Grip Heaters Do Not Work

[Rogerl]

Now that it is getting cold in Northeast Ohio I am trying to use my grip heaters and they are not working. Neither one of the grips is getting hot. On Friday morning I rode into work. I had not ridden for a few days because of rain and it was 40 degrees in the morning. The bike struggled a bit to start but it started. The grip heater switch was on when I started the bike. That ride into work neither of the grip heaters got hot. I tried turning them off for a while then turning them back on nothing. That night coming home it was about 55 degrees and I tried the grip heaters and they came on. The switch was off when I started the bike. I thought that maybe something in the Canbuss turned off the grips because the switch was on when the bike started.

This morning it was 39 degrees when I left home. I made sure that the grip heater switch was off when I started the bike. About a mile from home I turned on the grip heaters and again nothing. During my ride in I turned them off and back on, flipped the switch off and on a few times fast, nothing. Tonight when I go home I will try them again.

Is there a connector up front that might be loose? I will need to find somewhere that I can hook up a meter to see if the switch is working. The bike is a 2013 R1200R. Any information would be great. I really miss the grip heaters!!!

 

Roger L

 

[dirtrider]

Morning Roger

 

Your heated grips are controlled by the ZFE computer with a separate connector for each side heated grip. (the CanBus has no direct control of the heated grips)

 

As a rule, on the CamHeads, the usual cause of a the grips not working is the multifunction switch not operating properly.

 

The next probable cause is the ZFE not turning the heated grips on due to low system voltage or a short in one of the grip heaters.

 

When you turn the multifunction switch on do you get any indication that the grip heaters are on???

 

Are you running any other heated gear plugged into the bike? If you are then try turning that off, then riding on a while(to allow system voltage to increase), then try the grip heaters again.

 

If your problem is in the multifunction switch that m-i-g-h-t under a BMW hidden warranty (BMW has been replacing a LOT of those under customer good will or some type of warranty)

 

 

[Rogerl]

Dirtrider:

I have no other heated gear connected when I have had this problem. I have a volt meter on the bike and it reads 14.1 volts when the bike is running. When I started the bike this morning the meter read 12.2 volts.

Is there a connector that I can disconnect and check the switch? If I hooked up the GS-911 would it tell me anything?

 

Thanks

Roger L

[dirtrider]

Morning Roger

 

The grip heater switch talks directly to the ZFE computer & tells that (the ZFE) to turn the grip heaters on. You can probably follow the multifunction switch to it's harness connector then ohm out the switch at that connector. The wire colors (I think) are: Brown/Orange--Black/Brown--Black/Blue. (the Brown/Orange appears to be the common, with Black/Blue being low & both Black/Brown--Black/Blue being high) -- Keep in mind that I don't have your exact year (1200R) wire diagram but they all seem to be similar.

 

The GS-911 can give you some malfunction codes (like 41741 Heated Grips, open-circuit--The fault is currently present) but I'm not sure if it will tell you that the switch is working correctly or not.

Edited October 31, 2016 by dirtrider

[Rogerl]

I will look at this further tonight. I will hook up the GS-911 and see if there are any codes. I will try the heaters tonight going home and see if they work.

 

Thanks Again

Roger L

[Don_Eilenberger]

As a rule, on the CamHeads, the usual cause of a the grips not working is the multifunction switch not operating properly.

 

Afternoon DR,

 

The original hex/camhead R1200R series never received the flakey multifunction switch - or the new design turnsignal switch. It happily retained the original design until it went out of production. I consider that a plus.

 

Unfortunately - it also retained the original design fuel strip too. I consider that a negative.

 

That switchgear isn't notably flakey as far as I know..

[Don_Eilenberger]

Roger - dunno what happened but a post I made seems to have disappeared.

 

Worth checking with your friendly local dealer to see if your bike is covered under the ZFE reprogramming campaign. The reprogramming was specific to the Roadsters - and part of the fixes applied were for the heated grips failing to turn on.

 

The failure mode was that the grip heaters would not turn on if the switch was turned on when the bike was started. They would sometimes work if you turned them on after starting the bike. Sounds exactly like your symptoms.

Edited October 31, 2016 by Don_Eilenberger

[Rogerl]

Don:

That is good information. Is there a number for the ZFE reprogramming campaign? If I go to the dealer would they know what I am taking about?

 

Thanks

Roger L

[Tri750]

My usual vote on things like this:

Buy a new battery !

[dirtrider]

Morning Roger

 

I thought that ZFE update only pertained to earlier R bikes but with BMW electronics I guess you just never know for sure.

 

Assuming that Don is correct & the problem is the ZFE shutting down due to over-current to the grip heaters you might try the work-around we found that (sometimes) worked on the earlier bikes with the out-of-spec low resistance grip heaters.

 

Make sure that grip heaters are turned off during engine starting (important), when ign key is turned on allow it to go through full boot-up process before pushing starter button, then start engine & ride away as normal but wait at least 1 minute before turning on grip heaters. (in real cold weather wait a couple of minutes before turning on grip heaters).

