Can anybody shed any light on the mystery object in the attached photo, it is in the Plus Volts lead between the battery and the relay box that controls the keel winch. I'm guessing that it is there to stop back EMF from the relays or the winch motor from upsetting the remainder of the electrical system. My questions is: is this a standard fitting or has Flamingo's previous owner added it, the way that it was fitted and insulated doesn't seem to match Parkers's usual standard.

Thanks.

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Phill

I recall having a bit like that with the Dutton-Lainson winch I replaced. I think it is a circuit breaker for overload protection, and comes with the winch as supplied by D-L.

Hi Phill,

I don’t have anything like that on my setup. Unlike Dick, I don’t recall anything like that coming with my original Dutton Lainson winches. The only extra box I have is the reversing solenoid and it looks nothing like your device. Dutton Lainson are no longer distributed by Aquafax so I’m not sure who in the trade could offer advice.

Good luck with your quest. I think we are all curious now. One thought - could you try a reverse image search on Google? I’ve not done that myself but I know it can do it.

A quick search of the Dutton Lainson website shows the offending item in the photos of our winches, and it is described as 'overload protection' in the instruction manual so I think that I'll refit it. Ken, on looking in the box for my spare winch in the garage I notice that there is one of these devices in the box, you are welcome to it if you would like it, just PM me your address.

Phill

We can all sleep peacefully now you have identified the part. It's odd that I've not come across one in my travels. Thanks for the offer of one though I will politely decline. I recently treated the connection between relay and winch to some nice high capacity tinned wire and all it working nicely. As they say, "if it ain't broke...".

In case anyone is curious, I used 50A Anderson connectors so I can, if desired, easily remove the winch. I measured current draw while winching up the keel at 48 amps. The other thing I noticed is that when I raised the keel under battery power alone, then connected a battery charger immediately afterwards, it didn't take long at all for the battery charge current to fade away to zero. The winch motor is not really a battery killer.

Cheers!