Why Steve's winch BURNED

[Steve R]

As many of you may have heard...I had an close encounter of the flamable kind. Not smoke, FIRE!

So there I was driving along when suddenly the GPS makes some noise about loosing external power...not more then a second follows and my dash is lit-up like a 747 blinking away. A second passes and (as I pull off the road) the whole rig shuts down: the smell of electrical burning is detected. Um...yeah: falls into the category of NOT GOOD!

Up front smoke is rising. We run to the front and find the winch wires molten & smoking. As we pull the quick-disconnect apart a passing motorist pulls over and comes running with a fire extinguisher. His words: you've got a FIRE
going on!!!!

Sure enough...just under the wheel well is live flame. A wire had become so hot that the insulation caught fire and was working its way up into the engine compartment.

We got the fire out likety-split and very minimal damage occured. Today I solved the problem:

The guy I bought the winch from had not had a professional do the job, he had done it himself. He wired the winch polarity backwards and positive juice was flowing right into the ground/carriage of the winch. The paint on both the carriage and H2 recepticle had kept things insulated well, but finally it contacted and the "electrons hit the fan".

You just know I've got pics for ya'all:

[Steve R]

As many of you may have heard...I had an close encounter of the flamable kind. Not smoke, FIRE!

So there I was driving along when suddenly the GPS makes some noise about loosing external power...not more then a second follows and my dash is lit-up like a 747 blinking away. A second passes and (as I pull off the road) the whole rig shuts down: the smell of electrical burning is detected. Um...yeah: falls into the category of NOT GOOD!

Up front smoke is rising. We run to the front and find the winch wires molten & smoking. As we pull the quick-disconnect apart a passing motorist pulls over and comes running with a fire extinguisher. His words: you've got a FIRE
going on!!!!

Sure enough...just under the wheel well is live flame. A wire had become so hot that the insulation caught fire and was working its way up into the engine compartment.

We got the fire out likety-split and very minimal damage occured. Today I solved the problem:

The guy I bought the winch from had not had a professional do the job, he had done it himself. He wired the winch polarity backwards and positive juice was flowing right into the ground/carriage of the winch. The paint on both the carriage and H2 recepticle had kept things insulated well, but finally it contacted and the "electrons hit the fan".

You just know I've got pics for ya'all:

[Steve R]

more

[Steve R]

more 2

[Steve R]

and yet more

[Steve R]

So there ya go...

Clearly you can see that the negative wire is headed straight into the solenoid box AND the positive wire is (melted, scorched, elonngated)...but attaches to the ground of the winch motor.

Not GM's fault, Not Warn's fault.....just the guy who sold it to me. I won't say who he is....but he's a good guy and obviously just made a mistake.

All things considered, I got off easy. I need only to replace the one wire that melted on the winch and one wire that ran from the battery to the ground on the front bumper.

Hey guys...carry a fire extinguisher. If not for you, then perhaps for the other guy you see smokin' away on the road!

Now, let's never speak of this again!!!!

[Hummer Man]

Just another example of why one should have electrical things insatlled by the dealer or a professional.
Incase everyone has not read the fine print of your latest AUTO INSURANCE POLLICIES.
In all 50 states they have either been rewritten or adendums were sent out with wording like.

DAMAGE CAUSED BY AFTERMARKET INSTALLATION OF ACESSORIES ARE NOT COVERED UNDER YOUR POLICY.
YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL COVERAGE / RIDER TO COVER THESE ADDITIONAL ITEMS.

The long and short of it is that had STEVE'S H2 burned to the ground the Insurance company would not be obligated to pay him a dime. In the case of a first lean holder / auto loan, the insurance company tells the bank to go fly a kite and sue your loan holder. It's a nasty battle that can go on for weeks or months while Steve has no car.

I'm sure Steve saved money by going into the aftemarket and then going further and installing this himself without checking polarity. (THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF AUTO FIRES)

In doing so Steve choose to be "SELF INSURED"
but at what price.

Steve you have certainly reminded me of a valuable lesson. Don't step over dollars to get to dimes!

Thank you for sharing your story!

Kindest Regards, Hummer Man

[Kevin B]

Hummer Man,

I don't think you have to be a "professional" to know the difference between + and -. I also find it hard to fault Steve. I think anyone would ASSUME the polarity to be correct since most morons wouldn't even do something so stupid. He bought it used and at least he hooked up his connections right, although we can once again assume, he never checked it or used it.

I have had "professionals" do far stupider things than that and paid them for their ignorance.

As for me Ill take my chances and do most things myself. I can read and if im not clear I can ask questions. At least if there is a problem later I have a better chance of figuring it out or the trail or the side of the road.

Bottom line, why pay someone to screw up your ride when you can screw it up yourself and cut out the middle man

[Hummer Man]

Hey Alec W - Kiss my ass!

