Hmm. it would appear the heated grips have stopped getting really hot..on low setting they are barely warm and on high they are not much warmer ..is there something to do that can make them warmer ? cheers
R1100GS heated grips
- Thread starter West coast gser
- Start date
Snap...mine much the same. Not had the bike that long to know if this is normal or not.. watching this with interest..
The heated grips are just a length of resistance wire, wrapped around the grip. The resistance of this wire length is quite low, so it could be that the connector where the heated grips mate with the wiring harness has become corroded and has a high resistance, this would drop the overall voltage through the grip so that they don’t get as hot. Conversely the switch itself might have become dirty and it too produce a high resistance, with the same effect.
When on low setting there is a 1.9 Ohm length of additional resistance wire switched in circuit, to drop the voltage. On high setting this wire is switched out of circuit.
The grips themselves have crimped connectors at the grip where the resistance wire terminates to the flexible wire which runs down the inside of the bars to the harness connector.
So there are several places where corrosion could occur and cause high resistance.
How to check the resistance.
Go into the fuse box and remove fuse 7 (4amps)
Connect a resistance meter between the forward contacts of the fuse holder and earth.
Your resistances should be
Off = Overload
Low = 7 - 8 ohms
High = 5 - 6 ohms
Note. The bike does not need to be powered or running for this check. It’s a static check power off
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I'll have a look an check .. cheers
So my weedy heated grips have 8.5 ohms on low and 10.5 ohms on high...
I'm no techie at all so is that enough variation to make the grips weak?
I'm no techie at all so is that enough variation to make the grips weak?
Cook1e
Registered user
If we assume there's 12 volts at the switch/fuse with the engine running:
6 ohms will pass 2 amps, giving about 24 watts of heat
8.5 ohms will only pass about 1.4 amps, giving about 17 watts of heat (70% of the above)
Clean the connectors, earth, fuse and switch.
Thank you gents... would this explain why they are hotter on the supposed half setting than on the supposed full setting?
Cook1e
Registered user
No, but it may help you to locate the bad connection - look around the switch and its associated wiring/plugs, where the resistance wire is connected. If the low setting is making good contact, it's probably giving as much heat as designed, but there may be a high-resistance corroded connector on the main, full-power circuit.
Well checked the ohms on low setting 6 ohms and high setting 4 ohms ..need to remove clock surround to get @ the switch and see if there's any corrosion present then check ohms again..cheers for replies folks
I cant find a fuse box.
My left hand grip is cold, my right hand one is toasty. I pressume its just a case of getting a new grip and plugging it in.
My left hand grip is cold, my right hand one is toasty. I pressume its just a case of getting a new grip and plugging it in.
Your fuse box is here, under the seat.
But it does sound as if your grip has failed. If you remove the bar end weight you should be able to see the crimp connections, you may have a break.
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