Want HOT hands?..It can be done!!! EDITED FIRST POST

[Tork]

What does that suggest? To me I believe it is something in the variable resistance controller. .

I thought we established that the circuit was not variable resistance, but rather variable lengh pulse switching. If that is the case, and pretty sure it is, lower setting would be easier on the ECU circuit because the shorter pulses would allow more cooling.

I was one of the ones that at first posted a possible ECU risk with the rewire and took some flak for it. Just because it is an expensive piece, I wanted people to be aware. However time has proven that it is pretty safe.

 

[iasledder]

Amps = Volts/Resistance. You can't "force more amperage" than that through the bars. The reason it gets hotter hooked directly to the battery, is that the ECU on the sled pulses the voltage to the bars. When on high, longer pulses. When fewer bars, shorter pulses. Hooked direct there are no pulses so the duty cycle is 100% and it will get hotter than it ever would while on the sled.

Good answer

 

[NyTrOMaNIaC]

Here's one for ya ! My neighbour and I both have 2008 FX Nytro RTX sleds, his bars get smoking hot, while mine are barely warm at best, and I'm the more agressive rider by far. I tested resistance on both our sleds, 7.2 ohms for each grip (which is within spec according to Yamaha), and I tested the voltage on mine, which showed 13.2 V going to each set of wires for the grips. Now today, I ran my sled on the stand at about 5000-7000 rpms in my heated garage for about 7 minutes with the bars on high, and they were luke warm at best, but the heated throttle was smoking hot on high ! Called my dealer and he didn't know what to say !?!?!??? I'm lost for words with the whole situation, it doesn't make sense at all !!! If anyone would care to take a guess at a solution to this problem, I'm all ears, and I'd really appreciate the input ! It's been frustrating to say the least....

 

[iasledder]

I would take it to the dealer. A possible fault is the ECU another the heaters are faulty. Disconnect the wiring harness to the handlebars and plug directly into a 12v battery. If still warm a heater defect. If smoking hot likely the ECU. Does you friend have his rewired to parallel or did they some how get hooked in series?
By the way the thumb warmer has always gotten hotter than your thumb can stand when on high.

 

[cadiyama]

Called Yamaha Customer Service

I bought a new 07 APEX ER this year and like many on
this thread, my hand warmers sucked. The dealer said
that everything was within Yamaha specs so they could
do nothing for me. So, I called Yamaha Customer Service
to let them know my dissatisfaction with the handwarmers.
I feel that we spend $7,000 to $10,000 on a WINTER recreation
type vehicle one would think that handwarmers that worked
would be a priority, after all handwarmers have been around
for over 20 years. I was informed by "Chanelle" that I was the
first complaint to complain about this problem, this year, Yeah
Right!!!! Anyway, if we are to get any recourse from Yamaha
everyone that has inadequate handwarmers needs to call to
lodge their complaint. It probably wont help, but it sure can't
hurt.
I had to do as everyone else on this thread and put a pair of 06 bars on
and yea, they work.

 

[CaptCaper]

here we go but my 07 stock Attak burns my hands...these are temps in the low teens.. it takes a while to warm up.

I rode with them on very very low yesterday for 90 mi. temps were low 20's

 

[polarisconvert]

05 RX 1, I could light a match and get more heat then my bars put out.
What a shame on such a nice sled.
Bruce

 

[duhr8m]

on the 06 apex you have two male and two female conections for hand warmers, just unhook both. run one wire from each grip to the black wire in one connector and run other wire from each grip to yellow/red wire in other connector. now snap connectors back together and you have same as replacement wire harness. just look at update harness and you will get it!!! 3500 mls and no problems yet. but ya never know?

 

[hypertxer]

where can i get this plug for my 06 bars

 

[nate007]

Why are there so many people who call Yamaha and get the "you are the 1st to complain" response???

 

[xcsp]

Why are there so many people who call Yamaha and get the "you are the 1st to complain" response???

Evidently, the "customer service" rep is brainwashed into saying that to everyone who calls with any problem! This seems true for any manufacturer. Heck, I get it at the dealer too!

Received that same response when I called about the shock-rubbing marks on the inside of the track!

 

[Macheater]

Ok guys I know this subject has been beat to death, but I thought I would add some data for those who prefer to see numbers.

I checked the resistance of the 06 and 07 bars with an ohm meter. The results are as follows: 06 bars 2.2 Ohms each. 07 bars 6.9 Ohms each. Which means the 07 bars have 3 times the resistance.

I also checked the Voltage output available to the grips at 3 different settings at full output (full revs) Max setting =10.7 volts; Mid setting =6.6 volts; and lowest setting (not off) =3.3 volts.

As has already been stated, the 07 harness changes the 06 bars from a series to a parallel arrangement. Which increases the power in watts available to each grip.

The numbers look like this; 06 bars with stock harness.
Max setting=13watts each; mid setting=5 watts each min setting=1.2 watts each.

07 bars with parallel harness:
Max setting=16.6 watts each; mid setting=6.3 each, min setting=1.5 each

06 bars with parallel harness:
Max setting=52 watts each; mid setting=20 watts each; and min setting=5 watts each.
As you can see the output is only slightly higher with 07 bars with the parallel harness compared to the 06 bars with the series (stock) wiring.

But when you compared the 06 bars with the parallel wiring to either of the other two, the output is no contest. The 06 bars with the new harness have more output at the midsetting than with the 07 bars at max setting. The 06 bars in parallel at max setting have 4 times as much output as they did in series (stock harness).

I hope this helps explain why the 06 bars with parallel wiring get so hot.

 

[ReX]

Macheater, when you measured the voltages were you using loaded voltages?

If not, I suspect that with the 06 bars in parallel hooked up there would be a significant voltage drop out of the ECU due to the increased load from the ~1.1 ohm load.

When you consider the 06 bars in parallel are pulling 4x the designed load its amazing we aren't hearing about blown ECUs.

 

[justinator]

Macheater, when you measured the voltages were you using loaded voltages?

If not, I suspect that with the 06 bars in parallel hooked up there would be a significant voltage drop out of the ECU due to the increased load from the ~1.1 ohm load.

When you consider the 06 bars in parallel are pulling 4x the designed load its amazing we aren't hearing about blown ECUs.

Theres almost got to be something else going on as to why the grips are hotter. Most people with the 06 bars and 07 harness never go pass 3 or 4 bars. Mine at 2 bars have been plenty hot enough. At this low setting we arent using more wattage than the 07 bars and harness at full max yet the grips are hotter

 

[ReX]

Theres almost got to be something else going on as to why the grips are hotter. Most people with the 06 bars and 07 harness never go pass 3 or 4 bars. Mine at 2 bars have been plenty hot enough. At this low setting we arent using more wattage than the 07 bars and harness at full max yet the grips are hotter

Are they really hotter at 2 vs stock at full?

Personally I find my 07 bars are OK in stock form. More heat would be better, but I have yet to have a day riding when my hands have stayed cold for long with the heaters temporarily cranked to full. Even on the coldest days (-30° to -35°), riding on wide open fast trails I rarely need them higher than 7 for extended periods. So far this season I've never left them above 3 or 4 for any extended time (I crank them to full after a stop if my hands get cold, but only for about 15 minutes of riding).

If the numbers above are correct (and a quick double check suggests they are), 4 bars with the modded bars works out to 20 watts of heat. The stock 07 bars can only produce 16 watts at full so its no wonder you don't need to go much over 4 bars with the mod.

I am using a large windshield and also have the large accessory handlebar cover to help keep the heat in the bars. Without this I'm sure I'd be looking for something like 25 watts of heat per grip. On top of this, compared to many other people my hands rarely get cold anyway.

Maybe if we're lucky Yamaha's next sled will be designed with appropriate heaters. I'd say 20-25 watts per grip for a sled with a big windshield and handlebar pad and 30+ watts per grip for a modern aggressive styled sled.