my LED Project - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

x7drvr · 11-15-2009, 09:21 PM

Hey guys, i've seen a couple guys wondering how to put LEDs on their sleds, how to power them, ect, so i thought i'd share what i've done, and kind of make a little "how-to" of it. Hope it helps!

i'm going to make it a couple posts long, so stick with me lol
also, the pics might be kinda big, so just keep going if you think its done haha

The lights are powered by either the engine, or by a battery that i installed
The engine power is spliced off the headlight power, but more to come about that later.

First off, its a 2002 Polaris 600 Edge X with yellow LED pods
i bought the pods off of creativelightings.com
LED Pod Lights - Auto, Motorcycle, boat, truck, trailer, RV, RC Hobby, and so much more. Expect only the Highest quality LED Pod Lights.

they're the 4-LED oval pods, and the color is bright yellow

I have 4 Pods under each running board (4 each side, 8 total on rear)
2 pods in each ski well (2 on each side, 4 total)
1 pod in front of each foot well (1 each side, 2 total)
2 pods facing up in the engine compartment
1 pod mounted on the hood facing forward so the grills are lit up
for a grand total of 17 lights haha
they draw about 1/3 watt each, so i have 5 2/3 watts draw

i'll start with the end for a second lol
here's what the finished product looks like

View from rear

Here's the foot wells

More posts to come....

x7drvr · 11-15-2009, 09:26 PM

Running Board Pods
Drill 2 holes for each pod, and bolted the pods to the running board
wires are wrapped in electrical tape, and then riveted in place so they won't hang loose anywhere

x7drvr · 11-15-2009, 09:34 PM

There are 2 Pods mounted in the top of each ski well
same as running board, drilled 2 holes through plastic, and bolted the lights on
MAKE SURE YOU USE LOCK WASHERS ON ALL NUTS TOO
use them everywhere you bolt lights on. you'll lose lights if you don't lol

here's where the ski well lights are
this is the right side of the machine.
The one light pod has all the washers on it so it would be level and match the light placement of the other side

Left Side

x7drvr · 11-15-2009, 09:37 PM

The foot well lights are mounted on 90 degree bent pieces of metal, and then adhesived/velcroed into place

the underhood lights are bolted through the plastic. One pod shares the holes of a ski well light, and the other pod is mounted on a 45 degree bent piece of metal, so they're both facing up
the 3rd underhood light is mounted on the hood itself in front of the grills
it's also mounted on a 90 degree bent piece so the light faces forward instead of down.

here's one side, one of the lights that faces up

x7drvr · 11-15-2009, 10:10 PM

The LEDs are powered by either a splice off the headlight power, or a very small 12v motorcycle battery

here's the splice into the headlight power (you can see it zoomed out in the post above)

here's the battery and its tray

Each power source goes into its own switch on the dash, so you can select between engine power or battery power.
I put in 2 blue LED light up switches

Basically, the circuit goes like this
Headlight Power~fuse~diode (so the battery won't send power to the headlight when on)~switch~diode(same reason)~positive collector

Battery Power~switch~fuse~positive collector

all the power cables for the lights start at the positive collector, and then go off to the different parts

Here's a wiring diagram sort of thing that shows how everything is linked:

If you look in this pic, you can see where all the positive wires converge, and where the negative ones converge

After it was all in, i zip tied everything, wrapped it in electrical tape, ect so it's all hidden and out of the way, or looks nice
Hope this helped some guys!
Post or PM if you have any further questions, i'm sure i missed something, and i'll be happy to help

JheLrey · 11-15-2009, 10:23 PM

The only issue I see is the PODs under the tunnel.... The first hard packed drift or snow bank you go over, and your rear suspension sinks, they are gone!

**RJ Gleason** · 11-16-2009, 07:24 AM

Nice write up..

Ultrafrozen · 11-16-2009, 08:35 AM

Looks good! Nice pics.

JheLrey has a point. You could cover the running board light pods with a full length bent aluminum cover. Cut appropriate holes for the lights and they would be protected.

x7drvr · 11-16-2009, 03:37 PM

the ones on the tunnel have actually been on there for 3 seasons now, so i'm hoping they'll still be good lol
i am thinking of trying to make a cover like you guys suggested
that's my next project!

xcelr800 · 11-16-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by x7drvr

The LEDs are powered by either a splice off the headlight power, or a very small 12v motorcycle battery

here's the splice into the headlight power (you can see it zoomed out in the post above)

here's the battery and its tray

Each power source goes into its own switch on the dash, so you can select between engine power or battery power.
I put in 2 blue LED light up switches

Basically, the circuit goes like this
Headlight Power~fuse~diode (so the battery won't send power to the headlight when on)~switch~diode(same reason)~positive collector

Battery Power~switch~fuse~positive collector

all the power cables for the lights start at the positive collector, and then go off to the different parts

Here's a wiring diagram sort of thing that shows how everything is linked:

If you look in this pic, you can see where all the positive wires converge, and where the negative ones converge

After it was all in, i zip tied everything, wrapped it in electrical tape, ect so it's all hidden and out of the way, or looks nice
Hope this helped some guys!
Post or PM if you have any further questions, i'm sure i missed something, and i'll be happy to help

you are LED crazy . looks good nice write up ill post my LED project soon under construction

SkiDoo86 · 11-16-2009, 05:29 PM

In your drawing. You have a diode, which only allows electricity to flow towards the lights. Is the reason you have the diode because you hav a battery hooked up to the lights also? Im not gonna run a battery so they would only be on when the sled is on. So techinically I wouldnt need a diode. Is this correct?

**smallengineguy** · 11-16-2009, 08:41 PM

Good stuff, Wish there was another way to run the wires under the footrests.

Bfoster · 11-16-2009, 08:46 PM

Looks AWESOME!!!

x7drvr · 11-16-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallengineguy

Good stuff, Wish there was another way to run the wires under the footrests.

oh ik...
trying to keep stuff hidden can be pretty challenging

i thought of running it up by the air box, but it turned out to be too much of a hassle lol

thanks guys!
haha maybe i am a bit LED crazy...

JheLrey · 11-16-2009, 10:32 PM

You could always sweat the wire at the connections and heat shrink tube them. Then, run all of the wire through 1/4 inch aluminum or stainless steel brake line and use the brackets he has to hold them up...

x7drvr · 11-17-2009, 05:04 PM

i like the brake lines idea

xxxthebxxx · 11-17-2009, 06:51 PM

Thanks for the awesome write up I'm gonna follow you step for step!