The Beast came with a Warn Powerplant HD. After 12 years, this piece of equipment went silent when I needed some air’
Usually this means the solenoid went bad. $300 upgrade kit to replace solenoid and actuator. Ouch.
Before dropping 3 Franklins I pulled the winch out of the Beasts bumper. This required removing from the back of the bumper under the van. With the help of a come along, I managed to get the winch out without losing any fingers or breaking any ribs.
On the bench, I pulled the solenoid off and proceeded to verify that it was a sealed unit that Warn no long manufactures. Thus the $300 “upgrade” kit that replaces the sealed unit with discreet parts.
Warn does not have a wiring diagram for the winch so troubleshooting becomes a real challenge.
I had to have a wiring diagram to verify that the solenoid package (which includes the remote control hand set connector) was really bad.
Sooo, I beeped out all the stone axe simple wiring and make my own wiring diagram. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only one on the net!
After building the wiring diagram it became very simple to test the solenoid using the hand controller and 12 volt power supply to a couple of pins on the 4 pin connector.
The solenoid was fine. Clicked away just like it should making the proper connections for the motor to go forward or reverse.
Saved myself $300!
Re-installed on to the Beast and tested out fine!
Bottom line, dirty contacts on the 4 pin and two pin connectors as well as corrosion on the solenoid to motor studs that both support the solenoid and make the high current connections.