Dumb question about heated grip wiring | GTAMotorcycle.com

Dumb question about heated grip wiring

C

Chrispy

Well-known member
Got a set of heated grips from a member, unfortunately the wires are too short and doesn't reach my battery. Went to home depot to look for wires of the same thickness but no luck.. Where else should I look, and what exactly am I looking for? It's got 14 copper wires inside if that helps lol. Also assembly wise I assume I just twist it together, electrical tape, finish with a fuse circle terminal thing and I'm good to go? Ty in advance!
 
Last edited:
Princess auto is good for that sort of thing. While you're there, get crimp splicing connectors and crimping pliers to join the wires together. Don't just twist them together.

Sent from my Redmi 7A using Tapatalk
 
Crappy tire, princess auto or sayal are all better for that type of thing. Don't worry about the number of copper strands, aim for the same diameter of copper. With any luck the existing wires are labeled with their gauge and you can pick up a small spool of wire of the same gauge or larger (smaller gauge number eg. it is fine to use 14 gauge to extend 18 ga but don't use 14 gauge to extend 12 ga unless you can explain why it will be ok in your application).

Just to avoid future questions, I am assuming you have wires from the heated grips to a switch and wires from the switch to the battery are too short? Is there a fuse in that circuit somewhere? Can the switch be located somewhere else? If you have to extend wires, use heat shrink tubing or they will catch the green death.
 
The switch is attached to the left grip, then to the black box, which is only long enough to reach the gas tank. Tank to battery I'll need to add about 2-3 ft ish
 

Attachments

  • 20200812_232236.jpg
    20200812_232236.jpg
    964.5 KB · Views: 31
If you want to install correctly, here are a couple of tips.

1) high power accessories should be wired through an automotive relay ($5) triggered off an ignition switched circuit. If you forget to switch the grips off, that are wired directly to the battery, expect a dead battery in no time.

2) wire connections on a motorcycle should be made with automotive grade crimp connectors or soldered. Twisted connections will eventually fail.

3) use 18 gauge wire, pretty good for any accessory wiring on a bike.
 
Last edited:
@Mad Mike so basically get proper ones like oem or other popular brands out there to avoid headaches as I'm an idiot to getting this job done right ?
 
Electrical wiring is probably the easiest place for a diy'er to make their bike less reliable. That said, you've gotten good advice, and this isn't rocket science.

Sent from my Redmi 7A using Tapatalk
 
00389B0B-6F68-41CF-80CB-CE0BF6252B23.gif


30 to positive on battery
87 to positive on grips
85 to ground
86 to a circuit that goes on/off with key (trigger)
87a if the relay has this tab, just leave it
 
All good advice above. Solder the wires and use heat shrink tube. The kind with the glue inside will be waterproof. Don't cheap out and buy one spool of black wire. Get red too for the positive side. Then you won't be guilty of a brain fart 5 years from now.
 
Last edited:
Chrispy said:
Will gather the materials from princess and give it a shot ? thanks all!
Click to expand...

As mentioned before; Don't buy wire at Princess Auto. Worst copper wire I have seen. WAY TOO MUCH TIN which makes it cheaper to produce BUT it "work hardens" too quickly and is not as flexible as quality wire.

Work hardening causes metal to become brittle and crack or break

Don't use a soldering "GUN" like in that posted video. They produce way too much heat to solder wire(too much heat will work harden copper). You want a soldering IRON with a chisel point, that has adjustable heat, usually called a 'soldering station". Use the lowest heat setting you can get away with.

Soldering is a bit of an art and takes practice to do it correctly. A mediocre "butt connector" job is better than a lousy soldering job
 
solder looks great and you have the satisfaction of materials melded together
a good crimp connection sealed from the elements is fine too - heat shrink

majority of aircraft wiring connections are crimped
 
Hope you get them to work!

If you plan on putting on any future accessories, get a power hub so the battery doesn't drain, it auto-shuts off
motorcycleinnovations.ca

INNOVV Power Hub 1

INNOVV Power Hub 1 was developed to meet customer's needs......A customer writes...... " Hi INNOVV, Can you guys develop a power management box to get a reliable switched power source for your motorcycle camera and other devices installed on my motorcycle? It should be simple, solid build, and...
motorcycleinnovations.ca motorcycleinnovations.ca

As for the wire, you get it at lowes or home depot in rolls, if you don't want to soldier, use posi-tap connectors
www.crutchfield.ca

Posi-Products™ Wire Connectors (for 18- to 20-gauge wire)

3 Posi-Tite™ waterproof connectors
www.crutchfield.ca www.crutchfield.ca
 
Chrispy said:
The switch is attached to the left grip, then to the black box, which is only long enough to reach the gas tank. Tank to battery I'll need to add about 2-3 ft ish
Click to expand...
After looking at the pic, I might advise you to toss that set and spend a few bucks on a quality setup. I'm guessing that's a cheepie Chinese set designed for mobility scooters. If the throttle tube is two pieces glued at the cable end -- it's not suitable for motorcycles.

I was stupid enought to install one of these AliExpress specials on a motorcycle. The throttle assembly can pull apart easily -- when it does the tube slides off in your hand and you will dump the bike. I was lucky and it came apart when I was moving the bike in my garage, only cost me a mirror. If it separated on the road, minimally you lose throttle, worst case the tube slides off the bar and things get squirrely.

Check to see that's it's a 1 piece tube. If not, try to remove the grip from the supplied tube and slide it over a good tube.
 
Mad Mike said:
After looking at the pic, I might advise you to toss that set and spend a few bucks on a quality setup. I'm guessing that's a cheepie Chinese set designed for mobility scooters. If the throttle tube is two pieces glued at the cable end -- it's not suitable for motorcycles.

I was stupid enought to install one of these AliExpress specials on a motorcycle. The throttle assembly can pull apart easily -- when it does the tube slides off in your hand and you will dump the bike. I was lucky and it came apart when I was moving the bike in my garage, only cost me a mirror. If it separated on the road, minimally you lose throttle, worst case the tube slides off the bar and things get squirrely.

Check to see that's it's a 1 piece tube. If not, try to remove the grip from the supplied tube and slide it over a good tube.
Click to expand...
Oxford.
 
Buy the Oxford only needs a power wire and a ground detects the bikes vibration and shuts off when not running works great.https://fortnine.ca/en/oxford-heaterz-premium-touring-heated-grips?pk_cid=1768282015&pk_campaign=aud-308888279495:pla-679792278468&pk_kwd=&pk_source=google&pk_medium=paid&pk_content=71546087880&gclid=CjwKCAjwydP5BRBREiwA-qrCGtIY0kEJxqqYjPytCHe7VM1-vbimY58HdY_AtLeFwSpSc6oDsKsI5xoC9poQAvD_BwE

Sent from my moto g(8) plus using Tapatalk
 
Wingboy said:
Oxford.
Click to expand...
grip.jpg

You can see the tube slides into the cable race. If that cheapo connection fails, down she goes. I'll see if I kept my bad part in my Ali Express box of shame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom