Found a rare bird today...

[1nc 2000]

Two fingers....

 

[stgdz]

@STAIN

What switch did you use for this thing and where did you put it? Trying to make it look factory.

 

[STAIN]

I used a switch very similar to this

I actually found it an O'Rielly's parts store. I mounted it on the flat panel under the steering post. I tied it into the accessory port by the chain case.

 

[GR8BBQ]

They come in blue if you have the better color sled.

 

[stgdz]

So I'm looking at this one as a hi/lo and off switch.

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Terminal-Position-Switch-Switches/dp/B072HGBV77/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_sccl_2/146-2804664-5156053?pd_rd_w=N66H9&content-id=amzn1.sym.9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_p=9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_r=MP0DWHD66Z858CF57EHN&pd_rd_wg=veGRn&pd_rd_r=1a2b1458-24d0-49c7-bd19-7c4088d6859a&pd_rd_i=B072HGBV77&psc=1

The lever gets abnormally HOT when I just straight plugged it in. While I may be mechanically inclined electrical work does not come the best to me. I don't think that switch would work as it has two pole outputs. Would I need to wire a resistor inline to drop the voltage at low setting? I like the black because it blends with my other switches.

 

[earthling]

Yes you will likely need a resistor to drop the voltage.

 

[STAIN]

View attachment 169147They come in blue if you have the better color sled.

The blue switch might actually be better as the red was pretty bright at night.

 

[STAIN]

So I'm looking at this one as a hi/lo and off switch.

https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Terminal-Position-Switch-Switches/dp/B072HGBV77/ref=gp_aw_ybh_a_sccl_2/146-2804664-5156053?pd_rd_w=N66H9&content-id=amzn1.sym.9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_p=9720001e-8f8b-4ff3-adb5-e19707d971f6&pf_rd_r=MP0DWHD66Z858CF57EHN&pd_rd_wg=veGRn&pd_rd_r=1a2b1458-24d0-49c7-bd19-7c4088d6859a&pd_rd_i=B072HGBV77&psc=1

The lever gets abnormally HOT when I just straight plugged it in. While I may be mechanically inclined electrical work does not come the best to me. I don't think that switch would work as it has two pole outputs. Would I need to wire a resistor inline to drop the voltage at low setting? I like the black because it blends with my other switches.

I used to just cycle mine off/on or take my finger off the brake lever when it got too warm. I thought about trying to work in a low setting but didnt in the end.

 

[stgdz]

I used to just cycle mine off/on or take my finger off the brake lever when it got too warm. I thought about trying to work in a low setting but didnt in the end.

Do some.internal switches have a resistor?

 

[stgdz]

I used to just cycle mine off/on or take my finger off the brake lever when it got too warm. I thought about trying to work in a low setting but didnt in the end.

I finished wiring up everything tonight. I grabbed some parts from Amazon

Switch https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072NZLS3C?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GZBPDRB?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Resistor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004EDF8HY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Based on my measurements the resistance of the brake lever was about 3 ohms so I figured size may work. From what I recall the power was about 23 watts to the handle so a 25 watt would work. After that it was drawing out the diagram and putting everything together


It works great but I may change the resitor to something lower.

 

[GR8BBQ]

I finished wiring up everything tonight. I grabbed some parts...
Resistor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004EDF8HY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Based on my measurements the resistance of the brake lever was about 3 ohms so I figured size may work. From what I recall the power was about 23 watts to the handle so a 25 watt would work. After that it was drawing out the diagram and putting everything together


It works great but I may change the resitor to something lower. It

That resistor will get very hot when left on for a while... You really should mount it to the frame or some metal that can be a "heat sink" instead of that tube.... I would hate for it to melt that tube.
Also the switch doesn't appear to be waterproof. You don't want it shorting out from rain/snow.

 

[earthling]

I finished wiring up everything tonight. I grabbed some parts from Amazon

Switch https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072NZLS3C?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Connectors https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07GZBPDRB?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Resistor. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004EDF8HY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Based on my measurements the resistance of the brake lever was about 3 ohms so I figured size may work. From what I recall the power was about 23 watts to the handle so a 25 watt would work. After that it was drawing out the diagram and putting everything together


It works great but I may change the resitor to something lower.

Even though I mentioned using a resistor inline to drop voltage, I didn't know how much of one you would need. The problem with your approach is that you are constantly consuming full power. You are just deciding with the switch where the power is dissipated, all in the lever or split between the lever and the additional resistor, either way, its a big power suck should you forget to turn off that switch. You really want a circuit that doesn't work by dissipating power, you want one that controls how often you supply power.

A controller that does this controls the heat by pulsing the power on/off, therefore there is only minimal power dissipation (heat) wasted while controlling the amount of power the heating element sees. This can be accomplished using any PWM (pulse with modulation) circuit, even a simple fixed 555 timer and switched relay. Either way, a zillion times more efficient and much easier on power draw.

The easy way to accomplish this is to simply buy an off the shelf PWM controller that can handle 12v at the current draw of your heated element. Or purchase an off the shelf controller for heated clothing which would be designed for max efficiency. There are many other options as well as any heat controller for heated seats, heated gloves, heated tanks, etc.. all of those controllers do the same thing so all you care about is voltage and power handling.

Super-Super-super cheap and better than your resistor as it will be much more compact would be to use a couple of diodes in series. The diodes give you fixed voltage drops so you just add them up until you get the result you want. but for the cost of the below circuits, I wouldn't use either the diodes or the resistor in series.

A fixed modulation, but still super cheap example is a buck converter which will allow you to pick the output voltage and at this price you can put one in the high circuit and one in the low circuit and set your target temps exactly.

A super cheap example where you can find the sweet spot (there are many settings) and simply turn it on or off with your switch. It says its for motors but its just a PWM modulator.

A more expensive example with nicer packaging. Simple wiring, battery on one side, plug the battery harness into the controller and controller output to your heated circuit.

No matter which way you go, you just want to check that its 12v rated for up to 15v (14.7) and can handle the load of your heated lever.

I would probably buy the buck convertors because they are low cost, and you could easily enclose them in industrial shrink tubing or a small hobby box. If I was feeling lazy I would just buy the more expensive option meant for controlling heated clothes.

 

[THEPASMAN]

This might fall under the category title of this thread
I know this sled personally and that is original miles

 

[THEPASMAN]

Sorry quality of pic degraded in copy

this sled has 286 original miles

 

[maim]

damn. now i wish we hadn't done renos this year on house as this would be good buy. bit far to run for it though.