By Blairlinn - 8 Oct 2014
Any information would be greatly appreciated. I recently bought a G4 Disco 3 from club members Matt and Lottie and I'm trying to get the winch up and running again (it hadn't been reconnected after engine change). I can't find any interior isolation switch. Where would it be situated and if it's not there which one should I be looking to get. Do any members have a spare I could purchase. Still buzzing about the car!
Cheers
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By Gazdiver - 8 Oct 2014
have you found the solonoid/relay under the battery ?
Wires from batt down to that then it disapears off under the batt tray to the winch
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By Blairlinn - 8 Oct 2014
Haven't got that far. Friend that's going to help said there should be a switch inside the car.
Cheers
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By Gazdiver - 8 Oct 2014
there aint no switch in the car !
Unless they had it fitted as after market add on (which i doubt)
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By Gazdiver - 8 Oct 2014
PS...maybe that friend is not best placed to help if they have not come accross one of these b4 ...Where r u located there maybe a member close that could assist
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By Emon - 8 Oct 2014
Winches rust if not used, which is normally the case with these D3s. There is no switch on the 08 D3. A spur off the battery goes straight to the 2 solenoids behind the bumper and just below/front of the radiator/oilcooler. I am not sure how the 06 D3s are wired. To determine where the issue is, follow these steps:
- Is there a heavy duty red cable going from the battery straight down towards the bottom of the radiator? if not then you do not have power, so need to start with the basics and find a fellow member as Gaz has suggested. If yes, then go to step 2.
- Assuming your winch controller is working, do you hear a click coming from the solenoids when you try to wind it in or out? If not, then either the solenoids are burnt out (unlikely for little used 08 D3s) or the cables are disconnected there. So you will need to strip the front of the car to get to the solenoids. If there is a click then go to step 3.
- Using a meter check that there is power coming through to the terminals on the wnch when you click to engage. The 3 at the top are +ve with the bottom terminal (under the motor end of the winch) -ve. If no +ve reading at all and the solenoids click, then either the wire is disconnected at the solenoids or the motor needs refurbishing, the latter being the most likely cause. Disconnect the battery, takeout the winch and send to a servicing agent.
You can contact Gareth at Arbil for further advice, details copied from an old email below. Note that my winch was in such a bad condition inside that most of the components needed replacing at about £400. The service cost indicated below is for relube and gasket change only. Winch Service £45.00 ex.VAT – excluding parts., Typical lead-time – 7-14 days.
Gareth Williams
Sales & Technical Manager
Arbil 4x4 / Automotive
Tel : +44 (0)845 600 4556
Fax : +44 (0)1384 898645
E-mail: gareth.williams@arbil.co.uk
Good luck.
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By Emon - 8 Oct 2014
Some pics to help you strip the front of the car to get to the solenoids:
After the grill and the lights have been removed, you will need to remove the bumper which is tricky as the wheel arches need removing to expose a single screw that holds the end of the bumper to the side panel! This is shown in the middle of the next pic:
Then it will look like this: The solenoids can be accessed just in front of the oilcooler behind the bunch of wires. Good opportunity to inspect the body, clean thoroughly and then apply some dry grease to all nuts and bolts to stop them rusting.
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By Blairlinn - 9 Oct 2014
Thanks for all the advice. It's a shame that it wasn't connected back up when the engine was replaced - seems to be a much more in depth job than I originally thought. Cheers
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By Farmer Chalk - 9 Oct 2014
Do you have the original remote control or is it one you have obtained subsequent to purchase?
When I bought mine the remote was missing. However the replacement is wired differently so I couldn't get my winch to work. I needed to get the plug for it re wired.
This now works but I do now have a separate isolation switch under my front grill blades which isolates the whole thing?
Good luck!
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By DurtyDisco - 9 Oct 2014
From very recent experience as my winch solenoid pack needed to be replaced & I added wireless winch control.
The power supply from the battery to the winch is isolated by a safety solenoid beneath the main battery on the right hand side of the car as pointed out by GazDiver (when viewing from the front of the car)
The wiring in the plug of the wander lead activates this safety solenoid to provide power to the winch solenoids. The winch will ONLY operate with the wander lead plugged in, AND the engine running. This is also the case when I run the wireless set up.This might present you with some odd readings on a meter as it only works under power.....
You don't need to take the whole front of the car apart to access the winch solenoids at the front as you can either access them from beneath the car once the under body armour is removed, or you can remove the grill, winch and winch tray to get at them, though you do have to remove the front guard. As you can see from the pics I only took the winch tray and front guard off. Everything else remained in place.
