Making my own heated grips controller

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by ophic

you can, although i'd be more worried about getting a properly waterproof switch.

Touché! Very good point. Anyone know of any online electrical shops? even with paying for postage I'm sure it'll be cheaper than the likes of maplins - plus I need a LED sidelight while I'm there.

[fastdruid]

Farnell or RS?

Druid

[Dave20046]

Just had a though the switch would need to connect the input to two outputs each with a positive & a negative terminal, or would just a 3 pin witch suffice?

(electrics are a weak point!)

Cheers fd will google 'em

[fastdruid]

http://uk.farnell.com/
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/

Druid

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Dave20046

(electrics are a weak point!)

Indeed. The switch just needs to put a break in the live side of the circuit. It just does the same as cutting a wire. 2 connections, one wired to your live feed, the other wired to the grips. The 2nd wire coming out of the grips needs to go to an earth point.

[fastdruid]

Personally I'd use a relay, allows a smaller switch and neater wiring.

Druid

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by fastdruid

Personally I'd use a relay, allows a smaller switch and neater wiring.

Druid

Cheers for the links

At the moment I have a couple of wires coming from the ignition with a block connector on and then 2 wires coming from each grip with a block connector on. As I understand it that means the grips can't draw any power unless the ignition is on and I'll require a waterproof switch; ignition positive to one pin and earth the other cable(?) both positives from the grips to the other pin and the black wires to earth.
That about right?

[fastdruid]

Yep pretty much.

From memory the connectors on the oxfords are identical to RC model car battery connectors and can be easily sourced, I'd use them rather than hack the cables, makes it *far* easier to go back at a later date or just even to mess about.

Anyway, you want to connect the black from the ign to *both* blacks from the handlebars, you then want to as you say connect the red from the ign to one side of the switch/relay and the two reds from the handlebars to the other side, if you are using a relay you then want to connect one side of the activating coil to earth and then run another wire from the connection from the ign, through a switch to the other side of the activating coil.

Oh and make sure you have it fused.

Druid

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by fastdruid

Yep pretty much.

From memory the connectors on the oxfords are identical to RC model car battery connectors and can be easily sourced, I'd use them rather than hack the cables, makes it *far* easier to go back at a later date or just even to mess about.

Anyway, you want to connect the black from the ign to *both* blacks from the handlebars, you then want to as you say connect the red from the ign to one side of the switch/relay and the two reds from the handlebars to the other side, if you are using a relay you then want to connect one side of the activating coil to earth and then run another wire from the connection from the ign, through a switch to the other side of the activating coil.

Oh and make sure you have it fused.

Druid

Right all that made sense up until relay and fuse . Would it not be using the ignition's fuse like the oxford set up was? (when the oxfrod controller blew it took the ignition fuse with it). Only experience I've had with relays is chopping bits out of the SV's multifunction one.
Sorry for bein thick!

[fastdruid]

Depends, it should have been installed with it's own fuse so that if it went it didn't blow the main fuse...

Big fat slap for whoever installed that!

In which case, I personally would install a new fused wire from the battery + to one relay connector, then use the existing wire from the ign to the activating coil of the relay.

Druid