Preferred Trailer Winch Wiring Ground Location

Updated 01/27/2020 | Published 01/24/2020

Question:

For a trailer-mounted winch on my 09 F-150, one of your guides Wiring a trailer mounted winch https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-wire-an-electric-winch.aspx shows the power cable running from the battery to the rear and a short ground wire terminated to the frame at each end as opposed to the ground running the length of the vehicle with this part. Is there an advantage to running the ground the length of the vehicle vice terminating a ground on each end? I dont see the point in running a ground wire the entire length as detailed in this product application if it is not needed. Thanks in advance for answering my question.

asked by: Brian

Expert Reply:

You are correct that grounding the wiring for a trailer winch like the Bulldog Winch Rear Wiring Kit # BDW20207 does not need to be run all the way to the battery in order to ground but it is often the most secure. Running the ground the entire length of the vehicle should provide a more constistent connection. We see often electrical troubleshooting issues are caused by poor ground connections often due to corrosion, stacked rings, etc. and terminating to the frame increases the chance of these interruptions occuring.

expert reply by: Patrick R