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Under the most ideal conditions, 8 AWG wire is good for up to 80 amps at most.

I wonder if @Sparkherd slipped a decimal point somewhere in claiming that his winch drew 780 amps. If he meant 78 amps, then it's plausible.
I was skeptical too, but looked up a warn winch and it listed 480 amps.

How does that work? Where does the power come from? Dual big alternators?

What are we missing? Is it a max current draw but most applications draw 1/10th?

Of course you can't draw 480 or more if you can only supply 200.

Hmmmm will have to Google some more.
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Sparkherd

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Under the most ideal conditions, 8 AWG wire is good for up to 80 amps at most.

I wonder if @Sparkherd slipped a decimal point somewhere in claiming that his winch drew 780 amps. If he meant 78 amps, then it's plausible.
Well, my bad; I can't find the spec sheet for mine, from 1985, but I found the spec sheet for the new model...which, I bet, has a lower amp pull.
So I was off by a factor of two.
Um...still not a good idea, IMHO, to wire this thru those aux switches.
But I'm an ASE, not a EE...
https://www.warn.com/m12-12v-heavyweight-winch-17801
 

Sparkherd

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I was skeptical too, but looked up a warn winch and it listed 480 amps.

How does that work? Where does the power come from? Dual big alternators?

What are we missing? Is it a max current draw but most applications draw 1/10th?

Of course you can't draw 480 or more if you can only supply 200.

Hmmmm will have to Google some more.
The power comes from your battery/alternator combination...and not for very long at 400+ amps!
I usedta mud with some old farts in Louisiana. They all had winches and dual batteries. I'm not sure if they upgraded their alternators, but that was back in the day when high amp alternators were not that easy to come by.
A few of them had Jeeps and one Power Wagon that had PTO winches. One old fart said the PTO winch was a good idea, because it's easy to tell how hard the winch is pulling by how much you had to mash on the gas pedal.
Electric winches give less indication as to how hard they are pulling, and anarchy can result; I saw at least one truck with the front suspension ripped loose from using a big winch with the front wheels wedged against an immovable object.
Your mileage will vary...
 
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Bob Blaylock

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With the caveat that the rules and limits may be different in automotive applications, than in my profession as an electrician, (but I very much doubt if it differs by a factor of as much as two, much less ten), here are pages 73 and 74 of the 2020 edition of the Ugly's reference, which shows the basic ampacities of different wire sizes. The table on page 73 assumes that the wire is in some sort of conduit or raceway, and 74 assumes that the wire is in open air.

The primary element that limits how much current a wire can safely carry is heat. If the wire gets too hot, the insulation will burn or melt, or the terminal where the wire is connected may be damaged. The three different temperatures shown on the tables are for wire that has insulation that can withstand those different temperatures.

Ford Bronco AUX Auxiliary Switch Ratings are updated from previous specs 1635712341080
Ford Bronco AUX Auxiliary Switch Ratings are updated from previous specs 1635712355556


I think this piece of wire, shown with a few standard American coins for scale, is 600 kcmil. It's about an inch in diameter. Under the most ideal conditions, this is the wire that can handle 780 amperes in open air, if the insulation and termination are rated for 90°C.

Ford Bronco AUX Auxiliary Switch Ratings are updated from previous specs ZSC_2596_1200x1000
 

bdub2you

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What's the deal with the non-powered circuits at the end of the OP?

Also, where is a good place to learn about this? I hear people recommending to not use the switches and wore directly to the battery with a separately added switch in some cases. For high power items like a winch I get it, but for other cases, why? What does it mean to use or not use a relay?

Clearly I am not an automotive electrician, but I don't want to have to pay someone else each time I want to add something.
The non-powered circuits are the pre-run wiring that goes to various parts of the vehicle and that can be connected to the powered circuits. They're intended to save you time and effort in wiring. Look at the non-powered circuits B1, B2, C, D, and E.
Ford Bronco AUX Auxiliary Switch Ratings are updated from previous specs bronco-aux-switches-upfitter-wiring-diagram-
 

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WOW, he pulled the Ugly’s book out on you!
Buy one and use it, best reference ever.
 

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wouldn’t the switch run to a solenoid that in turns powers the winch. Would not want the winch powered all the time.
This.
The whole point of a relay is to allow the use of a remotely located, lower current switch, ie. the auxiliary switches. I’m planning on using one of my auxiliary switches to run to my winch relay.
 

ryridesmotox

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For me, the real question is, will the wire that is prerun to the back quarter handle the power needed for a compressor. Or should I just run my own 12awg all the way from the battery. Anyone confirm if it's enough?

Smitty say their compressor is max draw of 13.8v and 48A. So I'm figuring on doing a relay in the engine and then running some 8awg back myself. But if the factory aux wiring will handle it. Then I'll let my lazy take over
 
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does anyone know the max amps for each aux switch? I got RIGID pods rated at 4.8amps/each, would probably need 10amp max. will switches 3-6 work?

watched videos online of people using aux 1 or aux 6, i know the gauges of those two are different.

edit: super novice to electrical, anything helps. i am asking Professor Google questions
 

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does anyone know the max amps for each aux switch? I got RIGID pods rated at 4.8amps/each, would probably need 10amp max. will switches 3-6 work?

watched videos online of people using aux 1 or aux 6, i know the gauges of those two are different.

edit: super novice to electrical, anything helps. i am asking Professor Google questions
Page 18
 

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thanks! i saw the fuse size and had to confirm if they translated directly to mean their max amp. According to google, that is the case. Please correct me if i am wrong.

For now i won't waste the higher amp aux switches on these pod lights, it's going to 3.

Maybe a huge bumper light bar/fog lights is in the future somewhere.
 

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thanks! i saw the fuse size and had to confirm if they translated directly to mean their max amp. According to google, that is the case. Please correct me if i am wrong.

For now i won't waste the higher amp aux switches on these pod lights, it's going to 3.

Maybe a huge bumper light bar/fog lights is in the future somewhere.
Exactly, I don’t know why people use aux 1 unless for convenience. I used aux 3 for pod lights and aux 4 for my platform lights.
 

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Since all of the wiring are the same "gauge", would it be possible to upgrade all of the aux fuses to a 30A? Would there be any negative effects to this, again, as the wiring should be able to handle it? please keep in mind, I have no idea what a 1.5mm2 wire is.

EDIT: They are not the same gauge.
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