I have a WARN 2500 lb. wench on my ATV. Long story short:

It stopped working. Dealer "looked" at it said wench problem, send to WARN for repair. Before sending it I tried connecting power directly to the wench. It worked. Called the dealer, they suggested bypassing the "OUT/IN" switch to see if it is a switch problem. I opened the switch, but the wires go directly into the switch and there does not appear to be a way to open it (in order to bypass the switch itself).

Is there a fuse involved in a wench that might be a problem? Any thoughts on what the problem might be? I'm a little pissed at the dealer for what appears to be no effort in really even testing the wench... Any thoughts from Team THF?

Thank you for your assistance in advance...

I've installed a couple of them, it's been a awhile but to by-pass the switch all you have to do is hook the wires directly to the battery and reverse the polarity to make it turn the other way. You could also have a bad relay.

I have had 2 different problems with mine. (1) the in & out switch had gotten wet many times and the contacts got corroded. (2) found out if the battery didn't have full juice, it wound not work, had to get a new battery. The battery was good enough to start the ATV but not work the winch.

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen! I don't plan on having to use the wench anytime soon, but I would like to getting it working just in case! Thanks again...

Maybe this will help.

Thanks Redneck. I appreciate all the help I can get.