2005 Artic Cat 400 4x4 winch problems

[sparkplug]

Heyeveryon im workingon a Artic Cat ( 2005 ) 400 with a winch and it won't work. Its getting voltage ( 13 volts ) but nothing . Theres two terminals

one isn't getting power. Is there a relay maybe bad? Switch seems to be ok i will test with ohm meter for contenuity. I don't ownthese quads just working on them for a customer. The other quad has a leaky carb i fixed a couple yeas ago but now is leaking again, and leaking onto the starter and now the starter dosn't work.

These quads are he same models with one being a 06( leaky carb bad starter ). Any help or advise on how to procide ill be greatful. Thanks Sparkplug

[Ajmboy]

It could be a relay, what brand of winch is it? 

[davefrombc]

It  could be the relay, but if you see  power to  one terminal, it  very  likely  is a problem  in the brushes.Try  powering the  winch  from  jumper cables   to  bypass the  solenoid..... If  no  go  then , the problem  is definitely  internal  to the winch motor.

[sparkplug]

Thanks guys for input. Sounds like a solid idea to try and bypass relay. The make of the winch is Wener or something like that. The guy needs this to do snow removal. The other quad i mentioed ( GAS dripping on Starter) wont start unless by pull starting with other quad. Are these starters hard to remove? Are the hard to rebuil? Hopefully it just needs cleaning up on inside. Thanks

[sparkplug]

There must be some awsome 4-wheeling up in British Columbia. Im so jelious but, i can't make a living up in Canada. I have to settle for up north trails here in Michigan.

[davefrombc]

I can't tell  you how  difficult it would be  to  take the starter  off the  Arctic cat,  but  most quad motors  are very similar.  Starters  are usually  held on by  only two  or 3 bolts;  and  on the  Hondas and Suzukis they connect  to  the starting gears  by  a  splined shaft, so  the  only  difficulty  is  actually in   having the  room to  slide the  starter  out. The  starters  themselves are usually held together  by  only two  long  bolts.  They come apart  easily ,  but sometimes  it is fun  getting   back together  with the  brushes   on the  commutator  properly.

 If the  winch  is  a  Warn,  it  is  a  high end  name brand. brushes  and  parts  should be readily  available .. If  it doesn't spin  over   by  bypassing the solenoids,  the most common  reason  for no  go  is  usually the  brushes  not  contacting the commutator  properly due  to  one sticking ,  or  corrosion/  crud  keeping them from   making  proper  contact ..  Freeing  and  cleaning ,  or  changing the brushes   usually  cures the  problem...Worst  case would be  burnt wires in the  rotor, requiring  a  new  one,  but  that   isn't  common. 90%   or more of the time  it  is  a  brush problem.  Search   Youtube  for videos  on   servicing  the  starters on quads, and  also   for the  winch  motors.  You  may   find one  on the  exact  units  you  are working on. If there  is  no  dealer  nearby  for whatever  parts  you  need ,   E-bay  is  a good place  to   look  for  parts  at   very competitive  prices.

[sparkplug]

Thanks Davefrombc very good answers. I've never had a starter apart let alone a winch, but i hear or read about guy's doing all the time. I've used utube as a source of solutions in the past, and eBay also for parts. I will keep you and everyone posted as im out of town until Thanksgiving. 

[sparkplug]

Thanks Davefrombc very good answers. I've never had a starter apart let alone a winch, but i hear or read about guy's doing all the time. I've used utube as a source of solutions in the past, and eBay also for parts. I will keep you and everyone posted as im out of town until everyone's.  

[sparkplug]

Well made it home for Thanksgiving, and  was able to get winch working for customer. Turned out to be solenoid or relay ( was a pain to install new relay ). When they just click 9 times out of 10 its the relay. The other quad is clicking when using starter.  Customer opted to replace himself. We'll see how that plays out.  keep you posted. The relay on this quad is on right side attached to outside of battery box. First must remove brake rear brake reservoir out of way. By the way it is a Warn winch standard with Arctic Cat. Very decent quads. Thanks for reading and replying. 

[sparkplug]

Sooo glad to get this working for customer. He had the spare relay he obtained when he purchased used. These carbs are very touchy feely thing's,  one false move and they leak. Pretty easy to work on though. I don't understand nothing about 2006 or 07 and later one's being fuel injected. 

[mikeexplorer]

Here is a good guide for taking apart and cleaning a WARN winch.

Mike

 

Winch Cleaning Guide.pdf

[sparkplug]

Thanks mikeexplorer will keep for later reference,  it seems all these quality quads use Warn winches. iF you read my last two replys i replaced the solenoid and fixed the problem.  Winch is working like new. It seems these Warn winches stand up to a lot of abuse.  Thanks  from sparkplug. 

[mikeexplorer]

I still have my original warn winch on my 2007 machine. I have replaced the cable twice already, but I

also plow with it. I have taken it apart and cleaned it according to this guide probably 3 or 4 times. One time after cleaning it would not stay engaged. My dealer suggested to take part #14 in the attached diagram. (drive shaft) and shave off 1/16" inch from the end (towards the sun gear, #18) to allow it to go in a bit deeper and not strip out. There is still plenty of clearance for freespool mode. 

 

One time I did strip these two parts, because I had the winch overloaded trying to pull a machine up a bad spot.

 

As for the starter question, it is easy to get to and remove. I posted links a while back on where to download the service manuals for free. The brushes in the starter were worn and I was able to find a replacement online for about $35.

