Heated Grips Power Saving

goodlad

Hey Lads,

My oxford heated grips have a power saving mode that usually kicks in once the grips have hit the temperature they are set for.

But for the past few days the mode is kicking in the second i turn onthe grips.
The result is them not heating at all or heating up extremely slow!

Anyone have any ideas? Possible a thermostat in it gone?

Wonda-Boy

This is a huge problem with the grips over the years. The grips themselves need a certain amount of volts to work which is not always there the minute the bike starts. I found over the years the best way to operate them grips is to wait for about 5mins in the morning after you set off to get the current into the bike then switch them on.....same goes for when you are getting home switch them off about 5 mins before you stop the bike to get a charge back into the bike instead of draining the bike right up to it stops.

If the grips are not getting the volts they flash a blue light.....turn them off and drive for a bit then they will be sorted.

goodlad

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

This is a huge problem with the grips over the years. The grips themselves need a certain amount of volts to work which is not always there the minute the bike starts. I found over the years the best way to operate them grips is to wait for about 5mins in the morning after you set off to get the current into the bike then switch them on.....same goes for when you are getting home switch them off about 5 mins before you stop the bike to get a charge back into the bike instead of draining the bike right up to it stops.

If the grips are not getting the volts they flash a blue light.....turn them off and drive for a bit then they will be sorted.

Deffo never seen a blue light flash on them man.
But i will give it a bash leaving them off for the first few minutes of the drive.

****ing summer gloves on thismorning with coldkiller inserts under them and the grip didnt work! Sweet jesus i thought i had frostbite!

Wonda-Boy

goodlad wrote: »

Deffo never seen a blue light flash on them man.
But i will give it a bash leaving them off for the first few minutes of the drive.

****ing summer gloves on thismorning with coldkiller inserts under them and the grip didnt work! Sweet jesus i thought i had frostbite!

If not flashing then it stays on constantly, if you have the newer ones then the light stays on in the green box that says "power saving mode".....if the volts are not there they go into hibernation to save the battery.

If the reg/rec is not 100% then even driving along with the high beams with the grips on is enough to knock them into power saving mode. Happened with my old FZ6 the reg/rec was not out putting 100%.

Hotblack Desiato

Why on earth do they complicate them so much? The OEM heated grips my bike came with have a switch Off - Low - High, no thermostat or flashing lights and none needed either. Is this an attempt to prevent eejits who wire the grips directly across the battery from leaving them switched on and flattening it?

rat_race

Unless there's a problem with your battery, alternator, or regulator/rectifier, I don't see why it would take several minutes to get the necessary "current" to the grips. The alternator flywheel turns as soon as the crankshaft turns, and generates power immediately (hence keeping the battery topped up and supplying the whole circuit).

Have you tested your battery recently?


P.S. I'm no expert

Wonda-Boy

All I know is that the oxford grips are a fickle fooker.....loads of peeps with the same problem. If they did not have that power saving feature I bet they would be 100%. I would say that if Goodlad does what I suggest they will work perfectly, providing they or the battery is not faulty.

MonstaMash

Heated grips :pac::pac::pac: big girls :eek:

Wonda-Boy

Needed for riding in the winter months......summer ninjas....PUSSYS LOL

goodlad

Balls to that lads! Heated grips all year around unless its roasting out! :P

No joy with them anyway. They are still going into power saving mode as soon as they are turned on. They eventually heat up but it takes fooking ages.

I guess i will get the battery test by someone who knows how to do that kinda stuff.

Hotblack Desiato

MonstaMash wrote: »

Heated grips :pac::pac::pac: big girls :eek:

On dry winter days I prefer to wear my summer gloves, better fit feel and control, with the heated grips I can do that.

It's almost impossible to find winter gloves that fit me properly.

Wonda-Boy

ninja900 wrote: »

On dry winter days I prefer to wear my summer gloves, better fit feel and control, with the heated grips I can do that.

