Gerbings, Zumo and Power

[kdoddrell]

Having ridden to Spartanburg for the BMW Riding school a couple of weeks ago and doing the "Tail" and a week in the Smoky Mountains in 35' temps, I decided it was finally time to splash out on some heated gear.

 

It was with great anticipation that my new Gerbings jacket liner and G3 gloves arrived yesterday.

 

Headed out this morning in good old Chicago 35' on the R12RT to try out the gear. Oh my goodness, how good is this gear. Toasty warm for the first hour and can't believe I didn't do this sooner (Not affiliated to Gerbings and my first heated gear).

 

Then lost all power to the Gerbings gear, which is plugged into the accessory socket, and also the Zumo and BMW (J&M) CB communicator.

 

As background, the dealer wired the Communicator and the Zumo onto the bike. I think he said the Zumo was wired into the Radar Detector power, and I am unsure where he wired the Communicator into. (I know, very ignorant!). But as a clue it takes the Zumo and Communicator about 30 seconds to turn off after I turn the key off.

 

So now it is into the manual to try and figure out that when I turned the Gerbings gear up (using the Gerbing dual controller plugged into the accessory outlet), why that is caused everything to lose power.

 

Would appreciate any guidance.......

 

Kevin

 

 

[johnlt]

The accessory socket is very current limited. I'd recommend using the direct to battery with the Gerbings fused connection they usually include with the jacket. If not, they sell it seperately.

[kdoddrell]

I wondered about that John. The connections are included. If I do that, how do I get the power back to the Zumo and Communicator. Is there a fuse somewhere that has blown??

 

[kdoddrell]

OK, I just turned the bike back on (without the Gerbings plugged in to the accessory socket) and the Zumo and Communicator are now working fine. I am very happy about that but would like to understand why it happened really....

[Paul Mihalka]

Apparently the Zumo and communicator are wired to the accessory outlet cicuit. If you add the Gerbing stuff it overloads the capacity of the circuit and it shuts down like a electronic cicuit breaker. At next startup it is back again until you overload it again. If you connect the Gerbings straight to the battery, Zumo and communicator will be fine.

[EffBee]

OK, I just turned the bike back on (without the Gerbings plugged in to the accessory socket) and the Zumo and Communicator are now working fine. I am very happy about that but would like to understand why it happened really....

 

First, thanks for the comments on the effectiveness of Gerbing's Heated Clothing (I work for them). We love to hear from customers who enjoy an extended Fall season and an earlier Spring season because of the effectiveness of the products we make.

 

Second, the accessory outlet is current limited (usually to about 5amps) by the computer that runs your BMW's CANbus electrical system. At 77 watts for the Gerbing's Liner and another 22 for the gloves, you exceeded that and the bike's computer shut off power to the socket. Unplugging the power draw, shutting off the bike and restarting it resets the computer and power to the socket was restored. Your Zumo draws very little and is well within the limits of the socket.

 

Each Gerbing's garment comes with a Battery Power Harness. Connect this directly to the battery and plug your Temp Controller into it. By going directly to the battery, your bike's computer has absolutely no idea that you have anything connected, and will just keep working as intended.

 

If you absolutely MUST have connectivity through they accessory socket, Powerlet makes a battery-direct CANbus bypass harness that will provide power to the socket up to the limits of the fuse you install in the Powerlet harness. Your bike's computer won't know about it because it sees your socket as an open connection (when not in use). By unplugging the bike's power from the back of the harness and letting the plug dangle, the computer STILL sees it as an open connection. Now you plug the Powerlet harness into the back of the socket, and you've got fused, battery-direct power, from which to run your Gerbings as well as your Zumo.

 

Be aware that the Powerlet BMW CANbus bypass harness comes in different lengths. Measure your needs and get the one that fits. No need ordering a 48-incher if a 24-incher will do the job, although I notice that you have an R12RT and if memory serves you'll need either the 36 or 48. Also note that once you install such a bypass harness, your accessory socket is hot all the time. Not a problem unless you leave something plugged into it.

[kdoddrell]

OK, thanks guys. Looks as though the best solution is to wire it directly to the battery. I don't want to get another harness so I guess I will just have to do that connector hanging out from under the seat thing! I am a bit anal about loose cables hanging everywhere, but I can hide it and just bring it out when I need to use the gear.

 

Thanks for your comments and advise.

[kdoddrell]

Went for a ride today with the Gerbings wired directly to the battery. Everything was very cool, or shall I say everything went cosy.

