Heated grips crapped out - Gen II (2008)

[WTP07]

During my ride today my OEM heated grips died. First the right side went cool, making the left side VERY warm. Then it went cold too.

So before I go tearing into this thing this week, can anyone tell me if the heated grips are fuse protected? I didn't see any reference to them in either the owners manual or the service manual, and the wiring diagrams make no reference to them at all.

I'm wondering if they piggyback on another fused system or if they are not fused at all.

Any experiences with this issue would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Randy.

(PS, I did a search for "heated grips" before asking, and nothing relevant showed up)

 

[RossKean]

Just a wild-assed guess but thinking that they are wired in series. A short in one side made for no heat there but the overall circuit resistance becomes lower and more current flows, cooking the other side. Higher current eventually blows the fuse.

If I'm right, you need to find and correct the short in the wiring, replace the fuse and you should be good to go.

On the other hand, maybe I'm wrong.
Good luck!

Edit: Short (if that is the case) is likely in the wire that goes to the right grip and close to the grip. Since it is the throttle side, that wire gets flexed a lot. Otherwise, the wire between the grips might have gotten pinched somehow. Are these OEM or aftermarket grips? Factory installed or by you (or dealer)?

 

[WTP07]

These are the factory oem grips.

I will check the wiring out tomorrow night.

Thanks!

 

[Fred W]

The factory OEM heated grips are shown on the AE schematic, which was the only model that heated grips were stock feature on until later model years.

As Ross surmised, they are wired in series, and receive they power from the signaling system fuse. But so does the brake lights, horn, windshield drive motor, and the glove-box solenoid, so assuming those other things are still working it's not a fuse problem.

The other side of the series grip heaters goes off to the heater control module, which should pulse width modulate a ground/return for the 12V. For you to have lost only one grip (initially) says the problem would have to have been in the grip or its wiring, and for the other grip to continue heating for a while, the first failure would have to have been a short circuit.

What failed secondarily is the question. It could be the other grip opened up, or that the controller went TU. Probing around with an ohm meter for continuity should reveal all.

 

[RossKean]

I didn't look up the schematic so I did not realize that there was other stuff on that fuse. A short on the right would definitely cause the left to draw more current and get hotter. It might have caused a fuse to blow due to increased current but if nothing else on that circuit failed, the presumed short probably turned into an "open" and neither side would heat.

With luck, it's just the wiring between the grips - easy to fix. If it is the grip itself, you may be in for an expensive replacement.

 

[Niehart]

80% of the time, when the factory heated grips die, it the wiring to the throttle grip that is the problem. And no, unless things have changed since I replace mine, you can’t buy just the throttle girp.

 

[WTP07]

Whilst re-routing throttle cables (I have a Heli-bars riser en route) I discovered the source of the problem. The wires in the right grip had shorted out due to being improperly twisted up inside the throttle assembly. Unfortunately, the break was about 1/4" from the grip itself, leaving me zero wire to work with to make a repair.

I didn't see any breaks in the left side wire, however.

I will be looking into some aftermarket grips that I can use with the OEM controller, provided that it didn't fry when the grips crapped out. I will have to dig out my multi meter and find out I guess.

Thanks for the assistance all. Hopefully it warms up enough soon that I can worry about this next off-season.

 

[Fred W]

Before you spend any more money on a right side grip, check the continuity of the rest of the system. It's probably OK. What most likely happened was the wires shorted together initially, but then one of them broke, creating an open and killing the left side grip. But you wouldn't want to go to the expense to get another right grip just top find the controller or left grip is FUBAR.

If it was (FUBAR), there are far more economical system replacement options out there.

 

[allrider]

I found a used rt side heated grip on ebay. The ones from 2010 and newer seem better made. Disconnect them for the time being if your gonna keep riding or you may cause other issues that could leave you stranded. Don't ask how i know.