[cumminsdieselgt]

I received my Genuine Polaris 3500 HD Winch Kit from my dealer last week, and during the installation, I tried to take as many pictures as I could of what we could run into when trying to install the kit. Sometimes instructions give good information, and sometimes the tips and tricks are lacking. I had not had experience with Polaris' kits, so that is why I documented my procedure. I hope that this will help someone, and at least let you have the same information I have to save you some time or prevent problems.



This is the Polaris part number 2879709, 3500 HD Winch kit with synthetic rope made specifically for the ACE. It is a complete kit with all necessary mountings, hardware, connections, and cabled remote switch. It was packaged well, and includes everything needed to install it except for some 3/8" split wire loom and a few more nylon wire ties.

The instructions say to to start by removing the 2 plastic dart clips (I call them plastic fender rivets, plastic push pins, fender or bumper rivets, or whatever you want) from the cover in the front storage compartment. Remove cover and set cover aside.
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Remove the seat, then remove the 3 torx screws holding the plastic over the battery box. Gently lift up plastic piece and over the seat belt retractor to allow access to the battery cables.
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Remove the screws from the negative battery cable first, then the positive cable. Isolate them to prevent contact with the battery terminals, and be careful not to lose the semi-captive nuts from the battery terminals on the battery.

Next, remove the screws and rivets from the center dash and lift it up slightly so you can remove the wire harness attached to the speedometer. If the rivets are dirty, they get difficult to remove, but a shot of Teflon/silicone seems to do the trick to release the center part so they will come out easily. Squeeze the clip on the wire harness connector and pull straight out of the speedometer head. Set the dash assembly in a safe place to prevent damage.
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Now, it is time to remove the lower grill guard fascia piece. Take out the 4 torx screws and remove the fascia cover. The opening for the winch is behind that cover.
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Slide the winch into the mounting pocket in the frame, align the holes in the winch bracket with the holes in the frame flanges, and insert the screws provided. Use a torque wrench and torque the bolts to 20 lbs. ft.

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Now it is time to work on the wiring and electrical parts...

The screws that hold the contactor are self-tapping. To make installation of the contactor more convenient, I used a 3/8" drive electric impact and pre-threaded the holes in the frame with the screws prior to fitting the contactor unit in there. The contactor with the wires installed takes a bit of finesse to wiggle it down into it's mount, but it does go. Install the screws and tighten it down.

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This is where you will notice something is just not right in the picture in the instruction manual. Look at the color coded terminals on the actual contactor versus the ones in the picture in the instructions. They reversed the yellow and blue terminals. I did a "test fitting" of the contactor with wires attached to see if the cables were long enough and that the wires were able to go to the correct terminals on the winch, and it was correct as I received it, not as it is shown in the instructions. So, ignore the instruction picture, and just connect the colored wires to the terminasl with the same colors on the ends. I decided to fit some 3/8" split wire loom over the cables that fit through the frame and connect to the terminals on the winch. A little more protection can't hurt!
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Here's where I routed the yellow and blue cables to the winch through the frame. There is a hole in the lower radiator mount just above the winch which is just perfect to route the cables through.

View attachment 759 This picture shows the winch power cables routing down past the radiator hoses to the winch. Later I will tie them up so the do not contact adjoining cables, wires, hoses, etc.
View attachment 760 This picture (looking up from the winch at the hole on the right side lower radiator mount where the power cables feed to the winch.

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

More to come....

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Continued...

Connect the proper cables to the contacts on the winch.
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Pull the insulating boots down over the contacts on winch after cables are connected. Next, I went one step further and routed the cables away from the radiator hoses and used nylon wire ties to secure them so that they would not rub on anything that would wear and cause problems. I did the same thing from up top so that the cables were protected under the top access panel.

