We have heard of frequent failures of the HD heated grips but what is it that fails? Have any of you experienced a failure and determined what happened.

The grips on my Wifes 07 RKC have quit so where do I go from here. I can install a whole new kit but perhaps it is just one component that has failed and I would like to know where to look first. (I have checked the fuses)

E.
09 RKC (Mine)
07 RKC (the Wife's)
95 RK (Mine)

 

I used to have an 07 Ultra with heated grips. They failed when the bike had 1 month left on the 2 year warranty. The dealer replaced just the failed component which was the left grip/controller. The grips still worked great when I traded it in on my 09 ultra. The dealer said they had a high failure rate on the heated grips so it was good I had them put on before the bike was delivered so they were covered by the factory warranty.

 

TT405 Tips to diagnose common heated grip symptoms

Low or no heat - both grips
Disconnect the ground wire, and two power wires, from the vehicle and carefully inspect the fuses, connectors, and pins for damage, corrosion, and tightness.
Turn the ignition switch ON and use your test light to verify power from the motorcycle's battery connector and accessory wire. If you are using the ground wire to supply ground to your test light, you are effectively verifying the ground circuit as well.
We do not provide any temperature specification for our heated grips; however, the grips should draw a total of 1-3 amps. That can easily be verified with an inductive amperage clamp while the grips are on.You can also see that the grips must be connected to each other in order to complete the circuit. If the motorcycle is providing good power and ground, and the connections are good, the issue may be with one or both of the heated grips.

Low or no heat - only right grip
If only the right-hand grip is not heating, disconnect the right grip from the left and test continuity on the black and black/white wires from the right grip. If the vehicle is a CVO touring model that utilizes internally wired grips with electronic throttle control, you will need to leave the grip connected to the Twist Grip Sensor (TGS) for this test. The TGS contains the wires for these right grips.You should measure 1 to 9 ohms through the RH grip. If the resistance is higher, the grip should be replaced.

Low or no heat - only left grip
If only the left-hand grip is not heating, follow the steps described in "low or no heat - both grips".

 

My 05 had heated grips and they worked fine from day one.My 09 heated grips failed in the first 3 weeks and I had them replaced.Service guy said that he could not believe H-D still made heated grips with all the failures.Crossing my fingers.
dave

 

I installed a set on my 2007 Road King and they only lasted a few months. The failure was in the left grip, which of course houses the controller. I think it's the controller that's the problem. This is a bad design; you really don't need continuous control of the temperature. BMW uses a low/high/off switch mounted remotely from the grips. I've never had a failure of heated grips on any of my BMWs, even after many years and miles.

Chicago H-D was excellent in providing a warranty replacement of the grips for the Road King, and so far they're still working. I installed a set on my 2009 Ultra and I'm hoping for the best, since I'm not aware of any suitable aftermarket substitutes.

 

the heated grips on my 08 Ultra were recently replaced under warranty because I had them installed prior to taking delivery.

 

Agreed with regard to BMW heated grips. I had them on my 2005 K1200S as a factory option. Three years and 23,000 miles with zero problems.

I was quite surprised that Harley offers them only as an accessory with exposed wires and such. On the touring bikes heated grips should be more integrated into the bike and offered as a factory option.

 

I bought & installed a set of HD heated grips myself, worked for 3 months before they quit. Local shop replaced under warranty (got charged 2 hours labor). Worked for about 6 months. I have since installed Heat Demon heated grips, 2+ years, not a problem, work great. I think they were about $125.00.