Jeep Articles / Technical and Installation (Chicago Electric 9000lb Winch)

Chicago Electric 9000lb Winch

Article written by Moab Man

Date Added: 03/03/2007

Sometimes the almighty dollar is what dictates your next purchase and upgrade. This is true for tires, lifts, and even winches.

For those of us that have to build on a budget, Chicago Electric is there with their 9000lb winch. Though it doesn?t have some of the fancy features of other winches (wireless remote, automatic clutch, etc...), it costs significantly less. Simply put, this winch is made to pull at a bargain price.

Installation

1. Mount the winch and roller fairlead to the winch plate. This will vary depending on who manufactured the winch plate, so just follow their instructions. Torque the winch to the mounting plate at 35 foot-lbs.

2. Attach winch and winch plate to the vehicle (again per the winch plate manufacturer?s instructions).

3. Attach the Solenoid Bracket to the Solenoid Assembly. The cables in the picture are not routed per Chicago Electric's instructions. See "Installation Issues" below

We deviated from the instructions. See below.

4. Remove the bolts from the Tie Bar on the motor end. Attach the Solenoid Bracket with the Tie Bar bolts.

5. Once the Solenoid Bracket is firmly attached, slide the provided Bracket Tie Down over the Solenoid Bracket foot (visible in picture 3), and pull the strap until secured.

6. Attach the short solenoid power cables to the winch motor terminals.

Use two wrenches to tighten down each terminal connection. Otherwise the terminal could be damaged internally.

7. Attach winch power lines to the battery. Our particular battery had wing-nut posts for easy connection.

8. Plug in the winch controller, and give it a try.

Installation Issues

1. The instructions show the solenoid-to-winch motor cables being routed as shown in our picture. We found the cables to be too short to reach the terminals. Routing the cables through the bracket will correct this. Our suggestion is that Chicago Electric extends the length of the cables by one inch, or change the routing instructions.

2. The instructions state you can connect the solenoid cables to either winch motor terminal. However, we suggest you do it as shown in Step 6. Switching the two solenoid cables will cause your winch to run in reverse of what is logical.

3. Throughout the instructions Chicago Electric uses part numbers to reference to the exploded views in the back of the manual. Confusion sets in because the same part number is used for a different part in a different drawing.

Final Thoughts

The Chicago Electric 9000lb Winch instructions are pretty straight forward and include multiple installation options.

For the budget minded this winch comes with all of the essentials; roller fairlead, universal winch plate, and a weather proof controller.

From our experience so far, we expect this winch to hold its own against the big boys. Incorporating our suggestions would make this an even better product and value.

Vendor Response

Hey Bob,

You (MOABJEEPER Magazine) have some good suggestions. We will review the product and the manual and incorporate some changes.

~Chicago Electric~

Purchase / Vendor Info

Vendor Name:	Harbor Freight
Address:	3491 Mission Oaks Blvd Camarillo, CA 93011
Phone:	800-423-2567
E-Mail Address:
Website:	http://www.harborfreight.com/

Our Thank You's!

MOABJEEPER Magazine would like to thank Chicago Electric for participating in our winch test.

Technical / Installation Articles - Body Interior / Exterior