View attachment 764 As was mentioned in a previous post, the black cable which connects to the other black battery cable on the terminal block, is pretty short, and has absolutely no extra slack in it. To help in the connection, I removed the black and the red battery cables, then installed the new cables from the contactor first, below the battery cables, put a nut on them and snugged it up. The other nut went on top of the original battery cables after installation and it got tightened also. The other connection from the contactor will connect to the receptacle which will mount on the dash.
View attachment 765
Next, install the new lower grill guard fascia around the winch, and bolt with the original torx bolts removed before. Be careful with this piece! In other threads, it was discussed that this plastic fascia costs near $200.00. I can't imagine why...:shock:

The last part of the install has to do with the mounting of the receptacle on the dash in order to connect the corded remote control for the winch. Here's another anomaly in the instruction sheet. The instruction sheet directs you to install the receptacle between the power outlet and the blank switch cover in the dash. Only problem is, every ACE I have seen does not have a blank switch cover there, but the 2WD/4WD switch is in that location. If you put the winch remote receptacle there, the weather cap for the receptacle will either flip over the 2WD/4WD switch or flap over the power outlet. I did not want to have the flap in the way of the other switches.

More to come....

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Back at it once again....seems to take longer to document it than to actually do this..

These next photos show how to get into the back of the dash area. That area is covered by a shield above behind and to the rear of the upper part of the strut on the right side of the vehicle.
View attachment 791
Figures 10 and 11 are pictures from the instruction manual. The top one shows how to remove their "darts" or rivets from the splash shield which is in the upper quadrant of the right fender well. It is a bit of a 'bugger' to fish out once you get these rivets out. Figure 11 from the manual shows their recommendation for the mounting location of the receptacle in the dash. If you look closely at this photo, the 2WD/4WD switch is not in the same location as mine as well as the other ones I have seen.

View attachment 792

This picture shows a couple of holes with light coming through them. These are the two rivet holes in the black plastic at the right footwell area. That is where two of these rivets are located on the inside in the upper part of the right footwell area. If you look closely, the pivot for what I believe to be the accelerator or the brake pedal is visible.

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There is a wire tie which holds two wire harnesses to the frame below this shield. Simply cut it loose so that you can move the wires out of the way before you wiggle the shield out.
Another rivet is almost hidden behind the upper part of the strut spring. Once all these rivets are out, you can wiggle and bend the shield lightly to pull it to the rear and out of the fenderwell area.

View attachment 794

Since my drive selector switch would be adjacent to the winch remote receptacle if I put it in their recommended location, I chose another location to mount it. This is what my dash looks like and shows the location of the drive mode switch and power outlet.

After studying my dash area and checking the length of the wiring on the remote switch, I decided to locate the receptacle below the switches and in between the drive switch and power outlet. When I investigated the area behind the dash which were already there, I found that there was a "knock-out" of sorts, molded in the back of the dash from behind in the blank area.

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If I drilled to mount the receptacle where they recommended, I would lose the ability to ever mount another rocker switch in that location in the future. I copied the template from the instruction manual, and using a bit of 3-M blue painter's tape, I masked off the area where I would drill the mounting hole. If you copy or scan the template from the instruction manual, be sure to measure across the circle to make sure it is not smaller or bigger than 1". Sometimes printers/scanners enlarge or reduce copies just a bit. You don't want to drill the hole too large, or the mounting holes to be too far apart or too close together! Mine measured out exactly. I got lucky!


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Next, I fit the template to the exact center of where I planned to drill the hole in order to make the marks through the template to the plastic. I used a carbide tip engraving tool to mark the center of the holes before I drilled them. I removed the template so you could see what the marked holes looked like. Being that I punched the holes through the template, it was no problem to index and refit the template to the exact spot on the dash for the next step.

