Oxford Hotgrips that refuse to stay on when it's really cold...

Motorcycling
1

(update in my message of 23/12/09 below)

If like me you own a set of Oxford Hotgrips and find that they don’t work when you really need them – ie they work fine when you don’t really need them, BUT, on freezing, frosty mornings like this morning, they switch on for a few seconds and then switch off again – then chances are the switch is faulty and if still under warranty, Oxford will replace it for you.

Unfortunately my warranty expired some time ago and I never got round to getting the replacement. Boy, was I regretting that this morning when I arrived at work with blocks of ice where my hands used to be.

Just found a post from the designer of these grips in this forum, full wording pasted below in case something happens to the link:

"I met one of your fellow country men at the NEC and he advised that some of you had experienced issues with your Oxford Hotgrips. Since I probably know more about these items than anyone and have lots of knowledge about batteries and chargers too, I am happy to help and give proper advice to you.

"Basically I do work for Oxford and have designed these things over the last 7 years. Many of the comments I have read have offered sound advice but perhaps many are not accurate. The Oxford Hotgrips in my opinion are one of the best and most reliable designs ever produced and proud I am. However as we sell simply thousands and thousands ever year, more than any other company in Europe we do experience issues from time to time.

"The grips are bombproof due to their bonded moulded construction. Grips only fail if the wires get pulled or strained. The switches are the most high tech part of the whole assembly so I will explain a few things.

"Since we moved away from the turn knob switch which was quite large and bulky we have produced the digital one in various formats. Initially the wires used to come out of the top of the switch but later ones had wires pointing down the bracket and logically out of sight under the tank etc. Quite recently the buttons were also increased in size to make it easier to work with thicker gloves. The switches are good and are very weather proof and are occasionally used on jetski’s etc.

"To turn them on, you hold the button down for 2 seconds. The switch is effectively always on standby like your TV and is always waiting for you to press a button and tell it what to do. It will therefore have a tiny backdrain current of about 10mA. If the battery is being left without being charged or the bike ridden for over 2 weeks it may reduce the charge voltage in the battery. Thereagain, any battery left for 2 weeks may go quite flat.

"Remember that a battery at 11.89V is actually completely flat. A battery should always be charged up to 14.4V and always kept above 12.6V to ensure it remains in good shape. Anyway, I digress…

"To turn it off you do the reverse. Depending which version you have (a v number on the front)The switch will cut off at between 10.5V or 11.4V (tolerance -0.25V). This feature is primarily designed to save the battery from being damaged if they are left on. It doesn’t guarantee it will have enough juice to start the bike. It allows the battery to be fully recharged without loss of capacity. EG. if it was 8 volts it would be more difficult to get a full charge again.This switch also has an on voltage of 12.7V. Under that it won’t work and will flash 5 times on the blue 30% light to show a low voltage level.

"So start the bike and hold some revs and your alternator will cut in for sure and you can turn the switch on. If your battery is quite weak for whatever reason you may find the hotgrips will draw the voltage down quickly and they can turn off when the bike is on tickover. check the battery and replace if it wont hold a charge above 12.6V OR if it has no cracking amp capacity. A drop test will reveal this.

"If the switch comes on but when you ride off it goes out it can be due to several things. Firstly we have experienced some bikes that give off electrical interference from the ignition system. THis is possible to fix but often wiring to the battery and rerouting cables away from other cables can possibily resolve it. If the voltage regulator is playing up then the voltages can be too high and this can play havoc with the switch.

"As I am always developing the Hotgrips, a fix has been worked out that can protect the switch from this and allow it to continue to work as normal. If you do experience the switch turning itself off as you raise the engine revs then this may be the cause. The battery will probably cope with it but the switch doesn’t like it. IF this happens to you and you have a valid receipt (official Oxford retailer) and its still in warranty then OXFORD WILL SUPPORT YOU. We are good like that and want to retain your confidence and want you to enjoy our products.In this situation, please contact your dealer/retailer and ask them to order in a spare switch and we will EXCHANGE it for you.I note that there is mention of using chargers/optimisers and some concern about using them if hotgrips are fitted. We actually recommend using a charger which will help to maintain your battery. All we say is don’t leave your hotgrips turned ON whilst using a charger. But why would you do this intentionally? When you have finished riding, turn them off at the controller and put your battery on charge.

"Apparently, some Hondas use small capacity batteries and dont put much of a charge into the battery other than what they normally need to replace such as lights etc. So if there is any truth in this and I’m not sure there is, charging after a ride makes total sense.I hope this has been of some help. I will try to visit this forum as often as possible to offer further help if needed. Best regards W “.

In answer to the question: “What does a single blue light mean? NO flash. Just goes on and goes off” (the problem I’m having)

…he responded: “this is due to the switch not tolerating the charging system for one of several reasons. In either case, we will exchange the switch for our customers.”

