Wire for winch controller

Al Swope

Adventurist
Founding Member
I am helping a buddy. He has an old Warn 8000lb winch. The controller is a separate box connected to winch by (3) ~12" 2 AWG wires. We want to relocate the controller under the hood. We'd need 3 cables ~60" long to put it where we want it. Lowes sells 2 AWG wire, but it is rather stiff. I think I can make it work and the price is very good. Any reason why I should not use this wire?

Capture.PNG
Capturez.PNG
 
Last edited:
I am not sure that that wire is rated for outdoor use.

I prefer marine grade wiring for my truck. Is there a West Marine near you? You can buy marine grade wire by the foot if you don't need much, or you can order some cheaper from Del City.
 
THHN is not oil resistant I believe, something to keep in mind. Will probably work, but not ideal.

I would look for tinned wire also...
 
The description says it's abasion, moisture, heat, gas and oil resistant. What does tinned wire do for you?
 
Very late to the party, but I'm really hoping that you didn't use the proposed wire. The lack of flexibility in it will cause problems with fatigue. BT, DT, in my youth I got to fix it in the dark in the middle of the Mojave Desert with a nearly dead flashlight with no one else around.
Get a fine stranded cable instead. Carolprene welding cable is a good choice as it's ratings mean that it will work in this environment. I use it for battery cables on all of my project vehicles.

Also, for the extended length the existing cable size may not be big enough. Need to look at the ampacity over that total circuit length with no more than a 5% voltage drop. Ancor Marine Wire has a very good tech page for figuring out what cable size to use.
 
Back
Top Bottom