With the template attached to the dash with tape, I continued to punch holes around the outer circumference of the template at the 1" line. I punched the marks so closely together on the template that the circle was almost ready to fall out of the paper. But when I removed the template, the circle was easy to see on the dash. I then drilled the center hole in the dash where the receptacle was to mount with a 1/4" drill bit. Next, I stepped up to a 1/2" bit and enlarged the hole. Then I proceeded to open the hole up to the marks I made in the dash with a burr in my cordless drill. This made it easy to make the hole round, and stop grinding when the hole reaches the punch marks. Then I could test fit the receptacle in the hole so that I knew the hole would not be too big. I have a 1" hole saw from Dewalt, but it drills a hole a bit bigger than 1". I did not want the hole so big that the receptacle would wallow around in it. After a few test fits and a little fine grinding, the receptacle fit snugly, centered in the hole. Here's what my tooling looked like.
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Next, the holes need to be drilled for the mounting screws that hold the receptacle to the dash. Although they have been marked according to the template, I do not drill them in the dash until I fit the actual receptacle to the dash and make sure the marks are exactly centered in the holes in the receptacle. They were just a very bit wide, so I would have to drill the holes at a slight angle toward the center in order to have the mounting holes directly under the receptacle holes. I measured the outside of the screws provided with the kit to mount the receptacle to the dash. They were quite a bit smaller than 0.250" that the instructions say to drill into the dash. After drilling a 1/16" pilot hole in the center of the mounting holes, I used a 13/64" bit (.203") to drill the final holes. The screws fit perfectly in the mounting. The instructions said to use two screws, two washers, and two nuts to mount the receptacle. I guess they improved the kit since the instructions because they now have washer headed lock nuts, and eliminated the washers. The lock nuts are really better so that they won't inadvertently loosen up.

Here's what it looked like after installation of the receptacle with the mounting screws :
View attachment 804
And what it is like with the corded remote attached.
View attachment 790

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Once the receptacle is mounted into the dash, feed the wires up over the frame and into the compartment where the contactor is mounted. Plug the remote receptacle wires with the plastic connector to the connector on the wires coming out of the contactor. Feed the single red wire over to the terminal block, and connect it to the center post of the terminal block with the small orange wires connected to it. These are the wires that provide power to the terminal block when the ignition key is in the run position. This will now provide power to the winch contactor through the remote switch when the ignition is on and the remote is pressed to the in or out position.

Finally, assembly from here out is the reverse of removal. After everything is plugged up or connected, and the wires are tied with nylon wire ties to prevent rubbing or coming in contact with sharp edges, the winch can be tested. Plug the connector back up to the back of the speedometer and temporarily locate the instrument panel into position on the vehicle without the rivets or mounting screws.

Connect the positive battery terminal, then just briefly touch and remove the negative battery cable to the negative battery post with the key and all accessories turned off. There should be no sparking. If all is OK, then bolt down the negative battery cable.

Turn on the ignition switch to the run position, and try to operate the winch with the remote. If all operates properly and is satisfactory, congratulations! You have successfully installed and wired the winch. Turn off the ignition switch.

Move the plastic shield back over the battery and around the seat belt retractor, and install the torx screws to hold it in place. Tighten these screws without stripping them out.

Refit the splash shield under the right fender, and install the rivets. Install a new wire tie through the plastic loop connector on the frame tube and tie the wire harnesses together to the frame tube.

Install the rivets in the center dash assembly to secure it, and finally install the two torx screws and tighten.

Take one last look at the cables and wires in the area where the contactor is mounted, and make sure no wires will rub anything nor be cut by the way they are routed, that they won't get excessively hot from being too close to the radiator or hoses, nor will any wires come in contact with the radiator fan. Securely tie any wires out of the way if needed. Refit the cover in the center of the storage area and install the rivets to secure the panel.

Pat yourself on the back and celebrate with the appropriate beverage of choice.

 

[extremegsxr]

Great job on all the pictures and info!!!

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Thanks, extremegsxr! I just hope it helps someone in deciding which winch to get, and maybe speed up their installation if they get the Polaris kit. I think Polaris did quite a decent job of putting together a quality kit and made it an easy job to install it...

 

[extremegsxr]

It will definitely help me when I go to install the winch I bought. I'm am just waiting on the lower plastic piece to become available from Polaris at a lower price then the $200 they are saying it cost now. Do you plan on installing a switch on the dash along with the hand held remote?

