Warn Powerplant issue

BigAl

Expedition Leader
My winch wont pull in intermittenly, when it happens the thermo light comes on. The winch is not hot at all. It runs cable out fine. I'm thinking this is either a short in the controller or the thermo switch is bad in the winch. Would it run out cable with a bad thermo switch in the winch?
 

Schattenjager

Expedition Leader
Sounds like a faulty thermo sensor. Have you contacted Warn to see if they can offer some troubleshooting ideas? Back in the day their support was top notch - not sure about today. Good luck!
 

dsy

Adventurer
My winch wont pull in intermittenly, when it happens the thermo light comes on. The winch is not hot at all. It runs cable out fine. I'm thinking this is either a short in the controller or the thermo switch is bad in the winch. Would it run out cable with a bad thermo switch in the winch?

Mine did the same thing. The early runs of the powerplants had a bad thermo sensor. Called them up and they sent a new one out right away. Have had no problems since.
 

BigAl

Expedition Leader
So yes it was the thermo sensor. Thanks for the tips. After talkng with hoaks 4x4 (warn winch service), the early winches have a aluminum sensor, the new sensors are nickle. the new sensor was $9. It is very easy to change. you just take off the end cap of the motor (2 bolts), take out a set screw and replace the sensor. i found that my sensor was bad the hard way, severely stuck. If you have a powerplant, I would advise getting a spare sensor. Alternatively you can diconnect the lead going to the sensor and just jumper it in an emergency. this can be done with no disassembly
 

dsy

Adventurer
the new sensor was $9. It is very easy to change. you just take off the end cap of the motor (2 bolts), take out a set screw and replace the sensor.

Call Warn and they will send you out a new one for no charge. You probably will not need a spare but would not hurt to have it.
 

m561gamagoat

New member
My Powerplant HP stopped the other day. No load on it just reeling it in. There is power to the winch but nothing works. When I activate the remote there is a click in the winch then nothing. Compressor does not operate either.
 

Warn Industries

Supporting Vendor
My Powerplant HP stopped the other day. No load on it just reeling it in. There is power to the winch but nothing works. When I activate the remote there is a click in the winch then nothing. Compressor does not operate either.

Give our Customer Service team a call at 1-800-543-9276—they'll help troubleshoot the issue for you.

- Andy
 

brasskey

Observer
My winch wont pull in intermittenly, when it happens the thermo light comes on. The winch is not hot at all. It runs cable out fine. I'm thinking this is either a short in the controller or the thermo switch is bad in the winch. Would it run out cable with a bad thermo switch in the winch?

I know I'm coming into this thread late, but I thought I'd mention my similar experience if you haven't figured it out. I have a PowerPlant HD and about 2 1/2 years ago the winch stopped pulling. It would spool out under power, but it would not spool in at all (not even intermittently like yours). After getting on the phone with Warn tech support and troubleshooting for a while, they figured out I had a faulty remote switch hub. It was $250 to replace at that time.
 
This is an old thread but I wanted to share a recent experience with my Powerplant. I bought it in 2009 and used the winch once to re-spool under some load. I've used the compressor a couple times per month airing up and found it similar in ability and speed to friends York/Kilby systems. I have (knock on wood) never needed the winch to get unstuck.

Doing some modifications last month I need to spool a little line out and then back in. As with so many others I was able to spool out but just got a solenoid click trying to spool in (compressor still worked). I called Warn tech support who offered to sell me a solenoid pack for retail price.

Reading this thread and others I thought the thermal sensor might be bad, a $250 savings over solenoid. I took the winch to Tri-County Gear in Pomona Ca, a Warn authorized repair center to have them diagnose the issue. They found that it was, in fact, the solenoid pack that was bad. They called Warn and haggled and got it covered under warranty.

I was a bit grouchy when I discovered the winch didn't work and even more so when Warn wanted me to pay full price for a part that was clearly not right when it was introduced, but in the end I have to hand it to both Tri-County who went to bat for me and Warn who really stepped up and stood behind their product. I have to add that Tri-County would not have tried so hard to cover a 5-year-old winch if the winch had not been very lightly used and still look nearly new. If yours has seen some abuse you might not get the same results. I don't know that I'd recommend a Powerplant to a friend because of the issues they've had, but I'd definitely buy Warn again.

Cheers
 

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