ground. As long as the contact area of where you connect your ground to is clean it should be fine.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Lol!! The ground seemed appropriate for the application. Grounding on the body and frame is very common. Could it be better.. maybe, but it seemed good enough for such a small gauge wire and load. Most of my stuff is grounded to the negative ground point next to the battery.

@jeepsnthings8226

2 жыл бұрын

this is absolutely incorrect. cables depending upon thickness and length have resistance. Frame, engine, battery are all grounded. Now think of your frame as a BIG cable...there's very little resistance there...that being said, a rusted or painted bolt is certainly not a good grounding point and should be prepped properly. Keep your grounds as short as possible.

@m.t.mobile

2 жыл бұрын

@@Mattfromfla Yes, we agree that using a rusty bolt as a grounding point with paint on it makes for a fabulous ground! LOL!! BTW...has anyone asked what Shawn thinks? HAHAHA!!

@mahbriggs

2 жыл бұрын

Alright, I am going to be controversial, but if you ever need another winch, you might try a Harbor Frieght Badlands winch, or a Tractor Supply Travller winch. Several of my friends have the Badlands, and I have a 9,000 lbs. Traveller. I have had mine for 3 years, an my friends have had theirs for longer than that. None of us have had any trouble, and I have used mine for some quite heavy loads. Not 4 wheeling, but on the farm, loading or moving heavy farm equipment.

Dodged a bullett there!! Good video and sometimes it goes that way!! Gladbit wasn't the winch motor!!

I have installed my Warn from the top without removing the bumper...I have an Evo 8s...21 Rubicon with steel bumpers

Have you used the winch previously without the small ground?

Please buy the soldering tubes and use the head gun on them. No crimping or having to use shrink wrap.

I've had my S12 on order since last May and it's still not in stock. I've had a Teraflex heavy duty tire carrier on order since last September and the delivery has been pushed out three times now. I got my 392 after being on order for only 3 months. Go figure!

Mine is connected to a bolt on winch body at rear, pass side. Think it came that way. Zeon 8

@Christopher-vf6kx

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, the are tiny guage due to the short run between the ground bolt on the winch and the winch controller box [~1ft or less]

Now you have a free winch motor. I would have just taken the ground to the battery or at least to a ground terminal in the engine bay. Anyway. Happy you did not have to tear it all apart.

My 1 yo Platinum 10S failed. Similar situation. Embarrassing after spending that much. I can prevent spooling or unspooling the line by hand. The winch barely pulls the weight of the link on the end. lol I bought it new in the unopened box but I’m not the original owner so no warranty. Tech thinks it’s the brake. I’m thinking, rather than removing the PITA to remove and install bumper (seriously) to get a new top mount bumper for access to the winch and maybe another winch too. It was a tedious lengthy event to evenly spool the line without touching the spooled line on the winch plate. I want it easy to service and spool next time.

Those 2 bolts are near impossible to get at. I had to use an open end wrench and it took 2 days, literally 😑

Ha! Good stuff Casey!

I guess I'll be checking out the abilities and capabilities of the Badlands harbor freight winch. It's good enough for Matt's off-road recovery.

@adidas4275

2 жыл бұрын

his winch was fine.... he tore a wire off .... did you even watch the video?

@dmelson7502

2 жыл бұрын

@@adidas4275 yes I did I just commented before the video. So I could spend $325 on a badlands winch or how much on a Warn? I do not live in BC Canada, not even in the mountains. And Matt's off-road is using a badlands winch.

troubleshooting so much fun, when you have time

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

I agree. Not something I have a ton of time for either.

14Ga SAE is SMALLER than 14AWG by up to 10%. Thought I'd mention that but since the ground wire is a #18 for the solenoid pack & the #14 is SAE, see if a red butt connector will fit. Figured it was the solenoid pack when nothing worked & you have no safety or disconnect on your DC main. Surprised they never tested the voltage supply at Warn.

@adidas4275

2 жыл бұрын

they would have if he had the winch off the jeep and handed it to them to service

At least you caught it before you got too far. Now! Even crazier are the people who watched this video and left comments without watching the video all the way through to leave there negative views on a product that wasn’t faulty after all 😂 😂 😂

I was a little worried, as all of my offroad buddies and I have Warn winches, and we've had zero failures to date. Sure glad you found it before getting to the hard stuff!