 

Mike

 

Warn Winch diagram.pdf

[Ajmboy]

On 12/1/2016 at 6:50 PM, sparkplug said:

Well made it home for Thanksgiving, and  was able to get winch working for customer. Turned out to be solenoid or relay ( was a pain to install new relay ). When they just click 9 times out of 10 its the relay. The other quad is clicking when using starter.  Customer opted to replace himself. We'll see how that plays out.  keep you posted. The relay on this quad is on right side attached to outside of battery box. First must remove brake rear brake reservoir out of way. By the way it is a Warn winch standard with Arctic Cat. Very decent quads. Thanks for reading and replying. 

Glad it worked out for you.

[data89]

Arctic Cat 2005 500 auto

I also have a winch not working. I have 12 volts to the solenoid, but before blaming the solenoid (are these repairable, can they be taken apart?) I want to test the winch terminals with 12 volts. Question is do you put 12+ on the yellow terminal and 12- to the blue wire terminal? And can you go 12+ to either terminal and the other to frame ground  to reverse the direction?

[davefrombc]

Make of winch ?.... Are there  3  wires going to the  winch motor? . .If  so ,  one ( usually  black)    would be the ground wire  and the other  two  would be  forward and reverse. You should be able to  find the  wiring  diagram  for your winch online.  My  guess would  be to  try 12 volts  to  each  terminal    ( red  and Yellow)  To  see if the  winch  motor runs in either  direction .  To  see  if there  is output  from the solenoid ,  simply  disconnect the  wires  from the  winch motor  and hook  up  a  tester  or  light  to  each of the  wires  and try  the solenoid switch in either  direction.  Power  at either of the  wire  terminals  would indicate  a problem in the winch motor,  and that  is usually solved with a  new set of brushes .

[data89]

6 minutes ago, davefrombc said:

Make of winch ?.... Are there  3  wires going to the  winch motor? . .If  so ,  one ( usually  black)    would be the ground wire  and the other  two  would be  forward and reverse. You should be able to  find the  wiring  diagram  for your winch online.  My  guess would  be to  try 12 volts  to  each  terminal    ( red  and Yellow)  To  see if the  winch  motor runs in either  direction .  To  see  if there  is output  from the solenoid ,  simply  disconnect the  wires  from the  winch motor  and hook  up  a  tester  or  light  to  each of the  wires  and try  the solenoid switch in either  direction.  Power  at either of the  wire  terminals  would indicate  a problem in the winch motor,  and that  is usually solved with a  new set of brushes .

Okay, thanks, I'll check that out tomorrow. It's a Warn winch, don't know which model because all it has for a label (that I can see) is Arctic Cat. I suspect it is a 2000 or 2500.

Yes, 3 wires coming out of the toggle switch (one probably connecting to the ignition sw), but 3 coming to the solenoid. Looks like blue, black/white, and green. From what l can see with a light, they appear to be embedded into the solenoid as opposed to connection. But am not sure. There are 8 studs on the solenoid and 4 appear to have plastic caps on them, so I'll have to pry them off to see if they are connectors or what.

Winch_Part Numbers_Arctic-Cat-Parts-Manual-2005-ATV-500-AUTOMATIC-TRANSMISSION-4X4-FIS-LE-GREEN.pdf

[davefrombc]

Look  on the  winch motor ..  If there  are 3  wires on it , one  will  be the  ground  and the  other two  the  forward and reverse terminals. Usually  the   directional  terminals are across from  one  another  while the  ground terminal  is separate.  If there  are only  two terminals 180 degrees apart,  Then  the  winch runs forward and reverse by switching the   power and  ground terminals.  One  terminal  positive , the  other  negative,  one direction;  switch the terminals  and  motor  runs in the  opposite direction.

[data89]

14 hours ago, davefrombc said:

Look  on the  winch motor ..  If there  are 3  wires on it , one  will  be the  ground  and the  other two  the  forward and reverse terminals. Usually  the   directional  terminals are across from  one  another  while the  ground terminal  is separate.  If there  are only  two terminals 180 degrees apart,  Then  the  winch runs forward and reverse by switching the   power and  ground terminals.  One  terminal  positive , the  other  negative,  one direction;  switch the terminals  and  motor  runs in the  opposite direction.

There is one blue wire (-) and one yellow wire (+) to the winch. I ran 12v directly to the terminals on the winch one at a time and sparks flew. It melted the fuse right into the socket. Got one leg out, the other is welded in. Also melted the top of the socket where the fuses go in, but none of the other fuses were damaged.

Would it be that the winch is corroded tight? It has never been in water and seems to be a tightly sealed unit.

[davefrombc]

My  guess is there  is  a shorted winding in the  winch.  Connecting the  positive to  each terminal without the  negative   connected  should not  have caused any current flow.

You'll  have to  pull the  motor  off   and disassemble  it  to  see  where the  problem  is.

[data89]

On 2/19/2017 at 0:04 PM, davefrombc said:

My  guess is there  is  a shorted winding in the  winch.  Connecting the  positive to  each terminal without the  negative   connected  should not  have caused any current flow.

You'll  have to  pull the  motor  off   and disassemble  it  to  see  where the  problem  is.

As usual, the bolts which fasten the winch to the frame let go inside the winch housing (one turned out) and so I'll have to chisel them off and drill them out once I get the winch motor off. This will take some time, but, I will keep you posted.

[davefrombc]

OK..  I hope  it  is an easy  fix  once you find the  problem.  When  you re-assemble  things,  use  some  anti-seize on the  bolts  to  prevent  them  seizing again.

[data89]

Still cannot get 3 of the 4 mounting bolts off. They broke the nuts loose where you can't get at them, and too hard to chisel. Will have to have them torched off. Been out of the country for awhile and will get back to it when I return in a couple of weeks. Just keeping you posted.