DV8 Front Bumper dropping soon!

I installed a winch and winch bumper last year for a Mercedes sprinter and the battery was under the drivers floorboard. The big issue with that was the distance you ran the wires the added length could reduce effective voltage at the winch and reduced pulling power. So I’ve been reluctant to add the winch with LC battery located at the rear of the vehicle seeming like it could lead to significant voltage drop due to the long cable length.

As I understand it, 20’ of #2 gauge wire carrying 420 amps drops maybe 2 volts, or 4 volts for a pair of cables, leaving just 8 volts at the winch at peak. Also, the lower voltage forces the winch motor to draw more current, causing it to work harder and run hotter, so overheating, reduced torque, and eventual failure could be issues.

That said, Warn actually sells this 20’ extension kit usually used for a rear winch so maybe you do this in reverse. It’s not cheap but I’m sure you could build your own wiring harness for way less. So I guess their engineers have considered all of these factors

tbounds02 said:

I do like this way of routing the cables , if there is enough room under door sills

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I checked and look like we have enough room for those 2 cables. I will use combination of door sill and the weathertech full coverage floor mats to hide them ( weathertech floor mates go and cover “mostly” over the door sills.
I will let the gang know how it goes
Now, ordering cables and stuffs …

Alpha Puppy said:

Looks nice

But I notice you still need to do the premium horn upgrade to get rid of the meep, meep sound

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Haha meep meep

tbounds02 said:

Well a bit of snag running electrical to winch . My local guys won’t touch it . They are afraid it will void warranty for any sensor or other electrical components.
The toyota dealer is looking for a answer from Toyota if they make a factor OEM part for hooking up a winch

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I checked other aftermarket manufacturer for center bumper/winch, they also say winch wiring must be connected to main battery in rear per Toyota recommended.

I don’t think anyone questions the power source must come from battery in the back . As someone stated earlier how much power will you lose running 20ft of cable and what sensors maybe affected and you can believe that if any electrical issues come up Toyota will deny warranty due to winch .
I email Toyota technical department to see if they would answer where and how to power the winch

tbounds02 said:

I don’t think anyone questions the power source must come from battery in the back . As someone stated earlier how much power will you lose running 20ft of cable and what sensors maybe affected and you can believe that if any electrical issues come up Toyota will deny warranty due to winch .
I email Toyota technical department to see if they would answer where and how to power the winch

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Please let us know what the answer from Toyota Tech. Thanks

SKLC said:

I installed a winch and winch bumper last year for a Mercedes sprinter and the battery was under the drivers floorboard. The big issue with that was the distance you ran the wires the added length could reduce effective voltage at the winch and reduced pulling power. So I’ve been reluctant to add the winch with LC battery located at the rear of the vehicle seeming like it could lead to significant voltage drop due to the long cable length.

As I understand it, 20’ of #2 gauge wire carrying 420 amps drops maybe 2 volts, or 4 volts for a pair of cables, leaving just 8 volts at the winch at peak. Also, the lower voltage forces the winch motor to draw more current, causing it to work harder and run hotter, so overheating, reduced torque, and eventual failure could be issues.

That said, Warn actually sells this 20’ extension kit usually used for a rear winch so maybe you do this in reverse. It’s not cheap but I’m sure you could build your own wiring harness for way less. So I guess their engineers have considered all of these factors
View attachment 22465

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As I understand, 2ga battery cable will drop voltage 2% (not 2v) if length is over 10’.
2% of 12V is 0.24V Am I wrong?
To be safe/overkill, probably just use 1 AWG cables (similar to Dissentoffroad kit—-See the attached photos)

About the Warn kit you said, I checked from Amazon…price is okay, but it designed for winch 6,000-9,500 lbs only

t3lcfe said:

As I understand, 2ga battery cable will drop voltage 2% (not 2v) if length is over 10’.
2% of 12V is 0.24V Am I wrong?
To be safe/overkill, probably just use 1 AWG cables (similar to Dissentoffroad kit—-See the attached photos)

About the Warn kit you said, I checked from Amazon…price is okay, but it designed for winch 6,000-9,500 lbs only

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00029XFFQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A35BKNF7G8DU3K&psc=1

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This link has a voltage calculator, it’s is a good way to check your wire runs for voltage drop.

It seems to indicate a higher drop, but it also depends on the amps. So peak load vs continuous load and larger winch would all vary impact on voltage drop.


Good point about the Warn winch wiring harness. I had #12k on MB Sprinter so I think #10k winch would work for LC.

I’m still on the fence on how I’d wire this and be confident it would perform as intended. Wonder if anyone with a winch on an LC has really put it to the test to confirm?

SKLC said:

This link has a voltage calculator, it’s is a good way to check your wire runs for voltage drop.

Voltage Drop Calculator

Wire / cable voltage drop calculator and how to calculate.

www.rapidtables.com

It seems to indicate a higher drop, but it also depends on the amps. So peak load vs continuous load and larger winch would all vary impact on voltage drop.
View attachment 22510

Good point about the Warn winch wiring harness. I had #12k on MB Sprinter so I think #10k winch would work for LC.

I’m still on the fence on how I’d wire this and be confident it would perform as intended. Wonder if anyone with a winch on an LC has really put it to the test to confirm?

Click to expand...

Thanks for more information and learning from each other!
I bought 12k lbs dv8 winch with their bumpers as set.
I saw the DissentOffroad had winch installed in their 1958 LC with crazy heavy stuffs (front+rear steel bumpers, 40” AT tires, etc.). They used the winch to get out stuck situation.
I will wait a bit for tbounds02 checking with Toyota Tech.
However, certainly I will build the cable kit on my own similar DissentOffroad, but simplified as my way. Cost probably $210 with 20’ 1ga each cables+250amp fuse+275amp battery disconnect switch