Gerbing heated jacket - amazing kit

[WindyChuffer]

Well impressed with this. Used for first time this morning; can feel heat almost straight away. Absolutely amazing piece of kit. Wish I'd bought one years ago.

Now where to mount the heat controller unit. I've duck taped it on the side of tank for now. Where do others mount their controller unit?

 

[araspitfire]

For the first couple years I had it velcroed into the interior of my tank-bag...

But as I was planning riding san-bag in Morocco this year, I moved it... got a velcro strap (one that forms a loop to itself), and attached it onto my chest pocket area.. hard to explain... the controller could have used a belt-clip...

I found higher mounting on me, kept the wires neat and tidy... Though standing up on the pegs and throwing my weight around unplugged it occasionaly...

Al...

 

[Tomcat]

I've got the small portable controller and just sandwich it between the waist adjustment straps on my riding jacket. A bit of velcro on the back keeps it in place.

BTW, you will probably find that the jacket draws too much current to be powered from the accs socket. I wired the Gerbing socket across the battery originally, which meant that the socket was always live unless I pulled out the inline fuse. Last weekend I finally got round to fitting a small relay from Maplins http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=37526&criteria=automotive relay&doy=18m12 part no N00AW, cost £1.98 so that the socket is only live when the ignition is switched on. The relay coil is activated by a lead taken off the rear of the accs socket, and the power is taken via a short lead with an inline fuse (Halfords) from the +ve side of the battery.

The best part is that the relay has an integral bracket, and if you remove the black plastic cover on the RHS of the GS - the one just below the ali panel of the tank - you will find a small unused bracket on the chassis, with a threaded hole. The relay simply bolts onto this bracket, terminals facing forwards and is hidden when the plastic cover is replaced. Makes everything neat so the jobs a good'un

One other thing you might find useful - I have the Gerbing socket emerging between the seat and the tank. Its held in place with a tie-wrap loosely applied, with the ratchety bit trapped in the gap between the ali panel and the tank. This keeps it in one place and stops it from sliding out when the seat is removed.

 

[WindyChuffer]

I wired the Gerbing socket across the battery originally, which meant that the socket was always live unless I pulled out the inline fuse. Last weekend I finally got round to fitting a small relay...

I have mine wired directly to the battery, and am happy with the tail being live all the time.

What's so wrong with the socket being live the whole time? Its not going to drain the battery (when nothing is connected to it)...

 

[Shep]

What's so wrong with the socket being live the whole time? Its not going to drain the battery (when nothing is connected to it)...

It can encourage galvanic corrosion (i think)

Saying that, my GPS cable is live all the time and its been OK for a couple of years now

Shep

 

[WindyChuffer]

I think you'll find thats complete bollocks.

A lot of work for no gain, and more to go wrong !

 

[Tomcat]

I wasn't bothered about corrosion of the socket, I simply didn't like having a live socket sticking out. It looked too easy to short out - by a press stud for example. OK, its fused, but I still didn't like it. There's not much to go wrong in a relay - and if it does it would take only a moment to swap the connections from the normally open terminal to the normally closed....

 

[HeatedGrips]

I just replaced the BMW canbus-linked socket with another one wired directly to the battery. Seems to work fine.

 

[GrinningGSer]

I have mine wired directly to the battery, and am happy with the tail being live all the time.

What's so wrong with the socket being live the whole time? Its not going to drain the battery (when nothing is connected to it)...

Mine is live all of the time, but swiitched off by the heat controller. Last year my heat controller died and I suspect that it was left switched on. I also wonder if the Optimate killed it whilst switched on

 

[birdseye]

It can encourage galvanic corrosion (i think)

Galvanic corrosion is all about dissimilar metals in contact in an electrolyte so it wouldnt apply in this case. You will see galvanic corrosion on the GS where mild steel fasteners (or even stainless ones) go through ally

But it is sense to have the socket switch off. Minimises the chance of current leakage when the bike is parked up, in rain for example. Minimises the chance of an accidental short. More important perhaps is the fuse in the circuit - I've seen the result of an accidental dead short across a battery and it did a great deal more than just bugger up the battery itself.

You've done the job properly

 

[WindyChuffer]

...You've done the job properly

Well what about those charger fly leads connected directly to the battery then, and the connector accessible to connect the charger without having to remove the seat?

 

[alimey4u2]

The problem is electrolytic action when water gets in the socket.... In theory, rain water is deionised ( in days of yore) & will not conduct but tap water will. Keep it dry & no prob...