 

[Scoundrel]

Thanks, extremegsxr! I just hope it helps someone in deciding which winch to get, and maybe speed up their installation if they get the Polaris kit. I think Polaris did quite a decent job of putting together a quality kit and made it an easy job to install it...

It will definitely be helpful to a lot of people in months/years to come. This is groundbreaking stuff that will be referenced and appreciated.

seems to take longer to document it than to actually do this

It always does, which is why it is sometimes hard to find good write-ups, just people saying things like "it was pretty straightforward, and I did mine in an hour". Mine NEVER goes as fast as those guys say. Maybe because I take my time, maybe because I'm sometimes picky about how it turns out.


I do have a question and a couple of comments though.

Why did they have you disconnect the speedo assembly plug? Did I miss something where that was important?

I didn't know it was just 5 plastic rivets to remove a panel to access that area where the switches are. Good to know. When I put in an extra 12v socket there, I drilled a 1.5" hole in the area under the speedo cover, and reached in there with a really long needle nose pliers to connect stuff. It sucked.

I don't like how the winch is hanging out there in the wind. I'd mangle it for sure, and that thin fascia too. Glad I canceled my order and went with the EMP mount instead. I'm sure the Polaris kit is a good one for most people, but I know how I ride, and I'd break it.

I'll be putting my EMP kit together week after next, and will take some pics while I'm at it and post some stuff up.

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Thanks for the reply, Extremegsxr! I was thinking about that very thing while doing the write up; the option of having a switch on the dash as well as the remote. It would not be hard to do at all, because once I find the right double pole-reversing polarity-spring loaded rocker switch, I could wire it in easily. I'll have to start looking for a switch....another challenge, but a great suggestion!:smilet-digitalpoint



Thanks, Scoundrel. When I made the deal for the ACE with the dealer, part of the deal was that they would throw in a winch. I expected a 2500 lb winch, possibly an aftermarket one, maybe no mounting bracket, but it was to have a synthetic rope. So you can imagine how pleased I was that they sent me a genuine OEM 3500HD kit. They really went over the top in exceeding my expectations, so I called them and thanked them for going above and beyond my expectations!

After getting the winch mounted, I think for my use, it will be great! However, after seeing some videos of how many different things can really "work us over" out there on the trail, the lower plastic fascia around the winch would be a liability. (Especially at $200 to replace it!) If I were to ride the trails that your videos show, I would have to take drastic measures to build additional protection for the front end, including around the grill, around and under the winch, and protection for the A-arms like you're discussing doing. I agree with you that you are in need of an EXTREME kit! And that is great!

That is where we consumers quickly find that not one particular part can be the 'do all' solution to everyone's problems. And that is what makes life interesting, because there can be so many vendors offering so many different products as solutions for so many different problems. But then we have to find the one product that fits our needs in the jungle of solutions. What a job!

You know, removing the speedometer as the entire dash assembly needed to be done on mine in order to clean some dirt out from under there, but in retrospect, the only thing I think it helped with was allowing my big hands to get in to the contactor without the front part of the dash at the angle from preventing my knuckles/hands from getting around in there. I think I was able to get some perspective of where I was feeding the wires from the dash mounted receptacle to the contactor when looking in the hole in front of the steering column, and it helped me to insure I was not placing the wires in harm's way. Other than that, it may not have to come off. They did say that you did not need to remove the sub assembly of the speedometer head from the dash assembly by not removing the two screws holding the sub assembly to the overall housing/console assembly.

At the end of their instructions they said:
"11. Re-install the upper front grill guard by using original fasteners."

But I never removed my upper radiator guard (grille), and looking back at their instructions, I think they only say to remove the lower fascia as they only tell you to remove the four bolts. Strange!

