AWD SWITCH UPGRADE - 2005 POLARIS RANGER

The original 2005 AWD and Headlight switches were badly worn. They worked ok, but looked mostly used-up. They did not look good next to all the brand new switches.

I think the cargo light switch is from a 2002 model. It may have been an option. The headlight switch was upgraded with a new original switch. If I had any sense the same solution would have worked for the AWD switch. Why is the old AWD switch still being used in this photo? Because I wanted to use a fancy 2012 AWD switch and found out they were wired differently.

The 2012 switch has a more detailed graphic for the drive modes that I thought was really cool.

The problem is the two switches perform the exact same functions, with the switch in the exact same positions, and even use the exact same connector, but they are wired completely different. The 2005 switch has 5 terminals, the 2012 switch has 7 terminals. One of the terminals wired on the 2005 switch does not exist on the 2012 switch. Obviously, just plugging the new switch into the 2005 connector is asking for trouble. If we are very lucky, doing that sort of thing just doesn't work. Most of the time, wiring anything wrong will fry several things that cost a small fortune to replace.

This is the original 2005 connector still plugged to the original switch. As can be seen, all 5 terminals on the switch have wires connected. The top-Left terminal is one of two power connections. That top-Left terminal does not exist on the 2012 switch. After carefully studying wiring diagrams and pulling the back off the switches to confirm where the internal LED lights are connected, the change required was almost too simple to believe. The terminals on the Left are numbered 8,1,2,3. The terminals on the Right are 7,4,5,6. All I had to do was move two wires straight across to the opposite side of the switch. The wire at terminal 1 moves to terminal 4. The wire at terminal 3 moves to terminal 6. Finally the red wire at top left that no longer has a terminal 8 moves to terminal 5, directly across from the other red wire. The individual terminals are easy to release from the connector. I used a small allen wrench to poke into the slot at the front of the connector and release the tab that locks each terminal in place. That metal tab usually has to be pried back out slightly so it will lock when the terminal is pushed into the new location. Do one at a time to keep from getting confused. When done, the now empty 1 and 3 terminals on the new switch do not need to be connected to any wires. The Left side of the new switch just needs the power connection on terminal 2 to run the LED lights inside the switch.

This is the same connector after wires were moved and it is now plugged to the 2012 AWD switch.

It was well worth the hassle to me and works just like it is supposed to.

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