OEM Heated Grips - only one side working: FIXED

[Motorhobo]

Starting a new thread because this one:

http://www.motobrick.com/index.php?topic=9199.0

was outdated and didn't include a permanent fix. Also, in this thread:

http://www.motobrick.com/index.php?topic=671.0

Gryph says he had to repair the connection to the grip itself, requiring the removal of the grip rubber. My problem was far upstream at the connector. If one of your OEM heated grips isn't working, you should first deal with the under-tank connection before moving up to the actual connections at the grips which entails removing the grip rubber -- PITA.

So to the backstory: I moved the OEM heated grip assembly from K75 with damaged frame to the K75 I purchased from Gary Weaver (RIP). I had problems with that OEM connector, but got it working with some Deoxit. That worked for a year and a half. Last year just as it was getting too cold to ride without heated grips, the right grip stopped working. At first I thought the console switch was the culprit because the connections were frayed, so I got a replacement from Drake at kbikeparts.com. It came from an R bike which is the same switch but with shorter wiring, so I had to solder splice in the longer wiring and connector to the switch wiring -- so if you need a switch, that's a good alternative to buying a new OEM or aftermarket part which is in the $70 range. But that didn't fix the non-functioning grip. Power was going to and from the OEM connector but not reaching the grip, so I figured the ground connection in the OEM connector to that grip was bad. I was able to get 7 of the 8 connectors out of the OEM junction unit but one of the grounds wouldn't come out. Rather than try to dink with that hated the OEM connector ever again, so I went about following Johnny's advice in this recent thread:

http://www.motobrick.com/index.php/topic,12200.0.html

I ordered some Posi-Lock connectors from Amazon, also available on eBay. They aren't cheap (about a dollar apiece) but for ease of use and reliability they're the best and I'll probably order more just to have around. I cut out the old connectors, spliced in the posi-locks and voila - throttle grip works again.

Wish I'd done this last year because I missed a lot of the winter riding season due to the throttle grip not working. So -- if you have OEM heated grips, next time you have the tank off take Johnny's advice and use posi-locks or your soldering iron or whatever to get rid of that OEM connector. It's crap.