It's almost impossible to find winter gloves that fit me properly.

Try the Held Air & Dry Gloves, they are absolutely brilliant and I take an XXL and they fit perfectly. Unless you have some weird Capt. Hook like mits.....:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLCc-s4xgeM

Hotblack Desiato

Most XXL gloves I've tried aren't any longer in the fingers, just wider overall.

Where in Dublin stocks them?

I'd still prefer to wear summer gloves on a dry winter's day though

Wonda-Boy

ninja900 wrote: »

Most XXL gloves I've tried aren't any longer in the fingers, just wider overall.

Where in Dublin stocks them?

I'd still prefer to wear summer gloves on a dry winter's day though

Did you look at the review at all......they are a summer glove! And a winter glove. When you use the first compartment they are exactly like a pure summer glove, 100% feel and no bulk. And then the other compartment will add a small bit of bulk that will do you on all but the very coldest days.

When I stick on some XL gloves the tops of my fingers are busting out of them. Depending on the manufacturer of course.....I would have taught the opposite that the wide fit stays more or less the same and the length changes. I have wide hands all the same and longish fingers. I also have a pair of Alpinestars 365 and they are only an XL and fit me perfect.

I know they have Held Air & Dry in Ducati Dublin (Harley Davidson Shop Red Cow) inside the door at the Ducati section as I was looking at them last week.

But I got mine in Crossans in Newry.

goodlad

I had tried them on before and they were really comfortable but just didn't fit me properly. I tried on a Richa glove in cotters a while back that was the same system of 2 essentially 2 gloves in one. They were extremely comfortable. I just didnt have the money to get them.

rat_race

rat_race wrote: »

Unless there's a problem with your battery, alternator, or regulator/rectifier, I don't see why it would take several minutes to get the necessary "current" to the grips. The alternator flywheel turns as soon as the crankshaft turns, and generates power immediately (hence keeping the battery topped up and supplying the whole circuit).

Have you tested your battery recently?


P.S. I'm no expert

I take this back a bit, actually...engine speed has to be fairly high before the alternator can start generating any decent/noticable power. I didn't realise that until now.

So the starter motor (which takes a huge amount of battery), plus the lights, etc., plus a slightly old battery, probably means the battery is a bit low and the grips think "****, time to go into power saving mode!" early until you get moving at some high speeds.

Wonda-Boy

rat_race wrote: »

I take this back a bit, actually...engine speed has to be fairly high before the alternator can start generating any decent/noticable power. I didn't realise that until now.

So the starter motor (which takes a huge amount of battery), plus the lights, etc., plus a slightly old battery, probably means the battery is a bit low and the grips think "****, time to go into power saving mode!" early until you get moving at some high speeds.

Didnt want to say anything as I am no expect on engines...I can only go with what I experienced with mine. I deffo needed to be moving for a few minutes before the power was there.

Either way it seems all is not well somewhere along the line.

rat_race

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Didnt want to say anything as I am no expect on engines...I can only go with what I experienced with mine. I deffo needed to be moving for a few minutes before the power was there.

Either way it seems all is not well somewhere along the line.

Yeah...I suppose it's better than them draining your battery though? There's prob just a built in voltmeter and the grips think the battery is too low...

Would be interesting to see what happens if the OP takes a 10 minute spin, then tries to turn the grips on while moving at a reasonable speed...Do they go into power saving mode or work alright?

goodlad

rat_race wrote: »

Yeah...I suppose it's better than them draining your battery though? There's prob just a built in voltmeter and the grips think the battery is too low...

Would be interesting to see what happens if the OP takes a 10 minute spin, then tries to turn the grips on while moving at a reasonable speed...Do they go into power saving mode or work alright?

