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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.
View attachment 736 View attachment 737
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.
View attachment 738 View attachment 739 View attachment 740 View attachment 745
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.
View attachment 741 View attachment 742 View attachment 743 View attachment 744 View attachment 746 View attachment 747
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.
View attachment 748 View attachment 749 View attachment 750
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.
View attachment 751 View attachment 752 View attachment 753
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.
View attachment 755 View attachment 756 View attachment 757
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!
View attachment 754 View attachment 758
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.
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.
View attachment 736 View attachment 737
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.
View attachment 738 View attachment 739 View attachment 740 View attachment 745
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.
View attachment 741 View attachment 742 View attachment 743 View attachment 744 View attachment 746 View attachment 747
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.
View attachment 748 View attachment 749 View attachment 750
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.
View attachment 751 View attachment 752 View attachment 753
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.
View attachment 755 View attachment 756 View attachment 757
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!
View attachment 754 View attachment 758
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.