I recently mounted a hidden winch mount but haven't finished wiring the winch. Where have you guys mounted the solenoid to be able to access the plug?

 

What about a wireless remote?

 

With my Smittybilt (and aftermarket solenoid pack), I mounted mine right to the bottom of the core support behind the bumper, then remote mounted my controller plug flush into the grill.

 

I like that! How did you remote mount your plug? Was it just the aftermarket solenoid that came that way?

 

Well I got the winch used and actually tore apart and rebuilt the whole thing. But the box that usually sits on top on the winch that contains the solenoid pack and the plug for the controller was broken. So I opened it up and separated the parts and just mounted them away from each other. The plug is actually mounted to some random piece of plastic that I cut to size, and then I clearanced a spot in the grill for the plug and its new mount to fit into and just screwed it into place. My only gripe about it is that it can be finiky to plug in the controller since the brush guard and light bar are in the way, but it isn't too bad.

 

Really appreciate the feedback. I'll see if I can mount the solenoid where I can get access through the grill and if not, I may have to get a wireless control.

 

I originally had a wireless receiver hooked up, but I didn't like the delay it had... Not such a worry when starting to winch in, it just takes about a half second before it actually starts winching in when you hit the button on the wireless remote. I didn't like the fact that it did it when you let off the button... Last thing you need is the winch to keep on winching in even for a half a second when you let off the button in an emergency...

 

With my first winch, I mounted the solenoid on the back of the radiator support and drilled a hole in the side of the grill to mount the plug. Worked perfect until the winch quit working. Bought a bigger winch and couldn't separate the solenoid from its housing, so had to mount the whole thing on the bumper. The winch is still hidden but everyone now knows I have a winch because the solenoid housing is on the bumper. Works perfect, though.

 

Yeah, delay is not a good thing when you actually need a winch.

Can you send me a pic of your setup?