[Kevin B]

Hey Hummer Man

Alec got your goat . What's up with that? Your slipping

[Buckeye Hummer]

Guys, I think the thing came wired improperly from where Steve purchased it. I am sure he knows polarity as I have been out with him a few times and he is very experienced in off-road as well as his truck accessories. I truly don't believe he was at fault and I am sure the truck is covered even for a mishap like this.

There was a lesson to be learned, however, which was to always have an auto fire extinguisher nearby. It was the single item missing from my earthquake kit that, of course, I didn't have when we needed it. Fortunately, our Disco comrad had one as well as a passerby. Needless to say, I now have one velcroed in the back and ready for another outing with Steve!

One more thing, I think it was important for this post to be made it could indeed help others down the road, which is what this forum is all about.

[Kevin B]

Re-read the post on my end buckeye, thats what I said (I think)

[DRTYFN]

I can't believe that Hummer Man didn't find something in the bible refering to electrical wiring and incorporate it into his sermon.
Telling Alec to kiss your posterior might suggest an indecent homosexul theme.
And the Bart Simpson showing his underage buttocks in a lewd manner isn't very Christian either.

[Hummer Man]

DRTYFN, I think there are atleast three women on this FORUM that can atest the fact that I am ALL MAN!

Let's just leave it at that. I don't kiss and tell!

[DRTYFN]

Me thinks thou doth protest too much.
I never said anything about you being anything less than a total He-Man. Actually I was joking about you lecturing. Nothing malicious, I promise.

[Steve R]

Ya gotta love this forum.....

I truly believe the individual who goes by the name "Hummer Man" was whole-heartedly just trying to convey some mindful information. He's right....tweak the rig and go to jail. It's not fair to expect the insurance to pay for the incompetance of someone's custom work should it go wrong. I don't feel he was chastizing me or finding fault.

But dude....at least 3 women can attest to your being all man???? Now that pretty much sunk what little credibility you may have had. We don't even have 3 women on this forum to start with. I can't believe DRTYFN didn't torch you to cinders!

Allow me to cast some illumination on the winch subject. Yes...I did purchase it used. I was under the impression that the winch came complete and was an item purchased from a shop.

The reality of the situation is that the winch motor and solenoid controller were bought from Warn, a company made a carriage to hold the winch...and the owner himself apparently wired the thing up.

I never suspected the former owner wired it himself.....it looked as though it came out of a large crate and came wired from the Warn factory. It seemed stock and OEM.

Ironically he kept the winch strapped in his truck and only used it occassionally. During his occassional use he never rubbed enough paint off the carriage or H2's receptical to conduct the short-circuit.

Even though the polarity was switched, he apparently never noticed that the direction of pull/let-out was reversed on the hand-remote. So it worked for him and he expressed that it worked fine.

So there ya go, being that it worked fine for him AND that it looked completely Warn-factory original wiring....it 'ELUDED' me.

Now here's the dumb part. Being that I had no idea that the former owner wired the thing...I called him and left a messgae telling him about how I need to go after the dumbF**k who wired it wrong. He was less then amused by the profantic reference and just denied that it could be that case.

I explained that I wired my entire house, every outlet, switch, recessed light, alarm system, etc, etc and that I've designed electrical circuits. So he replies: "that's A/C current....D/C is different. Okay

I told him I had pics that show that he wired the + wire directly to the winches motor. He challenged me to send him the pics. No apologies, no regret, no regard for nearly torching my H2 to the ground. That's just him. He's still a good guy.

In the end, I cut-back the molten part and the connector wires fit easier now. The one wire the melted & burned did little damage because we hit it with an extinguisher real quick. I've replaced that wire and everything is basically fine.

Bottom line: I got off way lucky. Electrical fires are usually devastating!

Lesson learned: always have a fire extinguisher on hand, if not for you, then the other guy!

Oh yeah...and always second-guess anything you buy used...even if it seeems new out of the box....you just may get burned

[Dan]

Steve, are you growing potatoes under that thumb nail??

Sorry about the electrical fire. I had a car burn to a crisp on the side of the highway once from an electrical fire that started under the dash. Not fun.

Maybe its time for one of those bling-bling chrome fire extinguishers on ebay.

- Dan

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SUT on order since 12/02 - 9 months to go!
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[Hummer Man]

Steve, I am glad you got the true meaning of my POST.
You are obviously the most liked person on the forum. Your films are still talked about in circles far beyond this forum. Including some higher ups in the GM office.

However I am the most despised person on the forum. I have been accused of everything from having sex with animals to being gay to just plain being a pompous *******! Atleast one of those titles almost fits!
In the truest sense any attempt at an attack on you was only done to further lower everyones opinion of me!.

Finding fault with you was like calling Santa Claus a fake!

Best Regards!