 

The outlet plug for the Gerbings gear hides nicely between the Sargent seat and the tank. Tidy job.

 

I am warm an happy!

 

[Mister Tee]

So, the Tee is in the market for a heated vest liner, and has no such issues with other accessories wired to the accessory plug circuit. If I get a vest liner, and a controller (e.g. Gerbings) will it automatically come with the right plug, or do I need to order a special one?

[T__]

M.T., the Gerbings vest will come with a fused wire harness pigtail & wire harness that HOOKS DIRECTLY TO THE BATTERY to hook up & operate your heated vest.. If you want to plug it into the BMW accessory plug you will need to buy an adapter to allow that..

 

Twisty

 

[Mister Tee]

Figured that out finally - thanks.

[Shuffler]

Anybody using a Powerlet splitter off the BMW accessory plug to use a Gerbings heated jacket AND run their GPS or radar detector?

 

Just wondering what to expect here...I want to use my heated jacket/gloves and radar or GPS off this ciruit when necessary, and was wondering if the current draw would be too much to handle and cause the circuit to crap out.

 

Planning to utilize the unused radio wiring to power the detector or the gps...haven't decided which yet.

 

Plug and play is key here since I'd be switching the whole setup between 2 bikes ('98 RT and an '04 KTM 950).

[JayW]

Is a direct battery hookup sufficient to power a full set of Gerbings gear (heated jacket liner, gloves, pants, and socks all running at once), or will the 15 amp fuse blow?

 

Jay

[Shuffler]

Is a direct battery hookup sufficient to power a full set of Gerbings gear (heated jacket liner, gloves, pants, and socks all running at once), or will the 15 amp fuse blow?

 

Jay

 

That's what I have on my KTM950, although I just use the jacket/gloves...but assume adding pants & socks 'should be' okay...since you are direct to the source and avoid overloading a circuit that your connector might otherwise be tied into (??)

 

If I can't use the Powerlet splitter to run my heated gear and a detector or gps off the accessory circuit, my next option would just be to direct wire another socket off the battery and mount it somewhere.

[dirtrider]

Hi Jay

 

Shouldn’t be a problem but remember not all the Gerbings wear draws the same current depending on if new micro wire or old nichrome wire and sometimes garment size.

 

If you go to the Gerbings web site you can find the current load of all your heated gear then add them up to get the watts needed to run them all at full power.

 

[JayW]

Thanks dirtrider. I assume Gerbings would provide a harness that could handle a full complement of their heated gear, but I'll check the site and do the math to be sure. If it will not, then the only solution I can think of would be to run the equipment at reduced power, or make and install a new harness using lower gauge (thicker) wire and install a 20 amp fuse.

 

Jay

[IamBob]

I run the Gerbings through the CenTech. Run Jacket and Gloves together with no issues.. NEVER made it past the half way mark last winter. And with my Olympia airglide pants with liners never felt the need for heated pants.

[JayW]

Yeah, most of the time a jacket liner is all I need here for the western NC winters. However, I do ride all year and have found myself riding in the teens (or colder) on winter trips up in the mountains. I have now accumulated a full set of neck-to-toe heated clothing through various means (gifts mostly) will have occasion to try the whole ensemble on a tour planned for this winter. I hope I don't get poached to death.

 

Jay

[EddyQ]

Is a direct battery hookup sufficient to power a full set of Gerbings gear (heated jacket liner, gloves, pants, and socks all running at once), or will the 15 amp fuse blow?

 

Jay

 

I don't have heated gear, but 15A times 13V is 195 Watts. Donno what wattage Gerbings are, but I bet they are less than 195Watts. I thought I read somewhere that they are 75W. So, you shouldn't blow a 15A fuse.

 

The only concern you might have is if the alternator has enough output when idling or lower rpms to power all the loads. A quick test is to turn everything on and check voltage at idle or lower rpms and verify it is over 12V.

[JayW]

The jacket liner alone draws 77 watts. My Union Ridge heated pants draw 44 watts, the gloves 27, and the heated insoles 15. That's a total of 163 watts. The only caveat is that the Gerbing site does not make it clear if the wattage spec is for each glove/insole or per pair. If they each draw 27 and 15 watts respectively, then the total comes to 205 watts, which is too much for a 15 amp fuse.

 

So I am still not sure if one can run an entire Gerbing's ensemble at full power off of one connector.

 

Jay

[moshe_levy]

I believe it's per pair.

 

-MKL

[EffBee]

Yes, it is per pair since that's how they're worn.