I was never happy with how JLR wants you to connect the accessory winch to the factory junction box. For anyone with DC electrical knowledge and experience properly mounting a winch, supplying the winch thru the main vehicle battery cable from a battery mounted under the seat is less than optimal especially with a more powerful winch than the Warn Zeon. The winch supply is fused by a 450 amp fusible link in the factory kit. Also, the alternator supply cable enters this same junction box before it goes to the battery. This is very evident when powering the winch under load and noticing the engine idle drop and even stall on occasion. In a perfect scenario, the winch power cables should be comnected directly to the battery. This is very difficult on the new defender because of the location of the battery. Also, because of the distance to the battery, the supply cables should be up sized due to voltage drop.

I wanted a solution for a proper power supply / wiring for my winch and also wanted to add a solar panel with controller to the d90. I had noticed that my defender would display the battery discharge warning often when using the vehicle when it is not running. I wanted a way to keep the battery charged when i am using the vehicle while camping. Solar is a great way to do this. The factory vehicle battery is a 94 amp hour AGM. It is pretty big, but i know that a factory battery is sized to the vehicle's starter and to power all of the factory electrics. Adding high powered lights, fridge, winch, and other accessories adds to the load. This is where i came up with a second small AGM battery mounted under the bonnet. This will provide a great power supply that is very close to the winch. It will also be a great spot to connect my solar charger. I wanted to add to the capacity of the vehicle battery, so i chose not to isolate this new battery, but run it in parallel with the vehicle battery. The next step was to pick a battery to use. Being mounted in the engine bay, lithium was not an option. That leaves AGM. Then there is the issue of size. I dont need a huge battery, so i measured the usable space behind the right headlamp and started looking at options. The next choice was a deep cycle battery or a starting battery. Lots of folks choose to have one of each in a dual parallel system. Winches also like deep cycle batteries since they provide a more even current supply. So i ended up with a 32 amp hour deep cycle AGM. It measures about 7x7x5 inches. Perfect for the space and a good amount of added capacity. I then designed and let the plasma table cut me a battery tray.

turned out pretty good for the prototype. Proceeded to bolt it in to test fit. I moved my washer flid filler neck (future mod for this since on extreme downhills, all the washer fliud dumps out of it) to the strut tower.

FIts very well! Now to mount the battery and terminate the wiring. Basically, picture the battery wired mid way in line of the factory winch wiring. The 450 amp fuse is still there. It is wired to the +post of the new battery, then the +post is wired to the winch. Basically i cut the winch 2 awg wire and installed a new terminal lug on each end I cut. I did the same with the ground cable. Ground goes from the winch to the -post of the new battery and then the -post gets the same gauge wire to chassis ground. Current will still be provided to the winch from the alternator and the vehicle battery when needed. Also this battery will provide more cranking amps when starting.

i still need to install the solar (supposed to show up today &#128515 and put the + pole cover on. Otherwise, it is done. Ran a quick test with the winch and it was a major difference. No idle dip when going powering the winch from fwd to rev. Also, the vehicle starter cranks quickly! Less shaky on startup! This is an added bonus. Seems the extra 32 ah helps quite a bit. I cant wait for the solar and to do a loaded test on the winch.

 

Very nice solution Sarek !
I run to the same problem when camping and run overnight my ARB fridge/freezer. Almost every morning battery Low warning, start engine.
Wonder if there is still space under my relocated Warn control box for this setup..?



Agree with the filler neck of the screenwasher reservoir, it spills.
Thx. !

 

This battery does sit very low, so it could fit under the controller. Could easily attatch a bracket to our battery tray to allow it to maybe be mounted horizontally over the battery. You would notice a huge difference while winching. Much shorter wiring to a battery. Also, this was one reason i wanted a solar panel was for a fridge. I have been apprehensive on purchasing one since I didnt want to worry about discharging the vehicle battery. With 8 to 10 amps of solar available and the additional ah of the battery, i am on the hunt for a refrigerator now.

 

Thanks for reply, I will measure and see if I can put up the control box a little higher.
According to the fridge, I got the 50 quarts ARB, made some low stainless loops on the flat flooring for attaching the ARB tie down kit.





Ps. Mudstuff rear door folding table came in very handy, expensive, but fully worth.