Electrical ?

[glory racing]

I finally moved to the ranks of heated gear with a synergy jacket liner. It worked great for about 12 hours of riding time and then began to only intermittently function. The controller would only blink when engaged or do nothing. Then after 10 - 30 minutes the jacket would function again but only for a short while and then would start the same bs. Finally got to the point where it would not function at all.

I Phoned Helmet City and they sent out a new controller the same day. It arrived and worked for about 15 minutes and then the same scenario. Damnit! Phoned Helmet City again and a new jacket liner will be here in 2 days.

More info to make this post boringly long...the only other electrical hooked up is a radar detector(not that I would knowingly ever exceed the speeding limit). Also, I had the power wire ran under the tank. I verified that it was not binded/crimped. The fuse never blew.

Could the FJR electrical system, engine heat or the power lead possibly be causing the problem? I wonder because the 2nd controller did work for about 10 minutes before it developed the same problem. If that is possible, I do not want to fry the new jacket/controller when it arrives by just plugging it in to the existing power lead. Should I go through the hassle/trouble of running the new power lead before trying out the new jacket and controller? Or should I just hook it up to verify the problem was actually with the jacket, allowing me to know the JFR is functioning properly? (I do not have the knowledge/equipment to check amps/volts/whatever)

Thanx for your input,

Mark

PS: From my short experience with heated gear...it is nice and Helmet City customer service is excellent!

 

[Niehart]

They have had a few problems with the jackets. My guess is that would be your problem. My understanding is that they replace them with out any hesitation.

 

[dsmack]

A little clarification please...

You say you ran the power wire under the tank, and that is not binding/crimped.

Where are you tapping in to the FJR's electrical system? Are you coming directly off the battery terminals, or tapping into another power wire?

You didnt' mention what type of riding you were doing. Was it relatively slow speed, around town type of ride, or were you out on the road where the engine revs would be consistently above about 3,000 RPM?

Don

 

[Checkswrecks]

Run it straight off the batttery for a half-hour to see if the problem is in how you are getting power to it. (You may need to recharge the battery if on an older bike.)

 

[Wolfhound]

It draws a lot of power and you should be running it off the battery. Is it a heattroller or Warm N Safe product ? Doesn't sound like it . . . .

 

[gregarious]

I've posted to this effect previously. I bought Synergy heated jacket liner and gloves last fall, and had to return both controllers. I finally gave up and returned the products. I have some of their motorcycle clothing, and really like it. I think that their heated gear doesn't have the proper quality control, and they are new to heated gear. Why not go with a company that you know is good with heated gear- either Warm n Safe, or Gerbings. Just my two cents.

 

[glory racing]

Thanx for the replies...

The Tourmaster supplied power lead is direct to the battery, red to positive/black to negative post. When the jacket was working I was riding twisties in Arkansas. When the jacket quit, I was riding on slab. In both cases, the rpm's were up there and should not be the problem. After being initially introduced and subjected to AR twisties, maybe the jacket is just objecting to the Interstate.

I thought the jackets only functioned when the rpm's were high enough to send appropriate amounts of electrical go juice to the jackets (told you I was short on electrical knowledge).

So... can I operate the jacket with just battery power while the bike is not running? If so, that should tell me if the jacket is functioning without bringing in any possible bike electrical gremlins into the mix.

Tourmaster has been a good brand for me and Helmet City has been great and is replacing the jacket...so that is not the issue. However, If jacket #2 does not work...and it actually is another defective jacket and not the beloved FJR causing the problem, I will get a different brand. I just want to make sure the problem is not my bike!

 

[Wolfhound]

If you try & run the liner without the bike running it will drain the battery extremely fast, not many minutes. I'd just start it & rev the motor enough to keep the voltage in the charging range. I us a permanently mounted DATEL voltmeter to monitor battery condition so I won't be left with a drained battery when running HID lighs, jacket liner, heated gloves, & a bunch of other farkles.

 

[Groo]

I have Warm-n-safe gear, and recently had one of the gloves I bought a year and a half ago in a group buy stop working. Contacted them, and they sent me a new set of gloves for free. Now THAT'S service... Very happy with the heat troller and warm-n-safe liner/gloves...

 

[Duster19]

I'm afraid to say that I'm on my last leg with Tourmaster stuff. I've replaced 3 controllers (old model) and one entire liner jacket. The only thing that has kept me from just asking for my money is they have been really good about replacing things. Heck they sent me 2 controllers and it's a good thing, since it keeps the down time down.

They have supposedly replaced all their controllers with new circuit boards. There is a "n" with a circle around it on the back of the controller to show it's the new model. Well, I'm now on my second NEW model as of today.

I'll be going with a new company if this one doesn't last.

Dave

 

[YooperDick]

Had exactly the same problem. It was a bad wire from the power side to the controller. Sent it back to Gerbring and they repaired the wire. No charge since it was still under warranty. If your controller has some type of flashing indicator to help in diagnosis, try plugging your clothing in and manipulate the wires and connectors to see if you can make it work/fail.

 

[glory racing]

So...the new jacket arrived today. Whoo Hoo! Plugged it in to the original power lead and the same BS...the jacket did not work. Damnit! After more cursing, I replaced the original power lead with the new one that arrived today and presto...all is well. Just out of curiosity, I plugged the original jacket and controller into the new power lead and they worked as well. So for now, all is good again.

The only thing I don't know at this point is if the original power lead was defective from the start or if something happened to it while operating (engine heat, power surge, etc) Since it did work originally for about 12 hours I would guess that something caused it rather than a defect in the cord/fuse/connections/etc???

Hopefully this one works correctly for longer than 12 hours. Although Helmet City was most accomodating, I don't really want to get caught in the cold and go through the hassle again.

Thanx for all of your input and ideas.

Ride safe,

Mark