Heated Grip Problem

[Deleted account 190920001]

Right,
After reading some of the replies regarding the heated grips I decided to ring the dealer i bought the bike from. He has suggested that the software needs to be updated due to the fact that the resistance of the grips might be a bit low causing the electronic fuses to activate. He also said that it affected the 2008 model
I'm not convinced that this will cure it. Am i correct in saying that this type of fuse only reset when the ignition is turned off and on again. I suppose I have to give them the benefit of doubt, I just hope this dosen`t get dragged out.

There are no fuses as such, the ECU monitors the current draw and switches of the transistor (electronic relay) if it goes too high. It then waits a set time and switches it back on and keeps going on in a loop like that. So if it thinks the draw is too high the grips will go off and on only partially heating. If the software is set with too low a threshold then an update would do the job. Same as guys fitting HID kits and they flash on and off because the cold start current is too high.

 

[The Bede]

... The newer 1200s appear to have had more grip failures than the early release. Possibly a change of supplier. They can partially short, which drops the heat level but doesn't switch the grip off completely.

... Should be a straight warranty swap.

 

[C-J]

Oh I'm glad its not just me... on my K12 in position 2 the grips were proper toasty, just the way I like it... Now on the 1 year old GS I've just picked up I was suffering with frozen fingers..... There was definitely a performance difference between the 2. I would have thought it would have been warmer on the GS with handguards taking some of the wind chill off !!!

Oh well, looks like I'm heading back to Williams soon....

 

[Wilderbeast]

I spoke last week with my local dealer. I trust this dealer and go a long way back with the guy I spoke with. He immediately told me that this is a known problem with the 08 GS and that BMW had told them NOT to do any further warranty swaps because the issue is not fixable by a swap. It is caused by heat being dissipated through the handlebars on this model. BMW he said, have been asked but have not supplied any fix to the problem. He suggested I write to BMW Customer Services to address the issue. I sent the letter last week and will let you folks know when I get a response. It's just not acceptable for BMW to take this stance with a bike designed for long distances and any weather conditions.

Does anyone else have any experience of BMW responding to or fixing issues like this based on customer pressure?

 

[C-J]

I spoke last week with my local dealer. I trust this dealer and go a long way back with the guy I spoke with. He immediately told me that this is a known problem with the 08 GS and that BMW had told them NOT to do any further warranty swaps because the issue is not fixable by a swap. It is caused by heat being dissipated through the handlebars on this model. BMW he said, have been asked but have not supplied any fix to the problem. He suggested I write to BMW Customer Services to address the issue. I sent the letter last week and will let you folks know when I get a response. It's just not acceptable for BMW to take this stance with a bike designed for long distances and any weather conditions.

Does anyone else have any experience of BMW responding to or fixing issues like this based on customer pressure?

Perhaps one of the dealers on here would care to comment ????

 

[skywalker]

If the bike's got aluminium handlebars fitted then no amount of swapping grips is going to make any difference since the aluminium acts as a heat sink. Steel bars will retain the heat so a lot depends on what type you have fitted.
Its the same grip fitted across a range of bikes. This sympton occured on the early R1100RS' they never got as hot as the RT & GS -cause RS had aluminium bars RT & GS steel

 

[Wilderbeast]

So do the 09 onwards models have steel and not aluminium grips? Perhaps BMW would like to swap out my handlebars. Anything to solve the problem! Still waiting for a response by the way

 

[skywalker]

So do the 09 onwards models have steel and not aluminium grips? Perhaps BMW would like to swap out my handlebars. Anything to solve the problem! Still waiting for a response by the way

Looks like all the handlebars are aluminium on the later ones.A letter to customer services may be in order.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

my 09 has aluminium bars but the grips are toasty warm so the bars might not be the key to the problem. If your not convinced then as an experiment put some pipe insulation on the bars and see if it makes a difference. Will only cost a couple of quid from B&Q if you cant get some for free or have some.

 

[Wilderbeast]

Bit late updating the thread on this one but BMW did finally come back to me, four weeks after my letter and after some chasing! They state:

"I can confirm that BMW UK are aware that the heated grips on the GS lose heat more quickly than on the previous GS model. The reason behind this is because the handlebars are now made from a new type of lighter aluminium, which can lose heat more quickly. While I can understand your disappointment that heat is lost more quickly and can advise that there is currently no resolution to this characteristic"

That's word for word by the way - not my poor grammar! Currently holding on the phone to escalate it. I'd rather they put older steel bars back on as the heated grips are shite! About as much use as a rubber foot.

What a load of twaddle....