Harley Heated Grips wiring

[OldmanLI]

I just started to install my HD Heated Hand Grips and have all the work done up on the handlebars. i am now at the point of wiring them into the power supply, the instructions have you wiring into the fuse box on the frame. To do this i have to take off the fuel tank to route the wires and some disassembly of the carrier that holds the fuse block.

Has anyone installed these grips and done all the connections for the power under the fairing? It would be a lot easier to work under there than do all the tearing apart of the bike to wire them.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Very curious about how to install the heated grips as I haven't done a set before.

Could the fuse box wiring be due to the amp draw from the grips and not from the fairing wiring because of possible issues with over amping the existing control wiring and fuse rating? Surly the factory grips aren't wired to the fuse block direct??

If you do decide to route a hot wire under the tank use the wire harness chase under the tank so there would be no rub and short.


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[FLTR2008TRIKE]

As per these instructions bottom of page 4 you tap the power supply for the grips from the cigarette lighter power wire >> http://s387738547.online.de/harley-davidson-rostock/instructionsheets/56100034.pdf

 

[OldmanLI]

The instructions for the grips I have are different than the one that were posted.


looks like the tank is coming off and will hook up as per the instructions.

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

The instructions for the grips I have are different than the one that were posted.


looks like the tank is coming off and will hook up as per the instructions.

Which part number do you have for your heated grips?

 

[GoSlo]

We just finished installing heated grips on a friends bike and it was a two day mess. I say that only because the instructions provided by Harley were incomplete and almost useless. Our favorite was a picture with nothing there other than numbers 1,2,3 pointing to a blank space.

After getting the wiring through the bars, we mistakenly thought we had the hard part done, but we were wrong. The wiring does need to go under the tank and not the lighter. The wiring gets hooked up to a harness by the battery. There is also a connection to the fuse box and this is where we got stuck for a while trying to figure things out for ourselves. You've already got the seat off, but you have to take the battery out and remove the fuse box. Trying to find all the bolts that hold it on was fun. Then you make the connection into the back of the fuse box.

All in all it's not difficult, just sort of time consuming because we had to sort of figure things out ourselves. The next time will be a lot easier.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

Sounds like a great place for a picture write up.

 

[GoSlo]

One of these days I'll probably put heated grips on my trike and I'll do a write-up with photos. We didn't take any on this first attempt.

For anyone that might be thinking of doing this themselves, here's a tip on getting the wiring through the handlebars with the flyby wiring that's already taking up most of the room inside the handlebars.

Use a LONG zip tie and run it through the bars. It'll go all the way through pretty easily. Attach the heated grip wiring to one end of the zip tie and use electrical tape to hold the wire together at the connection points. We tried this a few times and the connectors kept pulling apart when pulling it through the handlebars. So we used electrical tape, and tied a small string using a knot that when pressure is applied to the wire it tightens up on both sides of the connectors, keeping them from pulling apart. I can't remember the name of the knot, but one of the guys helping used to work for the phone company and used it when pulling cable. We also used a fair amount of lubricant to the outside of the connector because they have to pass not only through some fairly tight bends in an Ultra's/TriGlides handlebars, but the flyby wire make those bends even tighter.

 

[OldmanLI]

Well thanks for all the info from all! The part number grips i have are 56828-08A. Tonight i pulled the tank and ran the wires under the tank in the wire chase. All i have left is working to get to the back of the fuse block to make one of the connections, and then hopefully feel the warmth of the grips.

Not really a tough job just a bit tricky snaking wires through the handlebars, but the fuse block looks a bit more of a challenge and the shop manual is a bit vague as to how to get it removed to work on it. But a little bit at a time.

 

[GoSlo]

Well thanks for all the info from all! The part number grips i have are 56828-08A. Tonight i pulled the tank and ran the wires under the tank in the wire chase. All i have left is working to get to the back of the fuse block to make one of the connections, and then hopefully feel the warmth of the grips.

Not really a tough job just a bit tricky snaking wires through the handlebars, but the fuse block looks a bit more of a challenge and the shop manual is a bit vague as to how to get it removed to work on it. But a little bit at a time.

Glad to hear the install is going well for you. I'm pretty sure you have to remove the fuse block to connect that last wire into the back side. There's bolts on the outside and inside (where the battery sits) to get the fuse block out, but maybe you'll figure out an easier way to do it. Let us know.

 

[OldmanLI]

Finished wiring up the grips last night not too bad of a job. I was able to get the fuse block wired by just removing the 2 bolts that hold the "electrical Caddy" that holds the fuse block and pulling it out from the frame. There is a guard behind the fuse block that i was able to get my hand on from the battery compartment (Battery was removed) which gave me access to the back of the fuse block. I was able to get the socket into the empty spot on the fuse block and seat the socket into the block.

It really is not a hard job you just have to stare at it and figure out what will work to get the job done. Fire up the bike and there was heat from the grips, now just have to wait for the nor' easter to clear out and take a ride.

Thanks to all who helped out with some ideas....

 

[GoSlo]

Glad to hear you figured out an easier way to get to the back of the fuse box. Sounds a lot easier than the way we wound up doing it. Will keep it in mind on our next install.