[Scoundrel]

I just installed the Winch Mount Plate from Extreme Metal Products.
I used a Warn 2000-lb winch, which I feel will be plenty powerful enough for the kind of winching I expect to do.

EMP has an installation video which covers the basics, and I've included it below, but I wanted to cover some details as well.

Here's the installation video:

Plate Bend Angles
Make sure your plate is bent at the right angle before doing anything else.
When my mount plate first arrived, it was not bent correctly. Looked at from the side, it is a series of bends that does not quite reach 180 degrees of bending.
The first one was a few degrees short, so it would not meet up with the mounting holes. When bolted at the bottom, it was about an inch away from the top holes, and vice versa.
I spent quite a while messing with it before I was sure it was the plate and not me. Then I took some photos of it and sent that to EMP.
They were apologetic, sent me a new plate, and sent a return shipping label for the defective one, so that was nice.
But it still delayed my winch install by a couple of weeks. The replacement fit well.

Mounting the Plate
As noted in the video, it is necessary to drill out the bottom holes that the plastic fascia is attached to, and use their replacement bolts for the mount plate.
The top uses two of the existing holes that the factory bracket supporting the radiator used.
The plate attaches with four 5/16" bolts and locknuts.

Winch Position
The winch mounts inside the plate upside down, which I thought was a little weird.
It took me an extra couple of minutes to figure out which way to mount the winch to make sure that the cable was spooling "underhanded" when mounted.
But, when bolted up, it looks OK, seems to work, and the electrical connectors are easily accessible, so that's good.
The winch does block access to the check/fill plug on the front differential, so that's not optimal, but the Polaris winch does the same. Nothing to be done for that.
See images below.

Radiator Position
Once I got the plate installed, I found that the radiator no longer lined up with the holes at the top. It was about 1/4" off.
I decided that the easiest way to deal with that was just to drill and tap new holes for the top of the radiator.
See images below.

Fascia Bolts
When putting the front fascia panel back onto the ACE, I found that the provided bolts from EMP were soft, and I promptly stripped out the head of the first one.
So I found a couple of lockwashers and nuts that fit the factory Polaris bolts and used those instead.
See images below.

Wiring
I highly recommend that you remove the drift pins on the hood when you start wiring, and get the hood out of the way.
I chose to mount my contactor module to the plastic firewall at the back of the wiring area, to the left of the terminal block.
I used a right-angle Dremel adapter to drill holes, and a stubby screwdriver to put the screws in. It was a pain, but once in place, it worked well.
I had just enough room for a stubby ratchet and a 10mm socket to tighten up the nuts on the contactor.
The provided winch wires were WAY too long, but I don't have high grade cable ends, so rather than clip them, I just wound the extra around the winch barrel.
I just bundled up the extra red/black wires with a zip tie and stuffed them out of the way.
See images below.

Switch Mount
I like to have my rocker switch easily accessible from inside or standing next to the vehicle, so I mounted mine on the fender to the left of the dash.
I had to provide my own screws, and drilled a couple of holes through the fender. A bit of Loctite sealed the deal. I drilled a larger hole for the wires to slip through.
I did cut the extra length of the switch wires, crimped new ends on, and plugged those into the contactor.
See images below.

Wrapping Up
I prefer to use a 5000-lb test carabiner instead of a steel hook on the end of my winch cable.
I also made a quick trip to the pet store and grabbed a stiff dog chew toy (this one was not Kong brand but just as good).
I cut the end off and gave the rest to the dogs.

Winch Position
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Radiator Position
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Fascia Bolts
View attachment 888

Wiring
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View attachment 883

Switch Mount
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View attachment 889

Wrapping Up
View attachment 884

 

[Geerhead]

Nice writeup Scoundrel. I had the same issues with my EMP mount as well. I opted for a little modification on my own instead of returning. I shortened the bottom of the bracket by sawing off about 5/8 of an inch, just cutting off at the back the original holes and redrilling. I also bent the bracket a little more at the angles you mentioned to make fit up a bit better. Bending took some effort as the bracket is thick and very stiff. This had the affect of rotating the bracket downward moving the radiator mounting down to it's original position. I also wish the hawse mounting was higher on the bracket to line up better with the winch spooling off the bottom (which is upside down).
View attachment 892 View attachment 893

 

[Scoundrel]

Yeah, I considered trying to bend mine some more on my own, but I really don't have the equipment to do it right, and I was afraid if I messed it up, they wouldn't replace it for free.
I didn't think about cutting it short and re-drilling. That was a good idea. Risky, but glad it worked out for you.

