OT. Snowmobile heated grips - input needed

Rapid Dog · 12-26-2006, 10:13 AM

Dear airhead dudes,

I got one o' these "Poly Grips" snowmobile heated grips kit for my R100GS.
Has anyone here hooked these up?

I want to use the BMW airhead heated grips rocker switch and I'm wondering if it's possible.
The kit comes with the handlebar inserts and some insulation.
Each side has 3 wires coming from the insert.
1 wire is to gound (center post) on the provided switch, the other two go to either side of the switch.
I'm not clear how the BMW switch works, it being 2 positions.
Is it "OFF"/"ON'/"HIGH" or what?

Your highly reguarded help is appreciated.

check this link

R111S · R111S's Garage

As I recall on my '94 GS/PD, which came with factory Heated Grips, the Rocker had a center OFF position and two side ON positions. One side was "Luke" Warm and the other was "Burn-a-blister if you leave it on too long" Hot.

The factory Heated Grips on my R1100S are much better with respect to heat levels..it's never hot enough to burn a blister.

Sideshow_S · 12-26-2006, 05:15 PM

Yep, the three-position is LOW_OFF_HIGH. Funny, that link is to canyonchasers.net. Dave is a great help and big influence on the infamous Hawklist. Non-listers need not understand. Dave's site rocks.

But back to the topic. The ground is on the middle post. The other two sides get the connections of the ends of two different wire loops. One loop has more resistance (more heat), the other less. You usually just determine which one after soldering and mount the toggle as desired. But OFF will always be in the middle/neutral position.

Sideshow_S · 12-26-2006, 07:18 PM

Yep, the three-position is LOW_OFF_HIGH. Funny, that link is to canyonchasers.net. Dave is a great help and big influence on the infamous Hawklist. Non-listers need not understand. Dave's site rocks.

But back to the topic. The ground is on the middle post. The other two sides get the connections of the ends of two different wire loops. One loop has more resistance (more heat), the other less. You usually just determine which one after soldering and mount the toggle as desired. But OFF will always be in the middle/neutral position.

bikpaintr · 12-27-2006, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sideshow_S

But back to the topic. The ground is on the middle post. The other two sides get the connections of the ends of two different wire loops. One loop has more resistance (more heat), the other less. You usually just determine which one after soldering and mount the toggle as desired. But OFF will always be in the middle/neutral position.

Actually I think you will find that the ground wires from the grips go to ground on the bike (frame) & the12v power feed goes to the middle position on the switch.

Rapid Dog · 12-27-2006, 06:41 AM

...conflicting stories here I see...I did a test last night, hooked the red wire (outside) to the battery, the otherside (yellow) to the high heat wires and the black middle to low heat side...it seemed to work but I wasn't completely clear on how the rocker was doing...it appeared the as you said, the middle position was OFF.
Thanks for the input guys!

Rapid Dog · 12-27-2006, 07:28 AM

not for the quesy of stomach...

JonyRR · 12-27-2006, 08:33 AM

Oh, are YOU a wiring wimp

If you ever looked inside the avionics bays of an AH64, then you can freak, especially when 'they' all turn to look at YOU when 'it' doesn't work, and your boss says 'the sooner you figure it out, the sooner you can go home'.

but I can't paint worth a tinker's dam......

R111S · R111S's Garage

Yep, it's relatively simple on old air cooled/carbureted MCs. I used to design wire harnesses for Caterpillar 3500 Series V-16 Diesel Engines w/Electronic Unit Injectors. If I recall correctly, there were ~300 Circuits snaking about...the MFG Guys/Gals on the assembly line didn't like it at all but I'll give them credit because they worked with me to make it as painless as possible.

Never ever let your wires lay loosely against something hard or sharp edged...vibration induced chaffing on the insulation will occur and cause grief. Ty-Wraps are your friend as long as they're pulled snug. Avoid violating wire bend radius rules too.

JonyRR · 12-27-2006, 11:32 AM

'Ty-Wraps are your friend as long as they're pulled snug. Avoid violating wire bend radius rules too'

there are extensive, detailed specifications for the above and a host of other minutae when doing wiring on something that just can't pull over to the side of the road when the smoke gets let out. I've gotten a bit sloppy the last few years, but I still solder EVERY joint and strain-relief connections, as well as observing the 'every 6 inch' rule with cable ties.

JonyRR · 12-27-2006, 11:40 AM

'but I still solder EVERY joint '

using an 'AT&T' splice I was taught at Army aviation maintenance school back in the mid-80's.

Actually, I was doing most of those 'best practices' before then, but I DID learn a lot as I was interested in bettering myself.
Like most complicated things, this 'lectrical stuff appears simple at first pass, but under the hood, is actually rather esoteric.

Rapid Dog · 12-28-2006, 07:28 AM

...sheeit JRR, I worked for AWT (Automated Wire Test) for Mother B at the Everett plant on both my gigs up there in the Emereald City...and on the B-2 project before it even got in the air. I've seen wire bundles inside spaces I 'm not even allowed to talk about...
AH64 indeed!