WinterIsBetter
Member
Felt like documenting my attempt at running wire to a Swarfworks Rear Winch purchased summer 2020 on a 2018 SCAB. My goals were:
1) Run off front OEM battery location
2) Have way to disconnect and drop the winch for maintenance without having to un-wire it while under the truck
3) Pick wire size appropriate so the gauge isn't the restriction on power given the long distance from the engine bay to the rear bumper. This was kind of a guess. Max load on a Warn 12 S is 446A at 12,000lbs and wire size is rated on continuous load where a winch is more intermittent. Warn ships it with 6ft of SAE #2. I went with AWG 2/0 and used almost all of 25ft. I know another guy who went with AWG 1/0.
4) Some kind of wire protection for abrasion and heat, mainly near the turbo.
Parts list for wiring:
1) $189 - 25ft ea. AWG 2/0 black and red battery grade fine strand copper wire with 10 terminals and 3ft heat shrink tubing. After a lot of searching, Home Depot was the lowest price for wire combined with the other stuff. IF YOU HAVE A SCREW, 25ft will not be enough if you use the routing I did. See pics for how much I had left over on a SCAB and the small amount I have have coiled under the bed.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/WindyNa...Tubing-20AWG-25B-25R-10LUGS38-3HS34/308415414
2) $74.25 - 45ft fire resistant, split corrugated plastic loom. Should have bought as much as I did wire length. 5/8in fit my 2/0 wire perfectly. Size appropriately for your wire. I would have preferred not split, but I also wanted something very snug to the wire and knew I'd never get the wire pulled through with how little clearance there is between my wire insulation OD and the loom ID. This is mainly for abrasion resistance and hoping moisture, salt and crap doesn't get inside too much.
https://www.wiringproducts.com/5-8-inch-flame-retardant-wire-loom
3) $49.50 - 50pc stainless steal wire hangers with rubber cushion. Sized for the 3/4in OD of my loom. I didn't use all 50, but originally bought 20 and had to wait 1.5 weeks for more $0.99 parts and it sucked while the truck was half way wired and on jack stands.
https://www.wiringproducts.com/3-4-cushioned-stainless-steel-cable-clamps-bag-of-10.html
4) $39.90 - Anderson plug rated for 350A continuous. Going from 1/0 to 2/0 let me jump to this size plug and that was a major driver behind the wire size
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017U4ZM6A/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
5) $15.90 - rubber covers for the plug if it's disconnected
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OVEJKAW/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
6) $19.05 - heat shield mainly used in the engine bay where the wire goes over the fender and is in the general area of the turbo.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HYSCB2/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
7) $10 - 50pc Stainless Steel Blind Rivets 3/16" x 1/4" (6-4) Open End Type Pop Rivet sized to fit the hangers. Everything metal is stainless. I don't want to deal with rust.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PXYP8B5/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
This is the route I took.
1) Run off front OEM battery location
2) Have way to disconnect and drop the winch for maintenance without having to un-wire it while under the truck
3) Pick wire size appropriate so the gauge isn't the restriction on power given the long distance from the engine bay to the rear bumper. This was kind of a guess. Max load on a Warn 12 S is 446A at 12,000lbs and wire size is rated on continuous load where a winch is more intermittent. Warn ships it with 6ft of SAE #2. I went with AWG 2/0 and used almost all of 25ft. I know another guy who went with AWG 1/0.
4) Some kind of wire protection for abrasion and heat, mainly near the turbo.
Parts list for wiring:
1) $189 - 25ft ea. AWG 2/0 black and red battery grade fine strand copper wire with 10 terminals and 3ft heat shrink tubing. After a lot of searching, Home Depot was the lowest price for wire combined with the other stuff. IF YOU HAVE A SCREW, 25ft will not be enough if you use the routing I did. See pics for how much I had left over on a SCAB and the small amount I have have coiled under the bed.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/WindyNa...Tubing-20AWG-25B-25R-10LUGS38-3HS34/308415414
2) $74.25 - 45ft fire resistant, split corrugated plastic loom. Should have bought as much as I did wire length. 5/8in fit my 2/0 wire perfectly. Size appropriately for your wire. I would have preferred not split, but I also wanted something very snug to the wire and knew I'd never get the wire pulled through with how little clearance there is between my wire insulation OD and the loom ID. This is mainly for abrasion resistance and hoping moisture, salt and crap doesn't get inside too much.
https://www.wiringproducts.com/5-8-inch-flame-retardant-wire-loom
3) $49.50 - 50pc stainless steal wire hangers with rubber cushion. Sized for the 3/4in OD of my loom. I didn't use all 50, but originally bought 20 and had to wait 1.5 weeks for more $0.99 parts and it sucked while the truck was half way wired and on jack stands.
https://www.wiringproducts.com/3-4-cushioned-stainless-steel-cable-clamps-bag-of-10.html
4) $39.90 - Anderson plug rated for 350A continuous. Going from 1/0 to 2/0 let me jump to this size plug and that was a major driver behind the wire size
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017U4ZM6A/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
5) $15.90 - rubber covers for the plug if it's disconnected
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OVEJKAW/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
6) $19.05 - heat shield mainly used in the engine bay where the wire goes over the fender and is in the general area of the turbo.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HYSCB2/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
7) $10 - 50pc Stainless Steel Blind Rivets 3/16" x 1/4" (6-4) Open End Type Pop Rivet sized to fit the hangers. Everything metal is stainless. I don't want to deal with rust.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PXYP8B5/?tag=fordraptorforum-20
This is the route I took.
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