Its not as daunting a task as you might think, but it does take time, if you don't feel confident best get a pro to do it, it find a local member who can help.
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By Kisangani - 1 Aug 2020
Hi all,
hope your keeping safe.
Some great info on this thread about getting the winch working, have the classic "click" when the wander lead is toggled in/out. Have stripped the winch, serviced it, all good. Not that dirty inside at all, some mild corrosion on the motor. Interestingly the gear housing was packed full with grease, so much so the free/engage lever and gear inside would barely move. Also randomly gear oil, so not sure what that was all about.
2 questions.
1. The negative lead on the underside of the motor housing is secured with a drain bolt. Its connected to a plastic hose that I originally thought was a drain, but once the winch was off I followed the pipe and it went up not down. I can only assume its a breather pipe, but seems odd and completely unnecessary in a dry compartment. Rather use it as a drain. Has anyone else noticed this, and thoughts on breather v drain? Or does it have another purpose altogether?
2. The "safety" solenoid under the battery, I will go have a look tomorrow, but is this is obvious once the battery is out? I have had the battery out loads in the past and OK I haven't been looking for a random solenoid, but pretty sure there isn't anything solenoid wise there. Do I need to remove the entire battery tray too? Has anyone actual found it to be at fault?
It would be great if anyone has some suggestions.
Psyching myself up for either complete or partial front of the vehicle removal, to get to the solenoid box if the safety solenoid isn't the issue. But not ideal with just on street parking/work space!! Shame they didn't install it in the left hand "battery" compartment with the fog light fuses and brake servo.
Rich
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By Kisangani - 25 Aug 2020
Hi there,
a bit of follow up off this thread. I found the time to resolve the winch issue and pleased to say it is fine and working well now.
For those unfamiliar, this is the safety solenoid under the battery, talked about in this thread earlier.
A wider view showing the battery tray, and a closer image showing the wiring. The positive cable to the left is direct from the battery, the positive cable on the right leads to the winch solenoid box behind the grill. The 2 stubby terminals are both negative leads.
 
Its not the clearest image, but this is a close up of the safety solenoid, most of the details are legible
Fortunately for me the issue was straightforward, I don't know when but at some stage during a service or other the positive lead to the left had been disconnected from the battery and tucked well behind the solenoid (as had the tracker positive cable:pinch:) making it difficult to spot, so previously when I have had the battery out I had never noticed the cable was disconnected or loose Anyhow, reconnected the positive cable and yes the winch worked perfectly. So a very lucky outcome.
So worth checking if you are unfamiliar with how the positive cable is connected to the battery or positive feed, OR if you have never used/seen your winch in action and then when you try to discover that it just clicks at the solenoid box, a very quick and easy check is to see if the battery cable is not tucked up behind the safety solenoid and not properly connected to the battery.
I am still interested to know if anyone has any thoughts on the breather/drain as per my last post.
Cheers
Rich
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By boatvid - 9 Jul 2021
unlike battery isolators where there is load on the system when switching on and off , a winch isolator sees no current over the contacts when switched on... only passing current when the contacts are already closed, which should make for a long life on the isolator relay
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By boatvid - 9 Jul 2021
Before you pack everything up, remember to isolate your winch by twisting your winch isolator near the battery, secure your winch control box and you are ready to rumble!
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By boatvid - 9 Jul 2021
+xBefore you pack everything up, remember to isolate your winch by twisting your winch isolator near the battery, secure your winch control box and you are ready to rumble! w3toys
A remote comes with the winch pack when you first bought a winch. ... You just need to flip the switch in your driver's seat to control the winch.
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By sherzop - 1 Nov 2021
Do you have the original remote control or is it one you have obtained subsequent to purchase?
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By sherzop - 1 Nov 2021
+xDo you have the original remote control or is it one you have obtained subsequent to purchase?
When I bought mine the remote was missing.
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By DurtyDisco - 6 Nov 2021
If this was a general question, have the original remote, I believe replacements can be ordered from Warn via Arbil…..
I wouldn’t buy a cheap Chinese copy…
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By nukapop92 - 22 Nov 2021
Battery Isolation Switch: This Isolation switch provides a safety cut off point for winches and jump leads etc.
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By nukapop92 - 20 Dec 2021
I am still interested to know if anyone has any thoughts on the breather/drain as per my last post.
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By taareni9 - 16 May 2022
Thanks for all the advice.
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By paanjii2 - 8 Aug 2022
Enabling you to open or kill the power to you winch from one easy flick of a button on your dash. No longer require manual isolators that have to be placed in view or around your driver's seat.
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