Can 12k Winch Ground to Frame or Does it have to Run to Battery Post

Published 02/16/2023

Question:

Installing a 12000 lb recovery winch on my 2019 Mercedes Sprinter, 3.0 AWD: 1. Can I safely ground to a clean bolt on the frame, or does it have to ground to the battery? 2. Any reason not to install a circuit breaker in the + line, and what amp breaker? 3. Any reason not to install a battery cutoff switch in the + line?

asked by: Ron K

Helpful Expert Reply:

This is a really great question that we debated here not that long ago actually. A lot of people have done it both ways and it seems to be fine for most people to ground through the frame. But on higher drawing winches like what you have it's best to run the wire (I know it's expensive) back to the negative post of the battery. One way to get a good idea if you can go to the frame is to compare the thickness of the winch's ground wire and the thickness of the ground strap ran from your vehicle battery's negative post back to the starter. If the winch has a thicker wire you need to go to the battery directly for sure.

Most likely the winch comes with a breaker that you would need to use as that's pretty standard. There shouldn't be a problem using a battery cut off switch if you wanted to.

expert reply by: Jameson C