Hmm... Oxford heated grip question

[northwind]

I just finished (well, sort of finished) rewiring my Hotgrips. Basically, I've removed the control box, and wired in a toggle switch and light mounted in the dash. It's all relayed off the tail light with its own wiring loom.

It's a pretty simple setup... Positive terminal to relay, relay to switch/light, then the grips wired in parallel (seems to be how they come out the box) and back to the neutral. But for some reason the grips don't heat. The light works fine, so the circuit has power, and it's 12V across the terminals at any point I've tested.

So, I'm wondering if there's more going on in that control box than I'd been told. Oxprod said ages back that you can bypass the whole box with a switch...But if my understanding of the circuit is correct that's all I've actually done.

Anyone else done a rewire with OPxford grips at all, or got any ideas where I've gone wrong? Are they maybe suppose to be in series, but the wiring for that's tucked away in the box making it look like they're in parallel?

[northwind]

Think I know what's wrong... helpfully my brother actually knows how electricity works :) Apparently I've got to have the lamp in parallel with the grips, not in series.

[kjames]

i've a heaterd grip problem which i'll just tag onto to the end of your thread if you dont mine northy.

fitted them at the weekend, all was well worked for 1/2hr and then they stopped working. the little red LED on the control box is lit up, so suggests to me that there's electrickery going to the control box, but nothing coming out.

checked they're tunred on and up.. so my question and linked to northwinds...
1. sounds like the control box is buggered?
2. can i just wire straight passed the control box and will this just ahve them on full all the time?

thanks


karl

[northwind]

You should be able to bypass it... But if they're new you shouldn't have to. The control box is fairly easy to remove, since it's seperate from all the other parts with plugs, so I'd contact Oxford and see about getting a replacement. They're usualyl very good with aftersales in my experience, they replaced various parts of my old bike's GSi immobiliser for free, despite it being years out of warranty.

if you have a multimeter, there's various thing you can check- resistance across the grips, voltage across the plugs... Probably others but (as my earlier mistake proves) I'm no electrician!

[kjames]

i've got a multimeter and havent a clue how to use it.. much prefer the old light bulb with two bits of wire attached to it :D

i'll going to ahve a bit of apoke about at the weekend and then contact oxford and ask them to send me a replacement control box.

just ahve to have cold pinkies unitl then


thanks

akrl

[northwind]

i've got a multimeter and havent a clue how to use it.. much prefer the old light bulb with two bits of wire attached to it :D

"Continuity tester" :) Check both grips for resistance, you're just looking to establish that neither has a short. No idea at all what figures a healthy grip will return but I can find out at the weekend if you want, mine are all coming to bits anyway so I can sort the wiring.

(I discovered today that I've wired the relay into the tail light- which means everytime I use the brakes the grips turn off :))

[TSM]

I just use the switched live directly from the fuse box, so there are no problems.

[northwind]

I don't think carbed models have the spare connection. They'd better not or I'll be rather annoye at myself :)

[TSM]

Its not so much spare, i just used one of thoes clip on spliters on the wire. Works fine for me since the start of the year, i have several wiring connections directly from the fuse box.

Twin Fiamm Horn relay, Heated grip, Aux Socket (when i was on holiday), Starcom system.

[northwind]

Don't like those things much myself, just not keen on the way they work- they make the connection by slicing into the cable... But it it works, it works.

[Sid Squid]

Apparently I've got to have the lamp in parallel with the grips, not in series.

Correct, if the lamp is in series then it's effectively a rather large resistor in the current path to the grips.

[Oxprod]

If you want to get rid of the adjustable switch for a straight on off switch you just need to swap the switch part of the loom for one from a pair of hothands. I'm sure you could find someone on here who would swap with you. IF not they retail for £17.02 + VAT under product code OF694L. Any Oxford dealer can order you one in.

[northwind]

Oxprod's back everyone! Did you get the SV sold?

it occurs to me that I've got a control box in the garage somewhere. But i've got no idea where, if it turns up I'll let you know.

[Oxprod]

hi northwind

yeah sold the SV months ago.

One more thing I should mention about converting from an adjustable dial to a switch. These hotgrips get damn hot on maximum setting, so I'd recommend switching them off intermittently to ensure the temperature doesnt creep up too high :shock:

[Jelster]

hi northwind

yeah sold the SV months ago.

One more thing I should mention about converting from an adjustable dial to a switch. These hotgrips get damn hot on maximum setting, so I'd recommend switching them off intermittently to ensure the temperature doesnt creep up too high :shock:

I've got a set of Hein Gericke heated grips which have a 3 position switch (Off, Start & On). I've worked out that it's actually Off, Very Hot & Hot; the idea is that the "start" position gets the grips hoter, quicker than if the "On" position is used.

Heated grips - good investment for the money in my book.

.