WARN 8274 problems

[Bigjerm]

Alright hopefully I can find some answers here. I have looked for a few days all over the webz and I got nothing. I have an older WARN 8274 on the front of a buggy I just bought. It had steel cable that was kinked and bird nested so I bought some synthetic rope to replace. Fired up the buggy and had to power out the winch while pulling hard and occasionally stopping the winch to pry wraps of wire out from under other wraps (like I said, it was bad). Anyways after about 60-70 ft of normal operation the winch went to a slow crawl and was making a grinding noise but was still moving. So I pulled the clutch out and was finally able to free spool the rest out. Put on the rope and then the winch would go through moments of slow moving and grinding, to normal operation, and back. Now its just slow and grinds.

I should also mention when it goes to slow and grinding the volt gauge in the buggy drops and all the lights dim/go out. But under normal operation none of that happens. I thought maybe that meant the battery was down but the buggy has no issues cranking even right after the winch does it.

Where should I start?

 

[I Leak Oil]

Does it have oil in it??????

 

[Bigjerm]

I do not know. Hopefully if I get a chance today i can open it up for any obvious signs of problems

Sent from S3

 

[Antichrist]

Could be a number of things, but I'm guessing the motor is packing it in. Assuming all the electrical connections are good.

 

[sethmark]

Sounds more like the alternator isn't charging.

 

[Bigjerm]

Alright got home and hooked the negative and postive cables from the buggy to my truck (7.3L). When I hit the switch the motor would make a noise but the drum wouldn't turn. So I took it all apart. Gears look great, no binding or anything, and looks like decently fresh oil. Motor was nasty and lots of black stuff covering the inside of the housing. The solenoids had some corrosion on almost all post and some rust. I cleaned it all up, hooked back up and got nothing when I hooked up the buggy battery that was at 12v.

Sent from S3

 

[Antichrist]

Sounds more like the alternator isn't charging.

Low voltage won't cause it to make grinding noises, just run slowly, or not at all.

 

[1911]

First thing I would suspect would be bad electrical connections; the first place to look is the copper bus bars between the solenoids - the terminals the bus bars connect to can get pretty grungy.

The second most likely (IMO) is the brushes and armature in the motor. You can re-build them, but a much better option (IMO) is to replace the motor with one from the Warn 9.5XP; it's a bolt-on replacement and has more than double the HP of the stock 8274 motor.

 

[Bigjerm]

Yeah I noticed how bad the terminals looked on the solenoids. I spent a good but of time brushing and sanding on them last night. My winch appears to be an older model so the ground is bolted to the end of the motor housing, not a stud on the side of the housing and that connector was so rusted I am not sure how it ever made contact. I realized this morning that while I did connect all the wires from the control box to the motor, I never mounted the control box so it did not have a ground. I assume the box needs a ground because it has power running to it and that's why I didn't do anything last night when I tested it. I still don't expect the winch to work after what all I saw with the motor and I expect to be placing an order for a motor tonight, but maybe...

 

[1911]

My winch appears to be an older model so the ground is bolted to the end of the motor housing, not a stud on the side of the housing

Mine (made in 1978) was like that too, until I replaced the motor with a 9.5XP motor. A weak design feature for sure.

I realized this morning that while I did connect all the wires from the control box to the motor, I never mounted the control box so it did not have a ground. I assume the box needs a ground because it has power running to it and that's why I didn't do anything last night when I tested it.

Yes, the control box needs to be grounded for the controller to work. Strapping it to the motor is good enough, that is not a high-amperage circuit.

I still don't expect the winch to work after what all I saw with the motor and I expect to be placing an order for a motor tonight, but maybe...

If you buy a 9.5XP motor for your early 8274, you will also need the splined spur gear that replaced the keyed one that should be stock on the motor output shaft. You can buy them from any Warn parts distributor.

BTW, here is a really good post on IH8MUD about rebuilding an 8274: http://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-recovery/197470-my-warn-8274-rebuild-part-1-a.html

 

[Bigjerm]

Any suggestions on where to buy? I don't mind spending some money. Even a good motor will still be cheaper than a new winch!

 

[zimm]

now is the time to buy the giglpin twin motor top.

 

[1911]

Any suggestions on where to buy? I don't mind spending some money. Even a good motor will still be cheaper than a new winch!

I bought mine here: http://warnserviceparts.com/Default.asp

But there is another good one here in Texas that would be a lot closer to you: http://dsiperformance.com/

 

[Bigjerm]

Cleaned all solenoids and rewired tonight. Confimred all had a good ground and there was 12v at the solenoids. Motor is still slow amd grinding and sometimes gets even slower... def think its the motor

Sent from S3

 

[Warn Industries]

Don't hesitate to call our customer service team at 800-543-9276 (Monday-Friday, 7am-4pm PST). They should be able to help you troubleshoot the issue.

- Andy