In-Cab Controls: Reverse Engineering Warn Winch Remote

A few months ago I set out to install in-cab controls for my Warn winch, but ran into weird issues. I made a video about what in the world was going on. Hopes this helps anyone else with a Warn winch.

 

Neat. Farming views for your YouTube channel. Not gonna play. Thanks.

 

I’m sure a few people on this forum have contemplated in-cab winch controls. My searching turned up no good info on the topic. No need to watch if there’s no interest. Just sharing with folks who might be looking for the same info I was.

 

What did you end up doing? Any pics?

 

Hey man. I was pretty curious and started watching your video. But it's started pretty slow also I started fast forwarding and got to a section where I saw 3 shots of a coffee maker.....

Would you like to share here briefly what the behavior and fix was?

I feel like i just wasted 45 seconds of my life.

 

Haha.
For sure.

Why I wanted in-cab controls:

The strange behavior is that modern warn winches don't use traditional switches inside the remote to control the winch.
The remotes send digital signals that are interpreted on the winch side to make the winch spool.



To get around this, I built an enclosure around the "brain" from the remote so it could live inside the dash, and could "piggyback" the toggle switches onto the brain.

 

Finished

 

Nice, you should have led with that LOL. I hate watching linked videos unless they are obviously short and specific to the instruction I am looking for. I wouldn't have watched your video, but I am interested in your project and in learning a little - and the images and description in your above post are exactly what I wanted.

 

Yeah, that's totally fair. Guy with 20 posts shows up with a YouTube link and a 3 sentence intro. I'd be skeptical, too.

After going through the rigamarole of making and uploading a video, I was turnin' and burnin' to get back to my crying 1 year old.

 

That came out pretty clean, well done

 

Thanks!

 

Impressive, daneo

 

IF YOU USE A WARN WINCH, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.
TOP TIP WARN WINCHES DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW
HOW TO USE A WARN WHICH LIKE A PRO OVERLANDER

Blah blah blah. The concept and the tech is neat but the clickbait is annoying and cringe. The photoshopped cover picture with a YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE XYZ HAPPENED vibe from all these grown men is wild. Just be real, short and sweet next time. We are not your click farm.

 

Geez, now I’m curious and feel compelled to click to see the video lol.

By the way, you forgot to mention jumping “jazz hands” thumbnails.

 

As much as it kinda sucks to get called out, I really appreciate the feedback.

The content and the motives are sincere, so should the thumbnail and how it’s shared with this forum.

I welcome feedback.

While it’d be exciting for the algorithm to pick up these videos, let’s be real. Almost no one is searching for “warn winch in cab controls” on YouTube. So, I’m really making these videos for the few dozen of us that are interested in these niche topics.

Y’all are my audience. And if you aren’t feeling respected, I have failed. I’m listening and I hear you.

 

[Thread title and YouTube thumbnail revised]

 

For what it’s worth, you’re around a bunch of old guys here, bordering on crotchety.

Many of us are used to the old internet forums (or usenet groups lol) with epic write-ups full of pictures and knowledge. It was info at your fingertips that could be referenced, bookmarked, and reviewed at our leisure, without having to sit through ads and a large video production full of algorithm-pleasing fluff. Many youtube videos also were like that, but the algorithm makes stumbling on those harder than it used to be. (Forums also let you converse with posters in a more natural manner)

If you’re making a go at some youtube income, it’s understandable to do as the algorithm wants you to do. But for forums, it’s better if you share what you’ve done in written form with some screenshots, and interact on the forum instead of the comments section. Then, maybe link the video. It fits the forum format much better.

 

Yes

Something I always try to do when I do a write up (which is infrequent since I basically just shit post now) is to make sure the title completely represents what the thread is, and that I include as many terms as I can to get other people's searches to hit on the thread, if they are seeking info and searching for it. One downside to videos and click bait titles is that you are making the things you want to present to others essentially unsearchable.

 

No disrespect. You dont know your audience here. Your video, title, everything.....you even have a story in the beginning and I think a coffee break. That's all for followers to build a relationship with you and works for people who were born and live behind screens. People here are older. Sometimes i just feel pretty damn young here at 38.

You were never going yo get subscribers here so it's not worth trying. You need to go to social media apps.

 

Here's an idea that would get you a lot of views and I have thought a lot about it myself......so when I was ripping out all of my interior, including head liner and most of my dash i found that there weren't a lot of good videos.

Like yours, people would make a very specific video like how to remove this one little bit of dash because they needed to out of necessity and so they made a video only about that AND they told a boring ass story about it. They all had stories. Like when you look up a recipe and have to scroll 10 pages to find the recipe because you're getting a history lesson on how tomatoes were introduced to pasta.

In short, a comprehensive how to on removing all interior and dash as well as reinstalling it.

People would watch that just to see what a stripped 4runner interior looks like AND just to see if you can get it back together.

You're making a video because you needed to on a very specific topic that isn't worth anything to virtually everyone. Gotta go wide. Needs to be accessible to most people.

 

You mean like this? I wish I had made a video.



I’ll probably keep doing my niche 4Runner project videos and post the interesting ones up here with a summary. I don’t plan on making a red cent from it, but I’d be stoked to hear someone else did in-cab controls or whatever after watching a video.

 

Hell yeah! That’s what we’re talking about!!! So, what was the occasion?

Edit: I see mud splashes on the dash…did you sink it? Lol Fess up!

 

Oh yeah baby just like that. So what did you do? Post more about this project

 

There’s probably enough to start a new thread!

Solo in Arkansas doing the High Watermark Trail. Chose the wrong bog hole.

Was able to winch out. 4Runner got me through the rest of the trail and home without even a check engine light.

Why they call it the High Watermark Trail:

Spent all thanksgiving cleaning.

Drying out the sound insulator on the firewall took a few days.

…and that brings us to what happens when your starter motor gets bog water in it…

https://www.4runners.com/threads/2015-starter-replacement-diy.20335/#post-404594