New heated grips and a flat battery....
Discussion
Are they related?
Never had a problem starting before but now, If I leave the bike for two or three days I have to bump start it. It starts no problem and then is fine for a few more days.
I fitted it as per the instructions. How can I check if is knackering the battery? Has anyone else had this problem? (Oxford hot grips with push button and led control).
They do work very well though!
Kwacker
hahahaahahh wimp!
Ya could have a couple of problems here.... The grips shouldn't be draining the battery when the bike is not in use. Maybe your battery was near dead, and the extra drain from the grips helped worsen it.
Maybe your bike isn't making enough charge to keep the battery alive AND power the grips.
I'm sure experts on here can help offer advice using multi-meters to check current usage etc.
Ya could have a couple of problems here.... The grips shouldn't be draining the battery when the bike is not in use. Maybe your battery was near dead, and the extra drain from the grips helped worsen it.
Maybe your bike isn't making enough charge to keep the battery alive AND power the grips.
I'm sure experts on here can help offer advice using multi-meters to check current usage etc.
Sounds to me like they are draining power with the bike off. Have you wired them in correctly? Have they got a cut off switch?
That said, I bought a battery charger/conditioner for 20 quid at the weekend after my Datatool drained my battery. Fully charged again now and won't go without it in future.
That said, I bought a battery charger/conditioner for 20 quid at the weekend after my Datatool drained my battery. Fully charged again now and won't go without it in future.
The only way for the heated grips to drain the battery while unattended would be if the grip controller is broken and it's permenantly connected to the battery. To test this take one of the connections for the heated grips from the battery and connect a multimeter between the battery and the now disconnected grip lead and set it to measure current. With everything off the multimeter should show no flow. If it is showing any flow then give oxford a call and find out if the controller draws any current while off but my guess is that there either shouldn't be any or it should be in the realms of milliamps to power the circuit that responds to the 'on' button.
Even if you leave this controller on it measures the voltage it's getting and if this drops below 11.5v then it switches itself off. There should still be enough juice in the battery to start the bike. I've tested this and it works on mine and the bike started (although not admitedly from cold).
Assuming that the heated grips controller aren't broken then my guess would be that your battery is marginal. It's quite possible that the extra juice required to start the bike now it's getting cold and the fact that you're probably using high beam on your lights is pulling more current than the bike has been over the summer and the battery is no longer up to it. Adding the heated grips will have only made things worse.
Imo I'd do the multimeter test and if that doesn't show anything up then replace the battery. Another thing I do is to leave the bike on tricke charge over night using an optimate because when the bike is stone cold first thing in the morning is when you really need a full charge.
In order to test that the battery is being charged correctly measure the voltage across the battery with the engine running. The measurement you'll get will vary from bike to bike but you should be seeing about 13v. If you see close to 12v or less then your charging circuit is goosed.
My money is on the battery
Mark
Even if you leave this controller on it measures the voltage it's getting and if this drops below 11.5v then it switches itself off. There should still be enough juice in the battery to start the bike. I've tested this and it works on mine and the bike started (although not admitedly from cold).
Assuming that the heated grips controller aren't broken then my guess would be that your battery is marginal. It's quite possible that the extra juice required to start the bike now it's getting cold and the fact that you're probably using high beam on your lights is pulling more current than the bike has been over the summer and the battery is no longer up to it. Adding the heated grips will have only made things worse.
Imo I'd do the multimeter test and if that doesn't show anything up then replace the battery. Another thing I do is to leave the bike on tricke charge over night using an optimate because when the bike is stone cold first thing in the morning is when you really need a full charge.
In order to test that the battery is being charged correctly measure the voltage across the battery with the engine running. The measurement you'll get will vary from bike to bike but you should be seeing about 13v. If you see close to 12v or less then your charging circuit is goosed.
My money is on the battery
Mark
Edited by dern on Tuesday 30th October 14:30
How have you wired the grips in? - if they're powered via a relay energized using a switched live you can at least avoid any issues in leaving them on with the ignition off. With the battery failing after 2-3 days, it's possible the grips are such a drain that the battery is not being charged properly. This may also be down to your journey, if you're at idle a lot sat at lights, the alternator won't be kicking out enough to compensate for the use of the grips.
Steve.
Steve.
ive had two sets of oxford grips now & neither set has done this. ok the recent set with the same controller as yours are wired off the ignition switch so i cant leave them on by mistake, but the old ones were direct off the battery.
as a test next time you leave the bike, pull the fuse from the powerlead on the grips. that'll prove if its the grips or not.
as others have said above, check the voltage across the battery with the engine running - make sure the lights etc are on too so its tested with a real load. should be at least 12.5v at idle & rising to nearly 14v as you rev it. any lower or higher will be causing problems.
is the battery full of water? lack of water = less storage so it'll go flat easier.
as a test next time you leave the bike, pull the fuse from the powerlead on the grips. that'll prove if its the grips or not.
as others have said above, check the voltage across the battery with the engine running - make sure the lights etc are on too so its tested with a real load. should be at least 12.5v at idle & rising to nearly 14v as you rev it. any lower or higher will be causing problems.
is the battery full of water? lack of water = less storage so it'll go flat easier.
My ST1100 had Oxford heated grips on and they worked fine, but had been wired permanently across the battery, ignoring the conveniently-placed switched accessory terminals that the Pan has fitted at the factory 
Anyway, the battery started going flat - the grips were draining the battery even though the Oxford switch was off. As I'm a complete whizz at this sort of caper
I pulled the controller apart and found that the pass transistor had gone collector-emitter short. Which is 
-speak for 'it's phucked'.
'Pound-fifty for a new transistor and it was away again. I took the opportunity to rewire the unit to a switched feed and Robert was my mother's brother.
The ST13 has the Honda digital-controlled grips; very nice except the controller is a sealed unit so if it ever fails it'll be £££...
Anyway, the battery started going flat - the grips were draining the battery even though the Oxford switch was off. As I'm a complete whizz at this sort of caper
I pulled the controller apart and found that the pass transistor had gone collector-emitter short. Which is -speak for 'it's phucked'.'Pound-fifty for a new transistor and it was away again. I took the opportunity to rewire the unit to a switched feed and Robert was my mother's brother.
The ST13 has the Honda digital-controlled grips; very nice except the controller is a sealed unit so if it ever fails it'll be £££...
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