Mine failed too and want to install kimpex which I just ordered. Can I just adapt the Honda controller and splice into harness? Any wisdom or warnings will be appreciated. Thanks
It is possible to interface aftermarket heaters with the Honda controller. Over the winter, I was able to connect Symtec elements to the Honda grip controller and am pleased with the results (good heat). The goal is to make the aftermarket elements mimic the same resistance load of factory grips. The factory heated grips are 2.2 ohms each and are wired in series, totalling a 4.4 ohm load to the controller.
In my case, I needed to wire the Symtec elements in parallel, which provided a 4.21 ohm load (clutch-side 7.5 ohms in parallel with throttle-side 9.6 ohms). If you can combine the Kimpex elements in a series or parallel circuit that totals 4.4 ohms +/- 10%, then the controller should be happy. If you can't, you may have to combine some external resistors with the elements to come up with the resulting 4.4 ohm load. Just make sure the resistors have a higher wattage rating than the total wattage of the circuit (because they will get hot).
I should mention my Honda controller is happy
most of the time, meaning there are no blinking LED's when I am riding. When I stop at traffic light however, the controller will blink on settings 3 and 4,
if I have either brake applied. Of course the bike is idling down around 850 RPM, so the combined current draw of the heated elements and the brake lights are enough to make the controller stop conducting (its a built-in safety feature) until I remove some of the load (release brake or turn down heat setting) or increase RPMs slightly (1000 RPM will stop the blinking, even with the brake still applied). I believe the main culprit is the Symtec element's overall resistance (a bit too low). At 4.21 ohms, they cause slightly more current draw than the Honda elements at 4.4 ohms. This is why I mentioned the +/- 10% resitance variance above.. because the Honda manual says their elements can be 2.2 ohms +/- 10% and still be within spec (2.0 to 2.4 ohms each).
So I think I have three things I can do that may solve this small annoyance: 1) I can increase my idle adjustment to 1000 RPM, 2) to reduce overall load, I can change my brake lights to LEDs, and 3) the controller may be trying to tell me my battery is due for replacement (it will be 5 years old later in 2009).
Like I said, the issue is more an annoyance than a problem. I am very pleased overall, because now I'm able to use BMW grips instead of those hard Honda grips. I posted a wiring diagram and some photos in the Handlebars and Footpegs section (in a thread having to do with the G2 throttle tamer).
Matt