So are you going to do the right thing and send the motor back since it’s not a motor issue.

Well, now you got a free motor from the factory that you can keep for future replacement or sell..😉

Start with the small stuff. 🤟😎

Great thing about KZread is that you don’t have to go through all these things yourself to gain the experience. Thanks

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Haha no doubt. I like posting videos like this as it shows not everything is perfect on KZread

Seems to be a really bad design for that wire. My bumper the back of the winch is pressed pretty firm against the grill and a small wire like that would break. It seems a a lot of the JL/JT bumpers where the winch is down in the bumper the back of the winch are very close or touching the grill.

I have that same winch on my Jeep and when I installed it I thought, Well this little wire isn't gonna last long. WTF would they make it that way. Stupid. Anyway I made sure mine was tied up really well and hopefully it does not pull loose. The stock battery cable for the Jeep especially on the negative is also absolute crap. Different batteries have a slightly different diameter battery post and the Terminal bolt will only tighten so tight. They gave it no room for error. I already ran into that one too. Jeep should know that people are going to put all types of accessories on their Jeep I don't know why Jeep didn't address this with a proper electrical block.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

100%. I want to design a Jeep for Jeep lol

At least you have a new spare motor. It’s funny that their techs didnt identify the issue

I always buy the professional models which I guess they don’t make anymore I don’t like the new plastic Xeon . My M 8000 has never failed me have on two of my Jeep’s and a 9000 on another

Casey sir,, is theft of your baja design lights are ever a concern,, if so,, have you done installed any measures to prevent theft ?

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

I suppose it could be when I am out on the road, but my Jeep is generally never left unattended as I have all my gear in it. Theft is a huge concern when travelling and we almost always leave one person in the parking lot. I also have motion activated cameras on the front and back which operate when the jeep is off and I can monitor if I am in wifi range (or buy an LTE module)

@kengeroo

2 жыл бұрын

@@Casey250 please share that set-up in a future video

Sort of funny you didn't catch that. I'm glad you didn't have to take the bumper off. What a pita that would've been.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

The bumper removal is so annoying but im going to have to do it to replace the winch line but ill wait for a warm shop I can use.

Well the first 2 commenters didn't watch the video. Glad it was an easy fix. Now you can sell the motor to Shaun.lol.

I wouldn't have thought that's happen to a pretty new Warn, either. However, they're too expensive for me so IF I ever get a winch for my Jeep, it'll be the Harbor Freight Apex Badland 12K...pretty decent (mostly positive) reviews for this more affordable (for me!) winch. BTW, did your friend ever get unstuck or is he still out there, perhaps in Survival Mode (like that TV show "Alone")? ;-) Just wondering, -- BR

@adidas4275

2 жыл бұрын

dont buy a cheap Chinese winch

@billredding2000

2 жыл бұрын

@@adidas4275 Read the reviews and see the videos on it. Apparently, Harbor Freight (HF) upped its game when it redesigned the Badlands Apex winch re: quality & durability, and so they raised the price accordingly from previous HF winches (not as "cheap" as it was before). It definitely seems to be a great value while giving the performance of a higher-priced winch like Warn. But sure, I HATE buying Chinese (meaning the PRC) made stuff, but almost everything is made in that sorry country nowadays, so we don't have American companies (apparently) to make lower-priced but better-performing winches. A grand or more for a winch is a bit too much for me. Plus, I probably won't use it enough to wear it out anyway. I think (for me) a HF Apex would do nicely. But that's later: NOW I still have my "plastic bumper" on my Gladiator...so I'd first need to get a winch-capable bumper. That won't be for a while either... So I was just saying here buy a Warn (or Smitty Built) if you want, but while researching winches, at least consider the HF Apex Badland 12K. Thanks, -- BR

Maybe a squirrel had a snack on that wire.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Lol

Dude, was it connected originally? That flag looks like its supposed to be removed to connect?

Get a Badland Apex

Wait you went to WARN and they did not find this wire ?

