diagnosing left hand heated grip

[wolcott]

I have a '98 r1100rt with heated grips. Today,I put them on for the 1st time. Only the r.h. side (throttle side)works. That tells me the fuse is good. I did search on heated hand grips and got some info- two promising articles I couldn't open 'cos they are word files. I found out that there is a white connector on the left hand side of the bike(in front of oil cooler exit duct) that you can access after taking off L.H. fairing. This is from an article written by gaylor focker, moderator, on "installation of the shneider flip-a-lever on a '99 r1100rt". In the article, he is removing the 2 terminals on the r.h.side of the connector so he can unplug the heated throttle grip wires. So, I guess the 2 wires on the l.h.side of the connector must feed the l.h. heated grip.

1)if i take the connector apart and put an ohmmeter across the top and bottom terminals on the l.h. side of the connector, shouldn't that tell me whether the l.h. heated grip is good or not? No continuity would mean an open circuit heated hand grip- if there was continuity, that would mean wiring problems such as a broken wire someplace, correct? 2)How do I get off that l.h. heated grip after I disconnect the connector-assuming it it bad? And when I put on new one do I use rubber tire cement like someone suggested-or is there something better? 3)The l.h. handlebar is bare and acts like a heat sink, someone said. They said to put some kind of insulating tape around the bar before putting on the heated grip- I'm not familar with insulated tape- where do you find it,and basically what is it used for? Appreciate your help. Michael

[GordonB]

I'm not sure this'll help...I recently had to deal with my clutch safety switch. In the process I've learned;

There is a seperate connector in the wiring harness under the left side speaker mount. You'll need to remove the dash and left side tupperware for best access. You'll need to follow the wire harness and trace the wire from the grip to the connector. You will find the wire coming out a small hole in the handle bar just below the grip assembly.

Remove the bar end weight as well as two small screws located just below the rubber grip (top and bottom) nearest the clutch switch assembly (just peel back the rubber with your fingers), you'll see the screws. This will allow you to slide the whole heated grip assembly off.

[RFW]

Find the connector. Unplug it. Do an ohmemeter test of the grip heater by probing its connector contacts. If it is an open circuit circuit, then either the heating elemet is open, or the wiring from the connector to the heater is open. Tracing the latter should be pretty obvious.

 

If the grip checks out, then fire up the bike and turn on the grip heat switch, then measure the voltage at the connector. If no voltage, then you have a wiring harness problem, which also should be pretty simple to trace.

 

Finding the problem should be pretty straightforward.

 

Bob.