It took me a few minutes to figure out where the rivets were that held that splash guard in, and then how to wiggle the guard out. It was strange to have it move back and forth, and yet not want to slide out. I had removed the wire tie from those two cables coming down by the frame tube, but the guard was hanging up on the upper frame somehow. I was a bit worried how much I could flex that plastic, but it popped out as I bent it before I could really see what let loose just as I flexed it a bit more. When it was out in my hand, I found it was quite flexible, and it is OK to bend it and pull it on out.

I have done the same thing that you did in adding things to my vehicles by working arthroscopically (is that spelled correctly?) without the scope! Then later I would find that by removing a small panel, I could have seen what I was trying to do...Bummer!

I look forward to seeing your EMP mounting and heavy duty protection soon! Hoping you have great luck and a speedy installation without too many mods. I'll have to see if there is a way to design a "bull bar" combination upper and lower grill/winch guard that would provide some form of protection for the entire front for those of us that have a factory winch installed. Maybe EMP could design one?

I had better fire up the zero turn and get to working on the yard now... Too bad I can't hook it up the ACE and tow it around. The wife would be certain I'd gone ACE crazy if she ever saw me do that!:drive1:

 

[Scoundrel]

I agree with you that you are in need of an EXTREME kit! And that is great!

That is where we consumers quickly find that not one particular part can be the 'do all' solution to everyone's problems. And that is what makes life interesting, because there can be so many vendors offering so many different products as solutions for so many different problems. But then we have to find the one product that fits our needs in the jungle of solutions.

SO many internet forum arguments would be avoided if more people understood this and did not just say that whatever THEY spent a lot of money on is best.

"bull bar" combination upper and lower grill/winch guard that would provide some form of protection for the entire front for those of us that have a factory winch installed. Maybe EMP could design one?

Do you mean something like this?
Polaris Sportsman ACE Front Brush Guard

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Thanks for the great reply. What is best for one, may not fit all. Doesn't mean I don't want to learn about other things or compare products, but you are so right about the petty arguments that transpire.

On the front guard, yes, something like that. I like the one Polaris makes for the upper that goes around the headlights and the edges of the fenders, but with the winch mounted in the lower area, I would like for the guard to continue on down around the winch area for extra contact protection there. At least that's what I'm thinking, but I could be wrong. I have not investigated the lower frame area to see what a lower guard would bolt to, other than where the winch mounted. Plus it's got to stay clear of a plow mount in the winter.

 

[lambo84]

When i bought wifes dealer instauled any option free so,winch ,roof nerv bars front and rear guards,after market rims,mirror where instauled free .she loves this hing,could get her to ride reguarl quad,and my 900xp ranger was to big,ace seems perfect for he,hey i even get to drive it on an off the the trailer. Lol

 

[MarkPickens]

Have anyone put a permanent switch on their Polaris Winch? I don't want to find a remote switch when I stuck in the mud. I purchase a RZR winch switch from EBay and planning to wire that also to my new winch. If you have done this, do you have a suggestion?

 

[4Nines]

What a fantastic install guide! This will help tons of people. Thanks so much for the thorough post

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

When i bought wifes dealer instauled any option free so,winch ,roof nerv bars front and rear guards,after market rims,mirror where instauled free .she loves this hing,could get her to ride reguarl quad,and my 900xp ranger was to big,ace seems perfect for he,hey i even get to drive it on an off the the trailer. Lol

Sounds like you got a good deal, and a great machine! Your's is wonderfully loaded, and eventually, I'll spend some bucks and accessorize mine, too. Glad you get to ride it, even if it is only a few feet at a time! LOL!

I made a deal on one of the 20 or so demo units from the Polaris Factory Event at an ATV park in South Carolina. They were used in the media event there just like the ones in the introduction video shot in Texas. The dealer I purchased mine from had bought 10 of those machines from Polaris when the event ended, and I just happened to show up the day after they got them. It came with bright red, sandy soil everywhere, at no extra charge! I didn't care if it was clean or not, I was just glad to get it at a great price, and they included the winch in order to make me go for it...