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

It was tucked under the grill as it is very tight back there

More disappointed that Warn didn’t catch it either.

Buy the same one, Return the broken one

Get a Matt’s Off-road recovery rope and tug them out.

I call them uni-wiggles.

Never crimp wire always solder and splice 😉

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Solder is brittle and prone to failure in a vehicle that experiences a lot of vibrations.

@kevinkc3onohelijeepworld953

2 жыл бұрын

@@Casey250 wireman splice with a mechanical connection .5”-1” silver soldered with marine grade heat shrink with glue lined epoxy. That’s what Mopar recommendeds for service repair. Sadly the crimp connection will get wet and fail in short order. I have seen those crimp ones that you heat and they melt and solder connection. For exterior it’s best to splice and solder 😉let us know in the 6month review ☺️

This video should have been your sincere and heartfelt apology to Warn for disrespecting their products for no reason.

@adidas4275

2 жыл бұрын

yep, my thoughts exactly

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

How so? I titled it with humility and explained the conclusion with out any blame in the video. No where did I disrespect warn. I used broken in the title to help others find this video and maybe help them with a winch problem.

@davewalkerden

2 жыл бұрын

@@Casey250 To be clear, I don't have any relationship with Warn and my comment is based purely on my experience with your channel. Here's how I see it. You are not humble nor did you apologize. You incorrectly installed a Warn winch. Your poor installation skills caused the Winch to cease operating. You published a video about the "winch not working" before checking if it was the winch not working or the incompetence of the installer. Then you made another video where, despite knowing the cause of your installation failure prior to publication, you had the nerve to blame the guage of the ground wire supplied by Warn Winches for the problem when it was 100% your fault for not properly routing and connecting the ground wire in the first place. Warn winches have the best reputaton for a reason. You screwed up and used click-baitey titles to get views with little or no regard for the damage you might do to someone else's brand. This behaviour hurts ALL KZread creators looking for corporate support particularly in the 4x4 space.

honestly I would take the "broken Warn" out of your title... it is a little click baitish and honestly reflects negatively on warn when they treated you well and it was really just a broken wire from your install read your comments and there are many who are saying "welp glad I am buying a Chinese Harbor Freight over warns since yours broke" and such

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

My video was clear if they want to buy another winch oh well. I put broken in the title so if someone is searching about broken winches they might learn something to check. I put broken after the 60 character mark so it would be hidden and truncated by KZread when showing on the browse.

One those I'll be darn moments . At least have spare .

I’ve seen more broken Warn than any other brand ..

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Do you think that is because Warn winches are used more then any other brand?

Says a lot about the warn service centre too!🤔

@adidas4275

2 жыл бұрын

yeah that they gave him a multiple hundred dollar part without question to make sure his winch was running he didnt take the winch off the jeep and hand it to them to test... he still had it installed and asked their advice .... this was a casey issue not a warn issue

Just say it / you want the new motor from new model lol

90% of the time all electrical problems are a loose ground.

@tpv59

2 жыл бұрын

...... but 10% they are Not !!!

That is embarrassing. Lol takes guts to post this. It’s good to be smart but not too smart.

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

I have no shame and would rather share my experiences with everyone here! 👊

@zve482

2 жыл бұрын

@@Casey250 that will come back to you in a good way.

Casey did you Delete my comment

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

Nope but KZread has a filter

Casey, plz read the owner manual when you get a new winch. :(((

@Casey250

2 жыл бұрын

The only manual I use is the stick shift in my corvette :)

This is why id never spend the 2k on a Warn. They fail just like the others no better

@cdnjeepoverland

2 жыл бұрын

Watch the video. The winch didn’t fail - it was a bad ground.

@Billrovid

2 жыл бұрын

@@cdnjeepoverland I did I’m referring to their response of what goes out as common issues. They really should have those issues solved. Been the same issues forever. Same issues as all the others.

@hooligantimes9132

2 жыл бұрын

Open up your hate and let it flow into me!

@Billrovid

2 жыл бұрын

@@hooligantimes9132 lol

@prorider6997

2 жыл бұрын

@@Billrovid Same issues forever? What are they?

My clutch won't free spool on my 10s.