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Owners of any ATVs and Jeeps probably faced the problem of breaking the cable of the electric winch. Even if it is made by such a famous company as WARN, it may tear. It would seem that a sufficiently powerful cable and, according to all its characteristics, must withstand the load for your vehicle.
It turns out that the rope can tear not because it is weak. Do you wonder why this may happen?
The fact is that, for example, in ATV winches when winding the cable on the drum, the wringing of the cable takes place. Hereafter, the cable loses its qualities. The regular steel cable is very rigid and does not fit well on the electric winch drum. Yes, you can add a few more minuses, these are burrs about which you can hurt your hands and in case of a break the steel cable is very unsafe.
Therefore, such a cable is better to replace without waiting for problems. The best alternative to a steel cable is synthetic. The rope made of such material has good elasticity, and when winding it takes up a smaller volume on the drum, which makes it possible to install a longer cable than a metal cable on the ATV electric winch.
There is, of course, a drawback in the synthetic rope. When dirt and sand hit the inside part of the cable, it eventually loaches and stratifies. This is the only disadvantage, which can easily be eliminated by periodically washing the cable in a soap solution and further drying. It is not very difficult to replace the WARN cable. But for this you need to remove the winch.
Photo credit: boostatv.com
The Algorithm of Cable Replacement: Check the Example!
Let's have a look on how to do this at the example of the BRP Outlander 800R. We will consider the replacement of a steel cable with a synthetic one. The order of dismantling of electric winch:
- Disconnect the negative battery cable
- Unplug the power cables from the winch
- Remove the lower part of the bullbar
- Remove the cable guide rail
- Remove the underbody protection
- Unscrew the electric winch from the vehicle frame
When the electric WARN winch is removed from the vehicle, it is possible to remove the old steel cable and wind the new synthetic cable. You should fix the beginning of the cable on the drum well, so that it does not jump out of it when winding.
You are recommended to paint the first meter of the beginning of the cable on the drum red, - this will serve as an indicator of the fact that the cable ends and will allow you to leave a few turns on the drum, thereby eliminating the possibility of detaching the cable from the drum under the heavy load. Installation of the winch on the ATV is in the reverse order.
Now the new synthetic cable will be much safer and durable. After operating the electric winch in the marshy areas, do not forget to periodically pull the cord off the drum and stretch it. This will increase its life on the vehicle by several times.
