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BMW Heated Vest & the Heat-Troller?

basketcase

What's that noise...?
When it comes to electrical stuff, the only way I could be dumber is to be bigger.

So I need help.

I have a BMW heated vest that is about ... 10 years old. Or maybe 12 years old.

Anyway, will it work with a Heat Troller ? There seems are several options to be seen at the link, and various cabling hookups.

At present, I am using the old trusty On/Off switch that came with the vest, and I want to find the comfortable middle ground. I'm tired of either frying or freezing.

I would prefer to do this right the first time, so which is the best way to go on this matter?

Thanks in advance,
Rick
 
It should work, DC is DC and the heat troller is actually a pretty cool circuit electronically.

However I have no idea of the connectors. Do you have a picture of it? :dunno
 
What type of connectors are on your BMW vest and the Heat-Troller? Do they look like trailer connectors aka SAE connectors.

In any case, it will work, even if you need to make adapter cables.

How you connect the Heat Troller to the battery does make a difference. That connector is polarized...ie +, -.

How you connect the Heat-Troller to the vest makes no difference at all. It is resistive and therefore not polarized.

Do you have the harness that connects to the battery?

If you need more help, get back to us.
 
The vest is wired for a standard BMW/John Deere type of plug. There is bookoodles of information about the Heat-Troller and its various connection options at the link in my first post.

I can do basic stuff -- solder connectors, connect stuff to the correct polarities, etc. It is not that aspect of electricity that gets me. Rather, it is the subtle things like relays, isolators, and other such nuances.

I.e., "When does one need a relay, and when should one wire straight to the battery? And how does one determine which wire to hook into if fishing around in the harness for a good candidate?"

Anyway, while I have not purchased a Heat-Troller, I would wire it with the typical BMW, bayonet type plug.
 
RickM said:
The vest is wired for a standard BMW/John Deere type of plug. There is bookoodles of information about the Heat-Troller and its various connection options at the link in my first post.

I can do basic stuff -- solder connectors, connect stuff to the correct polarities, etc. It is not that aspect of electricity that gets me. Rather, it is the subtle things like relays, isolators, and other such nuances.

I.e., "When does one need a relay, and when should one wire straight to the battery? And how does one determine which wire to hook into if fishing around in the harness for a good candidate?"

Anyway, while I have not purchased a Heat-Troller, I would wire it with the typical BMW, bayonet type plug.

Hi Rick,

Yes but, doesn't your BMW/John Deere plug disconnect at the vest? We would need to know what type of connector that is. I don't have a BMW vest, but I think they are made by Widder which means it has a connector with 2 parallel holes (pins) about 1" apart. If that is the case, it is the same set-up I have and I'll tell you what I've done.

See if the connector looks like the one on the Widder Hook-Ups & Installation page. The Widder connectors are further down the page...Code ZF or ZM.

You need a relay when you want to switch anything that takes high current, like a set of driving lights. Your vest can be wired directly to the battery or plugged directly into your BMW accessory plug, both of which are/should be fused. Of course you have to unplug it when not using it or you'll drain the battery.
 
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