Fitting Oxford heated grips

[carty]

Hello all,

I got some Oxford heated grips for Christmas, had them on my old SV (were on when I bought the bike) and decided it's time to get some on my GSX-R600.

I've just been down to my garage to have a look at fitting them - took off the seat and was looking at where I'll have to put the wires through from the front and started to worry myself about taking the tank off to route the wires.

It sounds daft but I've never had to put the tank up before and I was worried about fuel spilling out or whatever and I've closed it all back up and come in the house :smt005 ( I know, I'm a big jessie!)

So, can anyone who has fitted their heated grips re-assure me that there is no problem popping up the tank to route the wires through (I'm presuming that this is the way to do it?!)

I'm not worried about putting the grips on or mounting the bracket, just the wire routing!

Any advice welcome,

Cheers,
Matt

[Alpinestarhero]

No problem lifting up the tank, there should be a tank prop stick under the seat? I did my heated grips yesterday, and routed the cable along the inside of the frame under the tank, all nice and hidden (except you can see the cable tires where the wire is held out of the way of possible chaffing, but I dont care, my bike has a topbox so good looks arnt really my thing)

Matt

[carty]

Cheers for quick reply mate, I couldn't see a tank prop under the seat - I def had on on the SV (never used it!) but don't think I've got one now - are all the cables from the front routed under the tank then?

Cheers

[hovis]

thats what i did on the blade..............

although, when i put the lights on, the hotgrips turn themselves off?

so its either hotgrips and sidelights
or
headlights & cold hands?

[metalmonkey]

Yeah just route around under the tank, shouldn't be any problem he says!

Mine work fine until I go over a bump, and they turn off, I need to pull my bike apart to find out why it is doing that...

[yorkie_chris]

thats what i did on the blade..............

although, when i put the lights on, the hotgrips turn themselves off?

so its either hotgrips and sidelights
or
headlights & cold hands?

Thats oxford trying to make the installation idiot proof, and messing it up in the process.
Whats happening there is the battery voltage is dropping below the hotgrips limit.

Mine do the opposite, they don't turn themselves off at all, but that's OK cause they're on a switched feed.


If you're worried about fuel spillage, then leave the fuel lines attatched, and don't do it with a full tank.

[Alpinestarhero]

My hotgrips seem to be working fine, mind you...i havnt used them yet :king: sure I will on sunday so i'll find out then what they are like lol

Wired mine directly to the battery, although in the future i will wire them to the ignition circuit, or put in a switch under the seat that no-one can come along and turn on and drain my battery

Matt

[Richie]

I wired mine into to spare fuse connecter, only a 12V feed when the ignition is on so don't have to worry about turning them off.. (Not until the Spring time anyway ;-) )

[carty]

Thanks for replies guys - haven't looked any further at the issue yet but will psyche myself up to have another go over the weekend.

Yorkie_Chris - I was worried about fuel spillage cos I don't know how the fuel is routed from the filler cap to the tank or how long the pipe is - this is my worry when propping up the tank but you reckon it will be all right?

And I would look at splicing it in to the ignition circuit but there are convenient connectors to hook straight on to battery terminals so I think that will be easier (I'm trusting the garb that says about how they turn themselves off to avoid draining the battery!)

Cheers,
Matt

[yorkie_chris]

Yorkie_Chris - I was worried about fuel spillage cos I don't know how the fuel is routed from the filler cap to the tank


I'm trusting the garb that says about how they turn themselves off to avoid draining the battery!)


It just sort of falls in there, the filler cap's just a hole in the top of the tank really.