 

If the grips quit heating during riding & you want them back you need to shut the engine off (ie turn key completely off) , then do a re-start (this re-sets the ZFE internal circuit breaker).

 

Hopefully BMW says that your bike has a ZFE update available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rogerl]

Update:

Last night riding home it was 52 degrees I turned on the grip heaters and nothing. I flipped the switch a few times during the ride and still nothing. I did not get a chance to look at the bike last night.

This morning it was 45 degrees and I turned on the grip heaters and they worked. I might have waited a little longer to turn them on this morning.

Tonight going home I will let the bike go thru the full boot up process wait a while and turn them on and see what happens.

It could either be a intermittent bad switch or something in the ZFE.

 

Thanks

Roger L

[dirtrider]

Morning Roger

 

 

If your bike is suffering from the low grip heater resistance problem (that is what drove the old ZFE update) then it might not act up in warmer ambient temps (so keep that in mind before you call it FULLY understood.

 

The only real test is to see if they still work when it is very cold outside.

 

Added: maybe call your dealer & have them input your VIN to see in there is a ZFE update, or service bulletin, for your specific bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2016 by dirtrider

[Rogerl]

Update:

I called the dealer and gave them my VIN number and I was told that there are no open campaigns for my bike.

It was 79 degrees for the ride home. I let the bike boot up and then I started it making sure that the switch was off. After about 5 minutes I turned on the grip heaters and they worked fine.

When I got home I hooked up the GS-(11 to the bike and found the codes below:

 

In ZFE Basic

#41784 RH Grip Short Circuit

Fault not present

 

#41786 LH Grip Short Circuit

Fault not Present

 

Other Fault

#24052 Electrical System Under Voltage

Fault not Present

 

I used the GS-911 to clear the faults.

 

I will see what the ride to work tomorrow brings. It should be around 50 degrees.

 

Roger L

[dirtrider]

Evening Roger

 

Yes, do see if those grip short circuit codes come back.

 

If they do then that probably means that an updated ZFE re-program (if you can sweet talk the dealer into finding something for your bike) will probably help (those are the codes we used to get with the (below spec) low resistance grip heaters on the old 1200 bike's)-- if the grip heaters work OK in warmer weather that probably means that they are real/real close (resistance wise) to working with your present ZFE current sensing programming. I would hope that BMW fixed that problem long before the camhead 1200 went into production.

 

I'm not sure where this will lead-- hopefully using the grip heating workaround mentioned above will be enough (it used to work on some bikes)

 

You might also try using them on low setting for a few miles before switching to high (I believe that the low setting pulses (pulse width modulates) the grip heaters so they m-i-g-h-t not be pulsed-on long enough on the low setting to trip the ZFE internal circuit breaker.

 

 

[Rogerl]

Dirtrider:

Thanks for the information. I will keep an eye on this. If the heaters stop working I will check for the fault code. If it is present I will not clear it and take it to the dealer.

 

Thanks Again

Roger L

[Don_Eilenberger]

Don:

That is good information. Is there a number for the ZFE reprogramming campaign? If I go to the dealer would they know what I am taking about?

 

Thanks

Roger L

Roger, sorry I don't.. see if the dealer knows of it. If not, I'll call the mechanic at our local dealer and see if he can tell me.

 

Just saw your dealer is being obtuse (relying on the computer instead of his brain..) I'll try to contact the mechanic tomorrow.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Don_Eilenberger

[Rogerl]

Don:

Thanks for doing this. When I have your information I will stop by my dealer and discuss the problem, What error codes were present, and the information from your mechanic.

This morning it was 70 degrees and the grips worked fine. Heated grips at 70 degrees are not really necessary.

 

Thanks Again

Roger L

Edited November 3, 2016 by Rogerl

[Don_Eilenberger]

Roger - no problem. I'm going to wait until I see the mechanic.. which should be sometime this weekend (the shop has several events that I might go to).. and ask in person. He's a good guy so I know if he doesn't have the SB# off the top of his head, he'll track it down.

 

Best,

[Rogerl]

Update:

This morning it was 39 degrees out when I left for work. I made sure that the grip heater switch was off. I turned on the key and let the bike go thru the boot up process and then started the bike. I rode about 2 miles to where I get on the freeway before I turned on the grip heaters. I turned them on low and rode until I could feel them start to get warm then I switched them to high. Everything worked fine the grips got warm and I was happy with warm hands.

I will continue using this "ritual" to use the heated grips.

 

Don:

If you get any information from your mechanic I will pass it along to my dealer if I need to take the bike in for anything or if this "ritual" does not continue to work.

 

Thanks Again for all of the good information and assistance from this forum and its members.

 

Roger L

[duckbubbles]

A friend with an '11 R12R has figured out that if he turns his grip heat off before shutting the bike off his grips work normally next time he wants them. Go figure.

 

Frank