Need quick answer. Broke down on lake ice fishing.

[dirtdobber]

I don't believe a winch, working a light load, will draw nearly as much amperage as a starter when cranking a healthy engine. Of course, we don't know how hard Mj's winch was having to work. I think the likely answer as to why the winch would work but not the starter lies in what we have already said - starter going bad, bad connections, faulty solenoid, etc. It only makes sense because the winch has to be on a different circuit.

I had a crazy situation once with a John Deere 4 wheeler (Bombardier) where the electric shift wouldn't up shift. Despite reading 12 volts at the shift motor. Turns out is was a corroded connection inside the wiring harness. It had enough connection to deliver 12 volts, but was corroded enough it couldn't deliver amps to do the work.

[mjbuck]

I do not have easy access to the pull start option. With all the extra racks and gear I have on my Max, I would have to spend an hour taking off stuff to get to the pull starter. Wasn't practical on the ice with 16 degree temps and 20 mph winds. Easier to pull to shore and fix in my heated garage.

[dwdog51]

It will probably happen again. Could be a bad relay or the starter sol. was hanging up. Always carry a jumper wire (10 gauge wire) so you can turn on the key then jump directly from the positive post (the big post on the starter sol.) to the exciter terminal on the same sol. and it should crank and if the key is on, you can work the throttle from under the hood, it should start or atleast crank if the starter & start sol. are ok. If your engine has a recoil starter, turn the key switch on, give er a little throttle and choke and pull the rope.