I also noticed that the hawse does not line up well with where the winch line comes out. I considered adding some washers to move the winch, but didn't want to weaken its footprint.

The truth is, I probably won't be using the winch that much anyway. I've been more careful about getting stuck lately with my ORVs, and when pulling someone else out, I usually just connect a tow rope to the frame and pull with the engine.
I know people have broken things that way, particularly in the RZR, in reverse - but the kind of pulling out I usually do only involves providing a few extra pounds, enabling the towed vehicle to basically get out on its own with a little help.

In your photos, it looks like your winch is spooling from the top instead of the bottom. Am I just not seeing that right?

 

[Scoundrel]

I found a couple of photos I kept from when the original plate was not bent right.

In one photo, you can see the plate bolted at the top, and you can see how the bottom does not line up.
In the other photo, the reverse is true.

View attachment 895

View attachment 894

 

[Scoundrel]

Here's another angle of the same problem.
And in case it's not clear how big that gap is, another photo.

View attachment 897

View attachment 899

 

[Geerhead]

In your photos, it looks like your winch is spooling from the top instead of the bottom. Am I just not seeing that right?

No, you're correct, it is coming off the top in the picture. I'll probably flip it around eventually, but it lined up better this way with the hawse. It does put more stress on the mounting this way, though.

 

[Skyliner]

Question: I'm very clueless about winches and want to install on but don't want the Poo kit. Is there another vendor that makes a winch mount that is better designed for our ACEs? I do not like having stuff not line up perfectly and/or bending or drilling new holes. I'm still a little sour from installing EPS on our 2 aces. The first install was hard because my wife's '15 had a '14 chassis and I needed to slot all mount plates and on mine I had to grind the frame so that the wiring wouldn't be pinched. Thanks!

 

[70cyclone]

KFI mount is the way to go
Polaris Sportsman ACE Winch Mount - Winch Mounts - POLARIS - ACE - Polaris Sportsman ACE Winch Mount - KFI ATV Winch, Mounts and Accessories

 

[Scoundrel]

+1 on the KFI mount.
The EMP mount nearly destroyed my radiator. I'd rather have the winch mount crumple than my radiator, thanks EMP.

 

[Indy Joe]

I have the KFI mount and it works great. As a bonus you get a metal not plastic bumper.

 

[Skyliner]

Appreciate the feedback and all of you for making the sacrifice by testing out products so we forum members can determine which one is best for our ACES! KFI mount it is for me!

 

[Mungo]

We have discussed this before, but I wanted to ask for some advice.

I installed a 3000lb winch wired to the accessory block (thought it was and easy to access location. I have been blowing the 25A accessory fuse and am wondering if I have a short in the winch wiring, or if 25A is just too small for a 3000lb winch. Advice is welcome.

 

[Scoundrel]

Have a look at this performance guide from Warn regarding their Vantage 3000 winch: http://www.warn.com/truck/ReplacementParts/parts/343/89311A0_rs.pdf

Specifically, at the AMP draw.
View attachment 3739

 

[70cyclone]

Here's a potentially dumb question....you didn't hook the main power wire to the center switched wire did you? The main(not factory fused) wire is the left(red) wire.

 

[Scoundrel]

Whoah, that's a good point. Winches usually have two 12V+ wires - one small one to power the contactor, and the big fat one to actually do the winching.
The big fat one should be direct to battery. The small control wire is fine for keyed power and should not blow a 25A fuse.

I did not read closely enough, and thought he was referring to a separate fuse that he put in. But he did say "the 25A accessory fuse".
How about it, Mungo? More details on how you wired it up?

 

[Mungo]

I put both to the keyed power connector on the accessory block. At the time I did not realize that accessory block had a fuse.

The chart confirms that the draw is well beyond what the accessory block can handle.

I will have to rewire the fat red wire from the solenoid to the battery directly, and leave the switch red wire in the 25A fuse block.

Thanks Scoundrel and 70 cyclone.

 

[Scoundrel]

You can still use the terminal block, you just need to use the direct battery connection on it instead of the keyed power.

 

[Mungo]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks again.

 

[Mungo]

I must have originally known what I was doing. I had wired the accessory block to a remote terminal block that can more easily be accessed.

All I did was pull out the remote box, switch the fat winch power wire to the constant power port on the remote terminal block and solved the issue.

Thanks again Scoundrel and 70Cyclone.

 

[Scoundrel]

You never know when you're gonna need that winch.

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