Heated grips wiring

Deftone

Deftone

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Just received a set of Tusk grip heaters for my '07. I've got the heaters installed on the bars and the grips back on and I'm about to install the hi/off/low switch.

I know you can wire these directly to the battery, but I understand you can wire them to the ignition as well so the battery won't drain and the grips are only on when the ignition is on.

Has anyone done this? What's the best place to connect the "+" to?

I'm thinking about using the horn mounting screw for the ground wires. Is this ok?

Threads? Links, Pics? Just looking for the best way to install.

Thanks for any tips! :)
 
On my gen1, I used the brake running light wire and a relay to wire mine. The front signal running light wire would be good too but I have my alarm wired to it already.

I got in on a group buy for a fuse and relay holder that has three fuse positions. Right now I have the aux lights and grip heaters on it with the third spot free. I'm thinking about hard wiring the power for my gps there though.

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This tucks away neatly in front the battery.
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The only thing directly connected to the battery now is the power blocks and battery tender pigtail. I also have a non switched power distibution block that I've hidden under my side panel.
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That block has the alarm and power outlet connected to it as well as the ground for the other stuff.

It's a big change from the rat's nest I ended up with by not planning on adding things.
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I'm using the front running light to activate the relay. I chose to mount my relay up front so this was easier than the taillight.
 
So I wired 'em directly to the battery for the time being. I used a fused link on the + side and actually set it up to plug straight into my Battery Tender pigtail.

They work great, but the throttle side gets much warmer than the clutch side. I'm sure this is because the heater on the clutch side is mounted directly on to the aluminum handlebar and that's a heat sink.
 
Deftone said:
So I wired 'em directly to the battery for the time being. I used a fused link on the + side and actually set it up to plug straight into my Battery Tender pigtail.

They work great, but the throttle side gets much warmer than the clutch side. I'm sure this is because the heater on the clutch side is mounted directly on to the aluminum handlebar and that's a heat sink.
Click to expand...

theWolfTamer said:
My grip heaters are the same way. I put heat shrink and electrical tape on the bar under the clutch side but still get more heat on the throttle side.
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Yea, the throttle side will always get warmer since the plastic throttle sleeve is not a good heat conductor. What I do is just open my right hand once in a while to cool it a little bit :)
 
I bought the under $5 ones from eBay so my hands never get too hot. I can say that even though i don't feel the heat as much on the clutch side, my palm has never gotten cold either so I guess it's doing just what it should.
 
Gday, I was going to ask about grip heaters that don't get too hot In a previous life working in Ski Industry, never used the high setting on my SnoMo low was heaps. Just north of Sydney in Aus so no snow here but the arthritis is geting into me. Do these cheapies have more than one setting?
 
Thanks. Thought a bit more about it and I could probably wire in a variable resistor to set the heat level. Long time since I played with that sort of thing but with the web hey someone always seams to have done it.
 
My commute was 36 degrees this morning for about 25 minutes. Fingertips started to burn at about halfway there, but not too bad. Heaters stayed on high the entire ride.

Roadrace gloves w/ silk liners. I'll get some better cold weather gloves and see how I do.
 
I just plug in my "FirstGear" heated gloves. Of course, they plug into my heated "FG" jacket and the rehostat controls the heat ! I removed the funky factory pigtail and installed a battery tender plug for an easy, secure, connection.
:cheers:
 
I put both sets on yesterday and used the running lights HOT for the power. This is the blue wire with the red stripe on the Gen II. I clipped it on after the plug on the harness so when I unplug the harness at the fairing, the wire stays with the headlight end of the plug. Worked out great and all the wiring it nearly hidden. ;)
 
BTW, the Symtec kit? The throttle side is higher rated for resistance than the clutch side but doesn't get a lot hotter because it is wrapped around the plastic throttle tube and the clutch side is lower rated because it is in direct contact with the metal bar and requires less heat to achieve the same results. I can get the exact ratings off the package if anyone is interested.

Tip... When I mounted mine, because people have questioned the connections, I started at the end of the bar and applied the elements so that when the grip was fully installed, it actually covered a bit more of the wire and grabbed the shielded part. This reduces the amount of movement where it connects to the element and the wires are unshielded (where they are most likely to fail). When I am done with the other work, I'll get a few pics of where I ran the wires and what the end result looks like.
 
FZ1inNH said:
BTW, the Symtec kit? The throttle side is higher rated for resistance than the clutch side but doesn't get a lot hotter because it is wrapped around the plastic throttle tube and the clutch side is lower rated because it is in direct contact with the metal bar and requires less heat to achieve the same results. I can get the exact ratings off the package if anyone is interested.

Tip... When I mounted mine, because people have questioned the connections, I started at the end of the bar and applied the elements so that when the grip was fully installed, it actually covered a bit more of the wire and grabbed the shielded part. This reduces the amount of movement where it connects to the element and the wires are unshielded (where they are most likely to fail). When I am done with the other work, I'll get a few pics of where I ran the wires and what the end result looks like.
Click to expand...

I'm not following you on this...on mine the clutch side was about half as hot, I figured it was because the bar (Aluminum) was acting as a heat sink. So I removed the clutch side heater and wrapped the bar in electrical tape and reinstalled the heater. It works much better but still not as hot as the throttle side.
 
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Just wanted to add to this...I finally got some stock risers and some steel bars. Wrapped with electrical tape, the clutch side and the throttle side are about the same temp.

OneSizeFitsAll said:
Geez Mark, who needs heated grips with high's in the mid 60's in January? :shine::shine:
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Not needed during the day but I commute at 4:30am when it's been in the high 20's.

Blanchy said:
Do these cheapies have more than one setting?
Click to expand...

The Tusk's are $20 USD and they have hi & lo settings.
 
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