Why does my winch come with a giant, hard to mount, hard to operate switch?
The winch uses a large amount of battery current and needs large switch contacts. Some ATV winches can draw over 200 amps under full load. Cheaper winch kits just have a BIG switch, while the better kits have a small switch. The reason the nicer winch kits can use a small switch is because they also have a device called a contacter, which is basically a dual pole, dual throw (DPDT) relay. This contacter provides the current for the winch, while the smaller switch just signals the contacter. You can convert any winch kit with the large “switchosaurus” to use a nice small switch by purchasing the contacter (I know you can get the Warn contacter from a variety of distributors). I highly recommend the small switch with contacter for use with a plow.