 

[Geerhead]

I installed a viper winch with an EMP mount. Although somewhat different, the guide was still very helpful with pics and Ace disassembly. After mounting a different winch and mount, I can see things like contactor mounting and precut wire lengths that make the Polaris winch kit more convenient to install.

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Have anyone put a permanent switch on their Polaris Winch? I don't want to find a remote switch when I stuck in the mud. I purchase a RZR winch switch from EBay and planning to wire that also to my new winch. If you have done this, do you have a suggestion?

I have been considering adding a permanently mounted momentary rocker switch on the dash of my ACE to control the winch, and have occasionally been looking for one. I found a MotoAlliance ATV / UTV Custom Flush Mount Dash Switch on Amazon today, and ignoring the bullet connectors on the ends of the wires, I may be able to use this switch and mount it in one of the knockouts in the dash.

This sort of wiring to install an additional winch switch should not be a major problem, as you only have a 12v + to go in to the momentary switch, and the two other wires to go to the contactor. The power wire for the switch (usually the red wire going into the switch) should connect to the power on the terminal block that comes on with the ignition switch. On the ACE, this terminal has the two orange wires going to it on the terminal block. Confirm that you have the correct connection on the terminal block by using a volt-ohm meter or 12V test light, and make sure there is power to that connection when the key ignition switch is in the run position.

This MotoAlliance switch has a black wire, which we may not use in our application. It could be a ground connection, but in Polaris' winch kit, they do not use a ground connection to the remote switch.

The two wires from the remote receptacle with my kit connected to the plug in on the end of two wires coming out of the contactor. It appears that the "in-out" cabled remote rocker switch sends power to one of these wires for the winch to pull the cable in when the "in" side of the switch is pressed, and power is provided to the other wire to let the cable out when the "out" side of the switch is pressed. Only one of these wires receives power at a time, and that way it makes the contactor only provide power to one side of the winch motor at a time. Bad things can happen if both the in and out switches were pressed at the same time. The results would not be pretty!

If you use your volt-ohm meter or 12V test light and determine which color wire is energized to the contactor by the remote switch that makes the winch cable go "in" when that wire is powered, you can use that knowledge and wire the correct side of the new switch to operate the winch the very same way. And do the same on the wire that makes the winch operate to let the cable out. Just be sure that the new switch operates the correct ways when you have it finished up. There is an important CAUTION for you to pay attention to if you choose to wire an extra switch in your system!!! Keep on reading:

DISCLAIMER & CAUTION! Or as you have heard before: DANGER! DANGER! With two switches wired up parallel in this way, DO NOT use the remote cabled switch at the same time as the dash switch, especially with one switch being used for the "IN" mode and the other for the "OUT" mode simultaneously, or you could have a fire, a bunch of burned wires, a burned up winch motor, or cause the battery to explode! It would be better if you had a way to deactivate the dash switch when the cabled remote was plugged in so that there would be a safety to prevent double operation! I could go over a way to safely wire this type of setup, but it gets complicated rather quickly!

Use these instructions only as a guideline to make your extra switch connections, and not as gospel! Since I cannot see your setup, and cannot know how your system is wired, I have no idea what will work for you, therefore I am not responsible if it screws something up. Remember, any modifications which you make that are not OEM approved will cause you to be your own warranty station. Use your best mechanical ability, or seek local guidance if you do not feel comfortable in doing wiring tasks. That's the reason I mentioned that a volt-ohm meter or 12V test light be used to properly determine the connections and proper polarity of your system. Keep it simple and safe, and you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[MarkPickens]

Add a Polaris RZR Carling W Series Winch Switch I purchase from EBay. Use the space Polaris never cut out because I want the others one Power accessories. DO NOT USE REMOTE AND THIS SWITCH AT THE SAME TIME! View attachment 876

 

[cumminsdieselgt]

Great job on that, Mark! I like that switch, as it looks the same as original. Nice installation! Good to tell folks to unplug the cabled remote switch before using the dash switch!