Oxford Heaterz Wiring Question

[Easterntide]

Just ordered 2 sets of Oxford Heaterz Premium Sport Heated Grips, one for my fj and one for her cbr125 as fall is settling into atlantic canada. Has anyone else installed same? Do you need to connect these to the battery direct or is splicing required? and if splicing...any specifics would be very helpful.
Grips will arrive tomorrow.

thanks all,
Don

[Bob]

I wired my heated grips (from http://www.hotgrips.com/) directly to the battery. 
I would not risk overloading other wiring by splicing them in.

[FJ1100mjk]

I installed the same system on another non-FJ application.

You'll want a direct connection to the battery, to avoid parasitic voltage losses brought about by a different downstream splice.

If you go right to the battery's terminals, you may risk draining your battery, if you don't manually switch off the grips when you shut the engine off. Perhaps Oxford gets around this somehow. I don't recall. If not, you may want to install a relay triggered by a switched 12V source.

Marty

[ribbert]

Mine are straight to the battery and as I recall it is what the instructions tell you to do. I guess you could wire them through an appropriate relay.
I always forget mine over lunch and have left them on for an hour or more with no sluggishness from the starter. I have also run the battery flat twice. It becomes habit to turn them off after a while and if it's dark, you will see the lights on the controller.

I was going to install a light somewhere obvious as a reminder but I never got around to it and I haven't forgotten to turn them off for years anyway.

Mine would be about 6 years / 80,000 km's old and get a lot of use. You find yourself using them for comfort, not just to warding off cold after a while.

I have the Oxfords and would have originally been pleased if I got a couple of seasons out of them but they're still going strong.

I thought the RHS had died this year but it was just a wire I had dislodged.

You will enjoy them, they are a great investment.

Noel

[movenon]

I wired my heated grips through a relay controlled by the the ignition switch. Just in case I leave them on or someone turns them on accidentally while parked.

George

[Derek Young]

About 6 years ago I installed Oxford Heaters on my 86 wired to the battery with a relay so they turn on only when the key is on. When I got the 91, I switched them over. Now they are wired to an auxillary fuse panel on a switched circuit. It's a PC8 from Eastern Beaver(6 switched circuits, 2 unswitched). If you are going to add other electrical mods, a fuse panel is a good way to clean up your wiring. There are other brands available but here is a link to the one I used:  http://easternbeaver.com/Main/Wiring_Kits/Fuseboxes/PC-8/pc-8.html

Shortly after I met my wife (2010) I put a set of Oxfords on her Ninja 650R. She loves them also. Heated grips are a great way to extend the riding season in areas that get cold/wet. Add a heated jacket or vest and you can be relatively comfortable in some pretty cold conditions. I find the especially nice when going for evening rides where you leave in the nice warm sun and ride home in the cold and dark.

Derek

[mz_rider]

I've got a set of Honda heated grips on my bike. These are wired straight to the battery because they only operate if there is charging voltage (ie the engine is running). The "Heaterz" instructions say they should be wired to the battery rather than a switched live, so I assume they work that way as well.

Stuart

[Bones]

I've got oxfords and I have mine wired directly to the battery, because if they don't have full voltage the lights on the temperature controller will flash and they won't work. I think from memory they use about 30 watts each side so will need a relay if wired to a switched wire. Mine also came with a "brain box" so if you do forget to turn them off which I've done a couple times, they'll turn themselves off when the voltage gets to around 10 volts so it doesn't completely flatten the battery and a push start will get you going again.

[Easterntide]

Well suddenly i feel even happier about getting these. Wiring is straight forward and that may be my tonights project. They will be a surprise to her, and her hands get icy cold very quickly...so i may even get bonus points!

Thanks all.

[magge52]

I'm installing a set of Oxfords too. Took some time to find a good place for them and the left handlebar turned out good. I'll use the bracket attached to the clutch m/c. Ran the wiring around the head stock. The tie wraps even had enough slack to run the wires thru. Only thing I need is the right sized star drive to take the bar ends off. Anyone know the size? Looking forward to toasty warm hands this fall. 

[ribbert]

I'm installing a set of Oxfords too. Took some time to find a good place for them and the left handlebar turned out good. I'll use the bracket attached to the clutch m/c. Ran the wiring around the head stock. The tie wraps even had enough slack to run the wires thru. Only thing I need is the right sized star drive to take the bar ends off. Anyone know the size? Looking forward to toasty warm hands this fall. 

For anyone else installing these, I have found this location to be good. The controller is stuck on with heavy duty velcro and the wire neatly fed through the top of the vent, no brackets or drilling (also, handle bars are a bit busy) In fact, all the accessories you see in the photo, other than the GPS, are stuck on with black heavy duty Velcro. Leaves you the option of moving things around as you add more stuff or change you mind. A secondary benefit is insulation from vibration.



Noel

[Bones]

The left side on the handlebars is a good spot, easy to reach and easy to see the lights when turning the temp up or down. I had to put a couple of small nuts under the bracket to pack it out so the bracket wouldn't bend when tightening the screws but otherwise fitting was straight forward.

[Easterntide]

i tried a dry install last night and the throttle side went on nicely snug but the clutch side not so much. the end of my bar on that side is slightly burred so i'll file/sand that tonight but otherwise has anyone had issue? maybe i just need to convince it a bit more but there doesn't seem to be any flex to them.

[magge52]

The left side on the handlebars is a good spot, easy to reach and easy to see the lights when turning the temp up or down. I had to put a couple of small nuts under the bracket to pack it out so the bracket wouldn't bend when tightening the screws but otherwise fitting was straight forward.

That's where I'm going with mine also. I did mockups on the throttle side and on the plastic but I liked the way it will be easy to access with the non-throttle hand. Is that an oil temp gauge on the right?

[Bones]

The left side on the handlebars is a good spot, easy to reach and easy to see the lights when turning the temp up or down. I had to put a couple of small nuts under the bracket to pack it out so the bracket wouldn't bend when tightening the screws but otherwise fitting was straight forward.

That's where I'm going with mine also. I did mockups on the throttle side and on the plastic but I liked the way it will be easy to access with the non-throttle hand. Is that an oil temp gauge on the right?

Yes it is, I've seen a few bikes with the gauge mounted there so I followed suit, but in my case the panel around the gauge eventually cracked into pieces because I think I had the clamp too tight, and that doesn't go too well with old brittle plastic so a word of warning there. I put it back together with supaglue and it's been ok since, but if I can find a good replacement panel I might do a Skymasters or Movenon and make a dash up and mount it up near the ignition switch near the volt gauge.