Heated grip Repair - Step by Step

[leadingedge]

I currently ride a F800GS, and recently had a left heated grip failure, but I managed to open up the "sealed" grip and get to the element to fix it myself.

This repair will work on all of the following new generation grips, because the current part numbers for the replacement BMW heated grips are the same on all of the following bikes:

R1200GS (2005-Current); R1200R (2007-Current); R1200ST (2005-2007); R1200S; K1200S (2005-2008); K1200R (2005-2008); K1200R Sport.

F800S; F800ST (2007-Current); F650GS (2001-2004); F800GS (2009-Current); F650GS (2009-Current).

This is what to do: (For the LEFT grip)

1. Remove the handlebar weight. (If you have hand protectors, then remove them also)
2. Open the multifunction switch cover by removing the 2 small screws on the back.
3. Disconnect both plugs from inside the multifunction switch and then move them out of the way so you are then able to remove the 2 small screws that attaches the plastic attachment of the grip to the inside of the multifunction switch.
4. Remove the multifunction switch.
5. Remove the screw/s that attaches the grip to the handlebar, and then just slide the grip off.
6. You now need to get to the root of the problem inside the grip. Normally it is one of the 2 wires that break off where they are attached to the element inside the sealed grip.
7. Before going any further, I would suggest testing the wiring in the grip with a multimeter to see if electricity can flow from one pin, through the element inside, and out the other pin. If not, then proceed as follows.
8. Use a sharp carpet razor blade to VERY carefully & slowly separate the rubber from the plastic all the way around the grip. The rubber is only molded onto the plastic for a short distance (only along the edge), so be slow and carefully cut a small bit at a time while you try to roll the rubber back onto itself to expose the element.
9. NOTE - Some guys blow high pressure compressed air inbetween the rubber and plastic to blow the whole thing up like a balloon and thus force the rubber off the plastic, but this will basically stretch and ruin the whole rubber part of the grip. You DON'T have to do it this way, just carefully cut it open a little bit, and then you can simply roll it back to expose the element.
10. Your problem is very likely now exposed, and is probably the wire soldering that broke where it attaches to the element. You can see in my photo below that my black/yellow wire has come loose.
11. Simply solder the wire carefully back onto the element where it broke off, and you're all set!
12. Roll the rubber back, and re-install everything, making sure that the markings on the handlebars, the clamps, the plastic guides etc. all line up nicely before tightening everything again. Don't over-torque!
13. You've just saved yourself a couple hundred bucks.
14. (Note - For the RIGHT grip, you will also have to remove the throttle cable & cover)

[Wolfgang55]

Good fix.

Wonder which country did the heaters?

[GB]

Great tip! Would you have a pic of what the grip looks like once you have it reinstalled?

[leadingedge]

Originally Posted by GB

Great tip! Would you have a pic of what the grip looks like once you have it reinstalled?

There is no real use to take a pic of the finished repair, because it looks just like it did before I did anything to it. You could never tell that I did any work on it.

If I had gone with the other way that some guys recommend and inflated it like a balloon with high pressure air to separate it, then it would have looked very bad, and I probably would have needed new rubber on the grip. In stead I thought I would do a bit of "keyhole surgery" on it, and try and save the rubber completely...luckily it worked.

Because I carefully separated the plastic and rubber to be able to get in, and then only rolled the rubber back a slight bit, there was no stretching or separation of the rubber at all. After soldering, I simply rolled it back and let the small plastic guide at the end of the rubber part slot back into place, then re-installed it on the bike.

Been working perfectly for the last 2 months and you can't tell that it's been opened up.

If you really want, I can take a pic for you, but there really is nothing to see after the fix.

[GB]

It looks like the edge trim's been cut too... no need for extra pics... looks like a fairly simple fix.

[OnkelPopanz]

Good Tip. A new one is about 75,- €!

[Sohere]

Damn, just bought a new heated grip

But i'll try to fix my old one. Hope this works.

[kelsow]

Thank you for posting this.
My bike has been in the shop for almost 7 weeks waiting for a replacement grip (under warranty)
It's a damn good thing there is still snow on the ground around here...

[leadingedge]

Originally Posted by Sohere

Damn, just bought a new heated grip

But i'll try to fix my old one. Hope this works.

Oh well, at least you can have a spare now!

Originally Posted by kelsow

Thank you for posting this.
My bike has been in the shop for almost 7 weeks waiting for a replacement grip (under warranty)
It's a damn good thing there is still snow on the ground around here...

7 Weeks! That sucks! It's a pretty long wait just for a quick job...even if they have no parts in stock, it should only take a week or two to get some from Germany..

See if you can get the busted grip from them, fix it yourself, and keep it as a spare.

[leadingedge]

Anyone have any photos to add of your own fixes?

[Loutre]

very nice! think this will work on any BMW heated grip so it's even better
always good to have this kind of threads when the D-day comes

[MBronskill]

I just performed this repair and thank leadingedge for the excellent description. In my case, the two soldered leads were still attached, the joints looked firm and silvery, but the ohmeter registered an open circuit. I started unrolling the grip further to try to find a break in the laminated heated circuit but it looked completely clean and very unlikely to be damaged. Then the thought occurred - why not resolder those two joints before going further? A quick touch of the soldering iron and problem solved! The ohmeter read about 8 ohms and all was well, except rolling the grip back was much harder than unrolling it.

The lesson: Don't trust those two solder joints even if they look good. Somehow the original soldering job was inadequate and even if the wires are firmly attached, the solder joint may not be conducting properly.

Mike

[leadingedge]

Hi Mike,

I'm really glad the fix worked for you.

As you've discovered, that bad soldering join on the wires into the heated pad seems to be the problem most of the time.

Enjoy.

[Serp]

Thanks Leadingedge. My wife's left grip heater quit yesterday.

[luv2lean]

Thanks Leadingedge (LE). Just what I needed to fix the left grip on my 05 R1200GS.
The GS was basically the same except the heating element was bare wires under the cut and peeled rubber grip, rather than embedded in a taped heating pad. In my case the bare wire was detached at the same soldered connection as in LE's repair. I did find it difficult to cut the grip back without cutting through the well worn (75K mi) grips on the GS, and negligently cut about a 1/2 inch slice through to the outside of the grip. After soldering in a small splice of bare wire to make the 2 broken ends meet, I covered the whole mess with shoe goo goop and rolled the grip back into place. The goop repaired the cut grip also.
Time will tell how it holds up. If it fails the next step may be to peel back both grips, solder in some after aftermarket stick-on heating pads, and replace the worn grips with my favorite grips - superbike progrips