I’m now in the market for a set of crocodile clips attached to a 40ft long wire so I can recharge the battery overnight without having to keep removing it from the bike… :frowning:

2

The problem I have had with mine on the work bike traced back to the large Tamiya connector for the power supply. I will be changing them out for Dean connectors. Much smaller and provide a much better contact area for the voltage to pass through.

I’m told the grips can handle around 18+ volts so they can be wired to one of the three yellow wires leading from the generator to the rectifier on Honda’s to solve the problem described above.

3

I gave up with oxford hot grips after my second set stopped working, as you’ve said, they worked when it was a little bit cold but when you really need them they failed to work, I think some serious redesign needs to be done to the switch, on my second set I managed to get a replacment switch but this also failed to work after a short period of time, rubbish!!

4

mine use o do this changed the control unit over with infinity for a new one and they work now even when the bike was frosted over.

5

might try those heated gloves if it gets super cold but im forever hearing of people having problems with heated grips…surely they should just work?! 12 volts > heat

6

I had a couple of sets but the switch just kept letting water in and knackering all the internal electrics. Oxford kindly replace the switch under warranty but I just can’t be bothered any more. I got rid of mine when I sold my last bike. They are really great when they work but are just too blinking unreliable. Just get some good gloves with liners and tough it out.

7

get a naked and hug your engine! :smiley:

8

not an option on a 10hr working day fella

9

those bar cover muff things seem to be popular for those out there all day

10

meh…I will keep my dignity

11

Hey, I do that, it looks like i love my bike soooooooo much :stuck_out_tongue:

12

well finaly managed to find time to fit the oxford grips i bought so long ago!! and what do you know? it was nice and warm so i didnt use them. :blink:

:errm:

13

One of the three wires that gives out around 50V AC ?

14

:blink: 50v AC?

Humm…

Perhaps I heard wrong then ;). It was a mechanic at Chiswick Honda telling me it was where the supply was taken on a V-tec VFR as the charge put back out the battery was not sufficient over the draw of the heated grips.

15

Well I’ve used Symtec heated grip set twice now and I’d say they get too hot on high. An hour to fit if you know what you’re doing (taking off the grips, knowing where to wire).

16

Wouldn’t surprise me if this was recommended, would explain the amount of failing Honda grips.

The dial switch on the Honda heated grips has an LED and no doubt other one way componants so should only be used with DC current but other the last 10 years or so Honda have been on a push to use smaller and smaller batteries so you can’t add any accessories.

The idea of connecting heated grips and other parts straight to the generator would explain why Hexagon are having problems with people blowing them on the scooters they rent out.

17

Problem solved!!! by Dobles in Coulsdon, which has now become my favourite bike shop.After a very cold ride up to - of all places - Oxford on Thursday night, during which my grips decided to stop working when I set off after a petrol/coffee stop at the new Beaconsfield Services (32 pumps!!! Must be the biggest service station in the UK), and they refused to work at all during the Saturday morning ride back to Croydon on the M40 and M25, I decided enough was enough so I went straight to the place I bought them from, Dobles, to have it out with them.

Arrived there frozen, showed them my blue hands, told them I need a new switch but the old one was out of warranty etc etc, they immediately gave me a new switch, no charge, and I installed it on Sunday.

Now the grips work perfectly and I am kicking myself for not asking Dobles for this sooner; they were great, massive praise to them.

So - to anyone else out there who has suffered the same problem, just get a new switch and you will be sorted. Mine has “Version 6.0b” printed on the back so that appears to be the one to go for.

:cool:

18

I came accross this thread when I had problems with my Hot Grips and it gave some good pointers, so I thought I’d sign up and add how I fixed my problem…

Glad you got your controller swapped btw mate, that’s some good service!

Anyway, my grips would only stay on for a few seconds while the bike was running, even though the multimeter measured 14 odd volts at the plug for the grips. I measured the same point with an oscilloscope and saw a load of electrical noise dipping below 11.5v, which I reckon was causing the controller to detect low voltage and cut out. So, I held a 0.1uF capacitor accross to smooth the supply (every electronics engineer has one in his pocket) and the problem was fixed. Take the cap way, and the grips go off instantly. I’ve now soldered the capacitor in and the grips have worked fine ever since.

So there’s a fix if you don’t fancy swapping the controller - stick a few pence worth of capacitor between the +12 and 0v terminals at the power connector and enjoy warm hands in the mornings.

19

Thanks for posting this, Spookshow, and I’m glad you managed to fix your grips. It certainly helps if you know about electronics! (I don’t have a clue about stuff like that)

20

Well, I probably know just enough to be dangerous.

If anyone else happens to try this fix I’d suggest starting with a 100uf cap; I’ve done the maths and that would be better for filtering the noise I saw.

Trial and error is fine though, as long as the caps you try are rated for something like 16v or more and note that some are polarised (ie have a +ve and -ve terminal). Lecture over.