I tried this man. I actually gave it a good 20 minutes doing 100kmh and switched them on. They went straight into power saving mode. It took about 15 minutes then for them to heat up and they kept going colt.. warm.. cold etc..

rat_race

goodlad wrote: »

I tried this man. I actually gave it a good 20 minutes doing 100kmh and switched them on. They went straight into power saving mode. It took about 15 minutes then for them to heat up and they kept going colt.. warm.. cold etc..

Ok, sorry ... possibly a physical problem with them or the battery, so? I presume they intentionally cut out if the battery is below a certain voltage (12.2 I read?)...

So check the battery oeprates at normal voltage? Don't take my word for it...Go buy a multimeter (it's a voltmeter plus a couple of one things, 15 euro cheap one is all you need)...and hook it up to battery. Very easy. Lots of tutorials online, but it's just matter of touching the terminals and reading the results.

Couldn't be easier to test, and you'll have the multimeter for life...

If that's not the problem there could be a wiring issue...or else something in the grips are fooked...

Just my opinion...I'm no expert (again)

Wonda-Boy

Get a multimeter onto the reg/rec to make sure its putting out the correct volts. No point in getting a new battery if the reg/rec is fooked as it will only wreck the new battery.

robot7080

I've had this problem. I thought it was the grips but it wasn't. For a time I got a away with turning them only when they bike was warmed up but before long the battery gave up and I needed a new one. Perfect now... How old is the battery?

weatfest

Bought mine the end of last September and they were fine till last week. Mine wouldn't turn off and kept going up to the hottest temperature. Had to send the controller back and of course the weather changes back to frosty mornings. Got a message today a new one is on the way.
Super job when they work ,it's amazing what a differance warm hands make to a ride.:D

Wonda-Boy

robot7080 wrote: »

I've had this problem. I thought it was the grips but it wasn't. For a time I got a away with turning them only when they bike was warmed up but before long the battery gave up and I needed a new one. Perfect now... How old is the battery?

Thats all well and good if it is the battery....if its not then a new battery will go the same way as the old one. Gotta check the rec/reg first....

Hotblack Desiato

rat_race wrote: »

I take this back a bit, actually...engine speed has to be fairly high before the alternator can start generating any decent/noticable power. I didn't realise that until now.

So the starter motor (which takes a huge amount of battery), plus the lights, etc., plus a slightly old battery, probably means the battery is a bit low and the grips think "****, time to go into power saving mode!" early until you get moving at some high speeds.

As soon as the bike is started and ridden the alternator voltage will be up to normal (if the stator and rec/reg are working ok.) Usually once the engine is doing 3000-4000 RPM the alternator will be putting out 14.5V and above that revs, the rec/reg just dumps the excess power.

It'll take a certain time of riding the bike to put the charge back into the battery that you used up to start it, but the grips can't tell how well your battery is charged, just what the alternator voltage is. So there shouldn't be any time lag from starting the bike, unless the grips are faulty. Grips don't use that much power anyway (less than a headlamp) so the only issue with them is if they're wired directly to the battery and can be left on when the bike's not running.

Sounds like these ones are just faulty, and/or badly designed.

goodlad

Mine are wired to the ignition so they turn off when the bike turns off and cant be left on resulting in a dead battery. They were working away grand for the last year.

Up to my eyes this weekend so will get this reg/reg thingy checked next week and the battery voltage checked.

Wonda-Boy

Regardless of the grips its good to know that the battery and the reg/rec are 100% in anyway Goodlad.

goodlad

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Regardless of the grips its good to know that the battery and the reg/rec are 100% in anyway Goodlad.

Ah yeah. Sure if the battery and reg/rec come up all ok then i know the grips are the issue. I will just get them replaced if thats the case.

two wheels good

Get a pair of jump leads and connect a known good battery - e.g a car battery. Then test your grips. No need to even the start the bike.

(If space is tight get some assistance to hold the leads so as not to short them on the frame.)

It's not unknown for Oxford controllers to fail. If you need to order a new one you'll need to specify what model you have; there are a few variations.