Just put in Oxford heated grips and...

..they work great but I'm concerned about them being connected directly to the battery.
If I shut off the bike and forget to shut off the grips, I'm screwed.

Is there a terminal or connector for accessories somewhere under the seat that I can bring the wires to so that the grips can only be turned on with the bike running?

Oh yeah, my technical ability, especially when it comes to electrical, is not better than a fifth grader's...

Cheers

 

Heated grips can make winter riding a lot more pleasant, but you are right to be cautious. I have seen several reports of people returning to dead batteries thanks to grips being left on.

The answer is to buy a waterproof relay and fit it somewhere under the seat close to the battery. Then instead of directly attaching the grips to the battery, run the feed to the live side of the grips (it has a fuse) via the relay, and tap a connection from the rear light to provide the relay trigger (assuming you have daylight running lights on your bike - if not download the manual for your VFR [there are links on here] and refer to the wiring diagrams to identify a circuit which only goes live with the ignition on). That way the grips are only ever on when the engine is running.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Skimad

 

Yes, a relay is the go....

Mine are wired direct, but the manual on them says that they will turn themselves off if the voltage drops below 11 volts. I'm not about to experiment with that, though :lol:

 

Yeah, I have the oxford grips and left them on twice before I wired in a relay, yes they will cut off at 11 volts as to not ruin the battery but will turn back on as well as soon as the battery recovers slightly. Essentially maintaining a level a charge sufficient enough to maybe light up your dash lights. it will be dead as a doornail as far as cranking the bike over is considered. I guess the good news is that its been a couple months since I killed the battery twice and installed a relay and the battery still seems to be alright.