Heated grip not working

[Rockeye]

Evening all,

Been out on the old girl today(2007 1200GS) and the right hand throttle side heated grip isn’t working, the left hand one is fine and nice and toasty but the right stone cold. Contacted the previous owner who said he never had a problem with it.

Is there anything I can check before shelling out for a new or used one to replace it?

Are they fairly simple to remove or is it a big drip down job?

 

[rovert57]

There’s a vid on YouTube think the site is called let’s go Dutch

 

[Rockeye]

Thanks Rovert I’ll have a quick look for it��

 

[Bem]

I managed to replace my RHS on my 2005, just went very slowly and carefully to peel apart all the tiny screws and clamps - failing eyesight not a barrier ! Jim Von Badens site I think.

 

[Rockeye]

Thks for the info Bem ,

I may end up doing this as just rang Motorworks and unfortunately they don’t have a second hand one in stock so it’s looking like £111 for a new one which is pretty expensive.

I’ve got a brand new set of heated grips in the garage but would rather keep the bike as standard if I can.

 

[Rockeye]

I’ve just had the switch apart and tested the grip for continuity and surprisingly the grip showed continuity? The longer part of the connector appeared to be wired to the grip and this part showed continuity across the two pins.

I’m wondering now what it could be as a faulty switch would surely kill both heated grips, unless there is a broken wire somewhere in the loom?

 

[kirby morgan]

Had the same problem with a friends R1150RT. Traced the grip wiring down to a wiring block. Turned out it was a broken wire between block connector and the grips. Used a needle to pierce the wiring until I got the break located
Worth a try. Also see if there is a 12 volt supply to the block connector. If not, It could be a resistor supplying the grip thats goosed.

 

[Mistacat]

Faulty switch would stop both grips working.
The grips have separate feeds from the ZFE so could be in the loom.
A common problem with the grips was a dry solder joint where the wires attached to the grips , remaking these joints with plenty of heat has proved successful on a number of occasions, even though the joint looked sound to the eye.

 

[Rockeye]

Thanks gents, it’s looking like a bit of a strip down job isn’t it if I’m looking into wiring looms etc. Looking at the wiring I’m guessing the feed must come from the switch down to the loom and then back up to the individual handlebar which explains the left one still working.

Speaking to Motorworks today they suggested checking for continuity at the bar itself to rule out the grip coils as the problem, I’ve got a Haynes Manual so will do a bit of digging tonight and see if I can work it out, years since I read wiring diagrams but will give it a go.

If the problem is deep within the loom I may have to put my aftermarket heated grips on, is this straight forward as I believe the original grips have a copper element that runs underneath the grip?

Would it be a case of just removing the rubber part of the grip followed by the coil element underneath to retro fit the new ones, the throttle side I’m guessing is part of the throttle tube also which would make it a little tricky?

 

[Bem]

I may end up doing this as just rang Motorworks and unfortunately they don’t have a second hand one in stock ...

This in itself tells a story.
IIR mine started to wear "under the thumb" so I could just make out some of the wires under the rubber when it failed.
A GS911 would help, I should get round to selling mine.............

 

[Rockeye]

Would the GS911 be specific enough to tell you this particular failure or simply tell you the grip wasn’t working?

How much are you thinking of selling your GS 911 for.?

 

[Rockeye]

Just stripped the grip again and definitely have continuity through the grip by testing the two pins carefully, is there a possibility that even with continuity the soldered joints could be an issue ie: as resistance rises it stops the current flow?

Trying every avenue before I have to strip the bike and take the tank off etc.

 

[Mistacat]

As there are two separate feeds from the ZFE to the 2 grips, The ground wires are linked back to the battery.
As you have continuity across the grip ( although I would have re-soldered the joints as it only take minutes).
Your next continuity test is from the connector to the grip and from the connector to pin 47 on the ZFE.
When carrying out continuity tests on wiring looms I prefer to use an old sealed beam headlamp or H4 bulb as this will put a 5 amp load on the wire which can show up a fault that a multi meter will not. Only use this method on the loom as you don`t want to put any unnecessary load on an ECU.
Obviously first checking continuity of the ground (Brown) wire back to the battery negative.

 

[Rockeye]

Thanks for you advice and help Mistycat much appreciated.

Excuse my ignorance but I’m guessing the ZFE unit is underneath the tank and are the pins quite accessible?

Think I’ll re solder the grip connections anyway to make sure of them, I have added a usb charging port to the rear connections on the battery but didn’t touch the main negative feed to it which sits at the front two terminals although the ground your referring to will be internal within the loom so pretty much impossible to disturb that messing with the battery I’m sure.

 

[Rockeye]

Just been looking on the internet and found an American post saying if you start the bike with the heated grips already turned on the ZFE unit can read a resistance at the grip, think there is a short and shut it down.

As it was only the one grip I turned the heated grip switch off, started the bike and let it warm up for a couple of mins then turned the heated grip switch on, keeping the bike around 2K revs the left grip heats up quickly but surprise surprise the right grip now heats up also albeit not as quickly as the left one.

Could this be indicative of a failing grip as the resistance levels are so different as to cause the ZFE to read a short and shut it down? Think I’ll re solder those connections and see if the grips heat up more evenly from there.

 

[Mistacat]

Yes you do have to whip the tank off to get at the ZFE ecu.
The pins are normally marked at each end of the plugs but the numbers are small so count in from the ends. Check the colour of the wire at the heated grip connector as it changes here so that you know what colour you are looking for on the ecu plug.
Disconnect the plug from the ecu and check the continuity.
The ground wires (Brown) are linked inside the loom and are connected to pin 5 on the ZFE ecu, to both grips and the battery negative.
The fact that the left grip is working would suggest that you have not disturbed the ground at the battery.

 

[Mistacat]

Yes definitely re- solder the joints, I have seen them look perfect but still cause problems.

 

[Rockeye]

Brilliant thanks Mistycat,

If the grip continues to play up after I managed to get it working today then I’ll whip the tank off and check for continuity, I should be using the bike this week so any issues with it not warming up I’ll get straight in there.

 

[Mistacat]

Just for the record you can turn on the grips with the GS911.
This is done at the ZFE ecu so bypasses the switch. ( it does not matter if the switch is in the on or off position).

 

[Rockeye]

I’ve got a friend with a Gs911 so I’ll try and use that at some point, 8 was out on the bike last night and the right drip has failed again.

Today I peeled back the grip to re solder the joints and noticed the first wire is broken that wraps round the handlebar, after work tomorrow I’m going to try and re solder this and see if it fixes the problem.

Does anyone know what size wire would be suitable?