[jgaz]

Looks great Kris

[Ladybug]

Very nice!! You do nice work!
smiles, ladybug

[theksmith]

Lookin' good, K! Can't wait to see the finished results!

Looks great Kris

Very nice!! You do nice work!
smiles, ladybug

thanks everyone!



getting there... the vacuum pump relocation bracket came in yesterday and i should have some time today to get that modified and mounted.

[theksmith]

Monday i did the wiring.

i had to make longer cables to go from the solenoid box to the winch itself because of where i wanted to mount it. i cut up the long 3 gauge battery connection cables that came with the Winch to make these new short runs. then i bought some new 2 gauge cable to re-make those long runs with.



you might have noticed in that photo that i also painted the sway bar disconnect motor. it's visible after the bumper is on (due to the large opening for the winch) and having it and all the cables and zip ties matching black just cleans up the look in there.

the battery connection leads run up behind the passenger headlight, beside the airbox and then to the battery. i wrapped the positive one in split-loom to help protect it from rubbing against something and shorting out.



most people just connect a winch directly to the battery, but i'd hate to see what happens if there ever was a short with those large gauge cables, so i fused mine. hopefully a 500 Amp rating is big enough, the largest draw mentioned for this winch that i saw was just over 450 amps but i know the initial kick-on current can be really high for a large electric motor so if it blows then i'll need to source a slow-blow style fuse.

unfortunately, no-one makes a 500 Amp MIDI fuse, so i had to use a new type for the winch. MEGA would have been logical, but it seems the ANL style is much more common, so i went with that. i need to cleanup my little fuse tray area some and will do so when i eventually add a dual battery system.

items used for this wiring project:

- Blue Sea ANL Covered Fuse Holder
- 500 Amp fuses
- 10ft black & 10ft red 2 gauge cable
- 1/2" Adhesive Lined 3:1 Heat Shrink Wrap
- 2 gauge 3/8" Ring Terminals
- 4 gauge 3/8" Ring Terminals
- 1/2" corrugated split tubing

i crimp these large gauge lungs with a hammer crimper, then use a torch to heat them and fill with solder, then finish it up with the marine heat-shrink.

also, the heat-shrink i linked to above is really thick-walled and my normal butane hot-blower took forever to shrink them so i ended up using an old Ryobi electric heat gun which made short work of them.

[adriaanvn99]

Awesome work theksmith!

[ob1jeeper]

Cool stuff, and nice workmanship Kris...

[theksmith]

thanks guys!

[theksmith]

i just had to trim this one little ear off the Bulldog Winch vacuum pump relocation bracket.



then i was able to mount the pump upside down on it and attach it to the back of the winch tray. i ditched the elbow connector and replaced the short section of hose that had begun to crack.






with the pump relocation completed, i could finally finish the install! here are a few shots of the new bumper from different angles:







and from a little distance, here's Gadget's new look:

[scottL]

[dzJeepChic]

Looks awesome! Painting it was the right choice.