Mine never worked like that, so I put them on the ignition

[Alpinestarhero]

Cartwrim - think it'll be fine to prop the tank up, after all thats what its designed for - just lift it up slowly and check nothing pinches or tugs too much. Theres genrally alot of slack there though

My heated grips are wired to the battery, if you are worried you can always have a switch under the pillion seat / humpy thing. thats a big thing to forget, you'll be inclined to go back and check if you havnt done it

I have the battery connection on easy reach, i can disconnect the hotgrips from the battery easy when i leave it some place, or parked up for ages, so that they dont get turned on by a prankster

Matt

[yorkie_chris]

If you're putting switches under the pillion seat, then put one on the ignition live feed too: hillbilly immobiliser

[Alpinestarhero]

If you're putting switches under the pillion seat, then put one on the ignition live feed too: hillbilly immobiliser

Indeedily, people wont think to go under the seat. My dad did a simialr thing on his Golf GTi with a hidden switch under the carpet to turn off the fuel pump

Matt

[hovis]

thats what i did on the blade..............

although, when i put the lights on, the hotgrips turn themselves off?

so its either hotgrips and sidelights
or
headlights & cold hands?

Thats oxford trying to make the installation idiot proof, and messing it up in the process.
Whats happening there is the battery voltage is dropping below the hotgrips limit.

.
how do i get around this?

[yorkie_chris]

Check the battery voltage, usual charging system checks just like on the curvy.

I suspect this will be fine and your problem will be you've wired it on a circuit with a bit of resistance somewhere, so when you put the lights on the voltage drops.
Try put them right on the battery and if it works then you know it is resistance somewhere causing the problem.

Then you can either use a relay, or try wire them to a different circuit

[hovis]

i wired them straigt to the battery, i also put my battery on optimate and it goes to 2 green lights

[yorkie_chris]

Check the charging system then and see whats happening, Zoidberg is afoot.

[hovis]

could it be that the wire i used for the hotgrips is too thin?

i used the cable from an old radio, i just cut the plug off one end and the jack that plugs into the radio/video etc off the other

[yorkie_chris]

Nah that'll probably be fine, but replace it with one nicked from a kettle if you're unsure. Also check your connections.

[northwind]

This is why I bought the old-fashioned ones with the dial instead of the new ones that are just clever enough to be stupid.

[yorkie_chris]

new ones that are just clever enough to be stupid.

:D

[Stradders]

Hi

I have not read all the posts on this forum (as I am in a bit of a rush), so please excuse me if what I say has already been said, but I bought some Oxford Hot Grips a couple of months ago. I had every intention of fitting them myself, until a friend told me to wire them in via the ignition circuit as that way they can't accidentally be left on, or some joker (and believe me, I work with a few of them) can't come along and switch them on for you.

I had no problems raising the tank and was doing OK until I tried to find the right wire. My electrical knowledge is basic at best so I had a minor snag with that. I also, stupidly, stripped the bolt that holds on the clutch lever (which is where I was going to install the control box).

As I don't have an 'easy-out' I ended up biting the bullet and took the bike to my local dealer, who for a small fee managed to fit them via the ignition circuit and replace my broken bolt. I know it is the easy way out but having spent 2 hours taking the bike apart and then putting it back together again (minus the clutch lever bolt) I felt it was a small price to pay. Besides, I had a good chat with them while I was there and my ineptitude helps to keep them in business.

They did it in about 2 hours total and I now have toasty warm hands and no worries about the clowns I work with flattening my battery.

Hope that helps. All the best for 2008

Ride Safe

Stradders.

[ridelikeaturtle]

This is why I bought the old-fashioned ones with the dial instead of the new ones that are just clever enough to be stupid.

lol - I just installed mine today, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Of course, I turned what should've taken 1 hr into 4... the bar-end weight on the left bar wouldn't come off, so I had to pound, drill, chisel, and grind on the damn thing. There's always one, eh?

Maybe it's too late for some, but here's how I did them (did the same on the other bike long ago, it makes wiring stuff in brainless):

Distribution block:
http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php

You can get a relay at Maplin. Just plug the + and - into the block and you're good -- on w/the rear lights, off w/the rear lights.

And if the new controller starts automatically shutting them off whenever I stop at a light, I'm not gonna be happy.