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Installing A 12v Accessory Plug

27K views 20 replies 10 participants last post by  tifa_5_2000 
#1 ·
i just picked up my 1997 polaris indy xlt 600 and want to install a 12v cig lighter socket for my visor heater and other accessories, i have heard so many different opinions on this topic. i heard you can just wire it direct, others say you need a rectifier, whos right. has anyone did this. let me know thanks
some one said that the sled runs on ac, but others say its a pulsating dc volt. i do not have electric start.
 
#3 ·
If you don't have electric start, then the voltage available to you will be 12 volts AC. Lights and handwarmers run fine on AC, and probably your electric shield would be OK too, but nothing else, like a GPS or any other electronic devices. Radio Shack has a what you need, which is a rectifier, which converts AC to DC voltage.
 
#4 ·
If you don't have electric start, then the voltage available to you will be 12 volts AC. Lights and handwarmers run fine on AC, and probably your electric shield would be OK too, but nothing else, like a GPS or any other electronic devices. Radio Shack has a what you need, which is a rectifier, which converts AC to DC voltage.[/b]
any idea the color of the wire i need to spline into for the positive side.
 
#6 ·
I made up a rectifier for my 98 XLT LTD and it worked like a charm. It is now on my ZR9 and still powering my cell phone and GPS. It was easy to make.

I mounted the rectifier under the hood near the headlight and ran a 12V cigarette plug out to the dash. This way I can use my stock 12V adapters and accessories.

The shield works on AC so it is OK without.

I've attached a copy of the original schematic I found on the internet.

I also have my parts list from Radio Shack if anyone needs part numbers.
 

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#7 ·
I did a lot of reading on a 12V DC outlet for my Arctic Cat and it appears that Polaris actually makes a lighter outlet with a built-in rectifier. Or if your ok with a solering iron there is the DIY rectifier above. I think I may build my own like Scott shows just to say I did it myself!
 
#8 ·
check the yellow wire with a ac-dc volt meter.heated shield will run on either as mentioned.i have one sled hooked one way and the other has e-start so its hooked dc.and it doesnt pulse.[/b]


Hello,
I have some questions concerning the circuit schematic for the 12V dc rectifier. First of all, on the ac inputs for the rectifier, do you plug one into an ac auxilary output and the other one to ground (such as the frame)? After viewing the schematic for a 4 diode bridge, it appears you would need 2 ac inputs that are 180 degrees out of phase and some type of common ground? I'm kind of lost how to tie in the DC ground, AC ground and the AC feed wires to the circuit? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
 
#9 ·
My question is why would the curent be AC? The alternator is spinning in the same direction all the time, there's a positive and negative to everything on the sled, why or how could it be alternating current? Sounds like it should be Direct Curent to me.
 
#12 ·
I put a volt. meter on the auxilary plugs and they read an ac voltage (12V). You're right that the alternator only spins in one direction but this rotates the magnetic field in the alternator from north/south. This creates the ac voltage and hence the ac current. Now if I could just get the dc part figured out?
 
#14 ·
as stated in the earlier posts, all you need is a bridge rectifier. its reall easy to wire. yellow and brown in, red and black out. DC 12V for you.[/b]
This is on a friends sled so I can't verify the wire colors but the auxilary we tapped into for the ac was located above the left foot rest. We tested it and it had a 12 V ac output. We tested it from the pin to the frame for this reading. The problem is the other connection (the brown wire). Is this a ground wire? The rectifier is labeled and we hooked the pins up to the correct labels but it keeps heating up really fast like something is shorting out. I think it has something to do with the ground connection but not sure.
 
#15 ·
There really is not + or - for AC. If you have found 12VAC with one wire and a chassis ground, then use that for your AC input. If that 2nd wire, the brown one, is also a source of AC voltage, you could be running 24 VAC ( or more ) into your diode bidge, causing it to heat up. Do a continuity check on that brown wire to a chassis ground, if no resistance, then it is a ground wire, if you see 20 to 2k ohms, then it is another AC output. Your stator acutally puts out more that 30 VAC, your sled just uses a part of that output to run lights, engine. etc. Once you have your rectifier circuit up and running, do not use the chassis for DC ground, just the - output form the rectifier. Hope that is as clear as mud. :dazed:
 
#16 ·
I made up a rectifier for my 98 XLT LTD and it worked like a charm. It is now on my ZR9 and still powering my cell phone and GPS. It was easy to make.

I mounted the rectifier under the hood near the headlight and ran a 12V cigarette plug out to the dash. This way I can use my stock 12V adapters and accessories.

The shield works on AC so it is OK without.

I've attached a copy of the original schematic I found on the internet.

I also have my parts list from Radio Shack if anyone needs part numbers.[/b]
I will vouch for Scott on this one. I followed and built the exact rectifier above to power my GPS and it works GREAT! But not without asking Scott 100 questions first and having him send me the schematics for it twice over....Thanks again Scott. :christmas:
 
#18 ·
There really is not + or - for AC. If you have found 12VAC with one wire and a chassis ground, then use that for your AC input. If that 2nd wire, the brown one, is also a source of AC voltage, you could be running 24 VAC ( or more ) into your diode bidge, causing it to heat up. Do a continuity check on that brown wire to a chassis ground, if no resistance, then it is a ground wire, if you see 20 to 2k ohms, then it is another AC output. Your stator acutally puts out more that 30 VAC, your sled just uses a part of that output to run lights, engine. etc. Once you have your rectifier circuit up and running, do not use the chassis for DC ground, just the - output form the rectifier. Hope that is as clear as mud. :dazed:[/b]
I'll go with that (12 V ac input and ground to the frame) after I replace the rectifier. Pretty sure its burnt up by know. Back to the 24 VAC, so is there basically one stator that puts out two ac sources that are 180 degrees out of phase on the sled depending on which wire you tap into (hence the 24 VAC drop)?
 
#19 ·
I'll go with that (12 V ac input and ground to the frame) after I replace the rectifier. Pretty sure its burnt up by know. Back to the 24 VAC, so is there basically one stator that puts out two ac sources that are 180 degrees out of phase on the sled depending on which wire you tap into (hence the 24 VAC drop)?[/b]
Shoot......sent message before I finished......anyway, I remember building some kind of rectifier circuit for some class and we had to have some type of center tap common ground that split the ac source into two parrallel ac sources that were 180 degrees out of phase. I vaguely remember something about being careful how the ac and dc grounds interact but who knows....what started out as a simply project seems to be getting pretty complicated. :confused:
 
#20 ·
Shoot......sent message before I finished......anyway, I remember building some kind of rectifier circuit for some class and we had to have some type of center tap common ground that split the ac source into two parrallel ac sources that were 180 degrees out of phase. I vaguely remember something about being careful how the ac and dc grounds interact but who knows....what started out as a simply project seems to be getting pretty complicated. :confused:[/b]
so0unds like it would be alot easier to buy the kit from polaris
 
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