Could heated (Gerbing) jacket interfere with key fob on 2021 RT?

Yesterday, on a very cold day, I was getting the dashboard error message on my '21 R1250RT saying that the key fob was too far away and I could not restart my bike (it was running and I had no difficulty starting it a few minutes prior). Figuring it was a fob battery issue, I replaced the key fob battery. I thought that solved the issue, but the warning reappeared on a ride this morning.

I carry the key fob in my outer jacket pocket and never had a problem before. Just for kicks, I just now tried riding without my Gerbing heated jacket liner and the error message did NOT reappear.

Any of you wise folk out there know if the heated clothing can interfere with the key's communication? It seems unlikely given that my Garbing liner is underneath my jacket, but I can't figure any other factor that would cause the error message. I could live with the problem except that the little orange triangle of despair constantly glows at me from the TFT display and it is annoying (just like when your phone loses its connection to the TFT and the icons keep flashing).

One more thing: yesterday, when the warning triangle first appeared, I turned off heated grips, heated seat and the Gerbing equipment. The warning went away. I thought it was perhaps an electric system issue, but I'm fairly convinced it's the Gerbing stuff interfering with the signal.

Thoughts?

Is your Gerbing controller wireless?
Where do you place the controller?

My Gerbings heated jacket liner was purchased at the Midland Michigan MOA rally some years back. The jacket liner came with a wired in-line Heat 'Troller device to allow one to vary the temperature delivered by the heated jacket liner. Typically I keep Heat 'Troller in the left pocket of my 'Stich.

With the wireless key fob for my 2018 R1200RT in my left pocket there is periodically a signal displayed on the bike that the key fob is absent when the bike is underway. I don't plug the heated jacket liner in to the bike using the pigtail connected to the battery (also used to charge the battery when parked) until the bike is started. With the wireless key fob in my right pocket, there is less, but still periodic interference (recognized by the key symbol on the display). The interference does not affect the operation of the bike.

I believe that the Heat 'Troller emits some RF that interferes with the key fob signal. I might be able to shield the Heat 'Troller, but I haven't been overly concerned enough to spend any time fooling with RF shielding.

Lee said:

Is your Gerbing controller wireless?
Where do you place the controller?

Click to expand...

No, it is not wireless. It is the standard Heatroller. I have it attached to the outside of my jacket where I can reach it while riding.

Sounds like I’m not the only one who has this issue.

It sounds to me that the Heatroller (pulse width modulator) is emitting RF energy which is interacting (messing) with the operation of the Keyless Ignition. However, I am not an electrical engineer and did not stay at the Holiday Inn recently so my guess might not be correct.

We had a similar experience when we switched from Sena Bluetooth communicators to PackTalk Mesh communicators. We used to wear our fobs on a lanyard around our necks. After the switch we got frequent intermittent failure of the ignition to recognize the presence of the fob. Took several days, but Annie figured it out and moved her fob to a pants pocket away from the PackTalk. You might try repositioning your heat controller and see if has any affect. We have GSs and the ignition receiver is under the pillion seat. Yours is upfront I believe, so try moving it away from the front; perhaps on a tank bag.

akbeemer said:

We had a similar experience when we switched from Sena Bluetooth communicators to PackTalk Mesh communicators. We used to wear our fobs on a lanyard around our necks. After the switch we got frequent intermittent failure of the ignition to recognize the presence of the fob. Took several days, but Annie figured it out and moved her fob to a pants pocket away from the PackTalk. You might try repositioning your heat controller and see if has any affect. We have GSs and the ignition receiver is under the pillion seat. Yours is upfront I believe, so try moving it away from the front; perhaps on a tank bag.

Click to expand...

Well…it sounds like my problem is not unique. I will figure something out. At least I don’t have to buy a new key fob.

Thanks for the responses.