i;ve done nothing yet... talked to dealer last week and was informed it is most likely left grip that needs replacing... wanted 140 for the grip and maybe 2 or 3 hours labor ( couldnt say ) and at 125 hour i said not yet... buddy of mine says order new grips and he will help me install.. however... i need to know more first... are the wires on the outside of the bars ? do they plug in behind fairing ? are they dependable ? still thinkin

 

Assuming we are talking about 2012 FLHTK …
Well, you asked for it ...!
You should be able to tell us, just look. Is there just a clutch cable on the outside of the left side of your bars, or is there also a wire running underneath?

Much of this has been alluded to in this thread, but if you didn’t know what they were talking about before hand you might have missed it:

There are two sets of wires that come off the left side grip.
One brings power to the grips, the other transmits power to the right side grip.

THE RIGHT SIDE GRIP (that you apparently, at this point, do not care about):
The CVO uses a different twist grip sensor (in the right grip, the TBW sensor) then other bikes.
Many who change bars change out the twist grip sensor to the CVO one to avoid that dreaded green plug that winds up stuck in the handle bars and pulls apart (the CVO TGS has longer wires that avoid this).
The stock Limited (of this year) uses the same TGS as the Ultra; not the one the CVO uses.
However, whichever TGS you are using there are two sets of wires coming from it, one set for the throttle-by-wire, the other for a heated grip connection. The heated grip connects to the end of the TGS by two very small wires. If you are connecting aftermarket HD heated grips you will find a small plug there that has to be removed.

That covers the right side, now to the left.
The CVO had internally wired heated grips (left side, again, right side is internal in any case.)
I believe (if I remember) your bike originally had internally wired heated grips.
The 2014+ Limited definitely had internally wired heated grips.
A friend did not like his stock heated grips on his 2014 FLHTK.
He chose a fancier HD set and had the dealer put them on.
The dealer wired them externally (left side only, right side is internal wiring in either case.)

The wiring of the HD aftermarket grips is external, as the wires come out of the center of the grips (inside the bars) and exit the bars at the left side switches, then run along the bars to the inside of the fairing. One of the two sets of wires will then connect with the right side grip at the center point of the bars. In the case of a CVO, this would be direct, with the Limited there would be a jumper to connect the two.
(a little note here: the wires on the CVO do not require this jumper as they are long enough, with stock bars, to connect with the existing wiring. The CVO uses a different main wiring harness which connects directly to the heated grips, as well as connections for other things such as GPS. The Limited connects the heated grips off the fairing harness. The Ultra also uses a jumper, but lacks a second set of wires on that jumper for the heated grips.)

So in your case, what you are asking, if you purchase a stock replacement for the left grip, it should be wired internally. To do so would not only require the fairing to be pulled, but the bars as well. Then all the wiring from the left side grip and switches would have to be removed, then re-pulled through with the new grip wires.
It is time consuming.

Here is my guess:

There are some diagnostic procedures which can be done, but I am not sure if they can accurately diagnose the problem.
Your dealer decided it was the left side grip (which contains the controller) to be the problem because both grips get warm, but not that warm, so they are guessing it is the controller within the left grip.

Again, a guess, but if you replaced with an aftermarket HD ( ie. fancy set, which some report are not as long lasting) you may be able to do it without pulling the bars. Run the wires externally and cut and disconnect the internal wires.

But before I did anything I would check ALL your grounds and connections and make sure they are clean and making good connection. It is possible that corrosion has caused a lose of power to the grips.

If your friend has experience and knows what he is doing, just remember, patience is the key to wiring bars. It is not hard, but you have to take your time and triple check everything. If you are in a hurry you will probably have to do it again.

Hope this helps, good luck.
.

 

I was down there this time last year and it was 32 degrees in the morning! Need more than heated grips! LOL!

 

I got a kick out of your post. LOL!!!
Just because you are in North Carolina or South Carolina during the winter, don't make the mistake of thinking that it doesn't get COLD in the South. The part of NC the OP said he was visiting on Dec 26 is in the NC Mountains, and it does get cold there. Believe it or not, there are Ski Resorts in that area.

Of course, "cold" is one of those relative terms. I'm a Coastal Guy and I get cold when it's 55 degrees outside. LOL!!

 

my first ride today after several weeks and i thought i would turn on my grips since it was only about 78 outside here in FLA... within 10 minutes on setting 4 they were smokin hot.... down to 2 they were almost as hot... worked all the way to my friends house about 20 miles away... go figure... just barely warm last few rides and i was certain i needed to replace them.... hate it when i dont understand something.... but i;ll take it for now