Has anyone found a way to mount a Warn winch solenoid in the engine compartment of a 3rd Gen V6? Or anywhere else besides next to or on top of the winch? Pics appreciated.

 

All you need is some heavy cable and some crimp on ends. If you have the room. Put it anywhere you want.

Do you really want to open your hood to use your winch?

 

Heat is the biggest killer of solenoids. Taking them and putting them in a engine bay that can get to over 175 degrees is the quickest way kill them.

I've known several guys that have tried it and all had ended up replacing solenoid packs in less than a year after mounting under the hood.


FOG

 

What Gerdo said, even though the hood up is a good safety feature when winching heavy loads.

 

The problem is not enough room anywhere, unless one moves something and/or fabricates a platform. I will have a wireless remote control, so hookup is not an issue.

I had not thought of the heat factor. Thanks for that.

 

before solid mount that solinoid under the hood be sure to test your wireless remote...that is a lot of metal to block the signal...maybe not an issue...

 

I mounted mine under the hood, next to the battery. The mount is simply a piece of 2" flat bar bent at 90 degrees. The bottom end sits under the battery and the solenoid box is bolted to the upright piece.

 

Perfect location, eric-the-red. Thanks for the idea and pics.

By the way, congratulations to Canada for all those gold medals. I was glued to the tube for two weeks, and I heard O' Canada so many times i kinda got attached to it. I love the way all you Canadians, players and all, sing the words during the anthem.

 

Just watch your hand on the fan!

Now that I see this I had thought about doing the same thing.

 

Good advice, Gerdo. One doesn't see a spinning fan so well. Easy to forget it's there. I should be okay most times, however, with the wireless remote.

Ocdropzone, a Tundra owner who put his controller box under the hood says his wireless remote works even while he is standing a hundred feet behind his truck, so the metal doesn't seem to be an issue. But thanks for advice; I will test it thru my hood before starting permanent mount.

And FogRunner, as for the heat factor, I called Warn Support today and the tech said heat should not harm the solenoid, unless it was positioned very close to a really hot place, like the manifold. He said there are already several Toyota solenoids located in the engine bay and all work fine. He didn't see why the Warn solenoid would be more vulnerable. Also my fabricator knows several Jeep, Tundra, and FJC owners who have located the box in the engine bay with no issues so far. But I can see why heat could be an issue while working the winch real hard, so that is another reason why I like eric-the-red's location, 'cause it is in front of the engine, some distance from the hot parts of the engine, and air thru the grill and from the fan will give a bit of an air barrier too.

Thanks to all you for helping me out. Good thinkers!

 

I was always careful of that, though a plastic fan won't do major damage. I now have a switch installed in the cab to operate the winch so I don't need to plug the remote into the solenoid any more.

 

I stuck mine on the passengers side, wired an in cab switch and relocated the winch controller receptacle to the bumper. Works great, although a wireless controller would be alot easier.
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I have mine in the exact location that eric the red put his and it has been fine. I use the Warn wireless control and have no problems with reception/range of the controller. Before I installed the wireless system (which is the f'in bomb!), I did bump my hand against the fan, but a plastic fan blade doesn't hurt through a good leather glove. I run steel cable, so gloves are mandatory...

I can get a pic if needed, but it would be just like Eric's.

Clark

 

I like this location better than where I put mine. All my wire runs would have been shorter. Hmmm....

 

Mounted mine on the passenger side above the wheel well: