High Idle while using an electric winch

[CMB]

After much searching (3 Days) I decided to post the question. I recently installed a winch and read that it is best to idle up the truck while wincing to insure proper charge on the batteries. I thought great, I know how to turn on the high idle function. As I read further I found it is best to place the truck in neutral with the wheels chocked and the e brake on while pulling objects with the winch. Ok great. There were two large locust stumps in the yard that I wanted to pull out. We set the winch up, wheels chocked, trans in neutral....high idle doesn't work.......what gives? So, the question is should one winch in park with high idle turned on or in neutral at standard idle. Will standard idle kill the batteries? Any thoughts on this? Thanks

Yup- I'm new here. In fact this is the first forum post I've ever made

 

[Killer223]

did you set the e-brake? i have a g56 so i don't know about the auto's. i do know my e-brake has to be on.

 

[CMB]

Yup, e brake on for sure. It seems like high idle only works in park...

 

[CMB]

I really hope to find some suggestions from those that have experience using a winch. I connected it to the passenger side battery with 4awg. Is this correct? The high idle must be important because now my check engine light is on. The pull we made with the winch was only for about 30 seconds on and off totaling maybe 2 minutes. I checked the codes and it showed the P0562 which I think is low battery and a P 0606 which is low volt at ECM. The P0606 really worries me.

Are you saying the I should be able to high idle in neutral? Even with the e brake on the extra stress on the trans can't be good. Please correct me if I'm wrong but it must be best practice to winch in neutral.

Are there any thoughts on using the mystic transfer case neutral that everyone thinks is useless? Would it be ok to follow the procedure to place the transfer case in neutral then start the truck, verify the t case is in neutral, place the trans in park then high idle?? If this works we may have found a use for the T case neutral button:-laf.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments. I starting to think I posted this under the wrong heading.

Cheers

 

[Lynx0849]

What winch did you get? Just curious.

I have had winches on my past 2 trucks (ok, some might not think my van was a truck but...).

My current 1500 has a Warn 9500lb in a semi-hidden mount. I use it plenty with the truck at idle. I would shut the truck off but I am afraid I might run the battery down enough to not be able to start it if I was winching a lot. For a simple pull like a tree outta the way I don't worry.

The previous was a Warn 8000lb in a Warn winch bumper on an '89 Ford E250 van with a Quigley 4x4 kit and dual batteries. The 2nd battery was a deep discharge on an isolated charge circuit. It had the winch, roof strobes, and 2 way radios. That way I could still start the engine if I ran the aux battery down.

Question to the experts, are the two batteries on the ctd trucks wired in parallel? I would think they must to provide cranking amps.

 

[CMB]

Lynx0849,
Thanks for the reply. I got a really good deal on a Superwinch Talon 12.5iSR. Mounted to a curt front receiver and red quick connects on 4 awg high strand count wire. The plan is to be able to connect it to the rear receiver once the bugs are worked out. Thanks for your help. I thought about installing a deep cycle battery on the passenger side in place of the factory battery with an isolator. Not sure if that would help.

 

[CMB]

Well, I attempted to put the trans in park with the t case in neutral. It didn't like it. It made really wierd sounds so I stopped. Does the trans need to stay in neutral while the t case is in neutral or only shift with engine off?

Can anyone share any feedback on this?

Quite the dilemma

Thanks

 

[DonFitzwater]

Put your truck in park for high idle. I've winched plenty of things and never have done what you described in the first post. If you are winching for long runs, allow time for the winch to cool and alternator to keep up.

 

[Bob4x4]

The park brake has no affect on hi idle,the recomendation is a saftey thing only.The nuetral idea while winching is to protect your park mechanism and drivetrain since the vehicle can be drug while winching a high load.It is indeed a good practice to use the hi idle during a pull,I would also recomend raising the hood to protect the wind shield,using a heavy weighted blanket to stop the cable from flying.

 

[Motorhead]

First off, DON'T put in a deep cycle on one side and have the standard battery on the other. Second is to know your and your vehicles limitations. I would leave it in park and set the parking brake firmly. Chock all four wheels or at least the fronts. Set the high idle and use the winch. I like what Bob 4x4 says about protecting the truck and yourself for that matter. That gets back to my "Second" sentence. Remember that the alternator is only good for about 150 amps max and that isn't near what the winch is drawing at 3/4 to full load.
How old are your batteries?

 

[CMB]

Thanks for the feed back- We always chock the front tires and through a weighted winch line blanket over the line even though it's am steel blue. I purchased the truck June of 2015. The batteries looked like new at this time. I looked but couldn't find a date or manufacture on the battery. The batteries are 80 amp hour, 730CCA with a 140 reserve. It also says EN630 but I'm not sure what that stands for.

Still quit curious about shifting into park from neutral while running with the t case in neutral. Is this something we shouldn't do?

Thanks Again,

 

[CMB]

Well I found some good info in another thread. To put the transmission in park from neutral the engine must be off if the transfer case is in neutral. The transmission output shaft may be spinning even if the transmission is in neutral because the transfer case is in neutral so there is nothing to stop it from doing so.

Sounds like a run on sentence, never the less, answer received. After a few days the CEL went out and voltage is back to 12.6.

Thanks Again everyone for your assistance.