How to wire a winch with a hybrid gas/electric cart?

[budge72]

I have a 2017 Bad Boy Buggy (Textron) Ambush IS. It's a hybrid, utilizing a 48V electric motor to drive the front axle, and a 28 hp Subaru Robins gas engine to drive the rear axle. It can be operated in 2WD gas or electric modes, and 4WD hybrid mode (both motors).

I want to add a winch to the front end. The easiest solution would be to wire the winch to the starter battery for the gas engine, just like a car. This battery will then be recharged by the alternator. But the user manual clearly states that all accessories should be powered by a 48V to 12V voltage reducer using all six 8V batteries. That would be fine, except that these voltage reducers seem to max out at 30amps (way too little for a winch).

I could add another 12V battery to the cart, and power the winch and any other accessories from there. But then I would have to recharge that battery manually.

Any suggestions?

[Timberwolflt]

I doubt they had a winch in mind when they said “accessories”. A winch is a pretty good draw on any battery. I don’t know what type of battery is used for the starter motor but I doubt it would want to run a winch for more than a few seconds.
But if I was going to add a dedicated battery for the winch... I’d wire it parallel to the starter battery and let them work/recharge together.

Just curious... is it possible to let the front drive “push start” the rear drive if the starter battery is too weak?

[Timberwolflt]

Duplicate

[BBBHC]

There are 48 volt winches out there. I am looking into this now, but not having any luck finding any. I'll let you know if/when I find some.

[badandyturbo]

I use a separate 12V marine deep cycle batter my my electronics and wench. I only need to charge it once a week at most. It's not a hassle.