What is this?

[mtg]

I'm looking to add heated grips, and maybe a phone charging port to my '03 XB9R. The later models have the necessary connectors where the factory heated grip kit is plug and play, whereas mine needs to be wired to a power source.

In the search for what's already there, as I want to make the install as pro as possible, I found an unused grey connector under the dash. A quick test shows that two of the pins are powered when the ignition is on, and not powered when the ignition is off. This seems like an aux power connector that I've seen referenced when searching, but those searches also said the older XB's didn't have the aux power connector.

Obviously this is powered, and switched, which is handy. But, does anybody know what it is? For example, can it supply enough power to run heated grips and a phone charger? Or, should I use this to connect a relay to switch a power line that goes directly to the battery?

Thanks.

First pic shows the general area. It's the grey connector just behind the high beam/right headlight.

Second pic shows a close up.

Third pic is looking at the pins.

IMG_20160101_155008722[1].jpgIMG_20160101_155017742[1].jpgIMG_20160101_155117185[1].jpg

[GregoXB]

ECM diagnostic dongle

[mtg]

Ah, thanks. Any ideas on how much power it supplies? If if has enough juice, if I ever need to use the diagnostic dongle, I could unplug an accessory plug.

[djs2k2]

I wouldn't plug anything in to the diagnosis port other than a diagnosis tool!

[user_deleted]

what was said above. though the positive pin of the diagnostic plug is in fact "switched" as you mentioned, you do NOT want to use it as any type of power source. typical heated grips draw approx. 40 watts max on highest setting. 40 watts divided by 12 volts=approx.3.5 amps. you'll have to determine the wattage draw of your charger on your own but can't imagine it's much. as a suggestion....and i've done this on probably 25 XB heated grip installations...go to the plug that powers the headlight assembly on your 2003 firebolt. later years are orange/black/white/yellow. the orange is switched positive and the black is ground. check yours accordingly as i don't recall the color combo of your year plug. find the switched positive and ground with a simple test light. use them for your install and replace the fusebox headlight blade fuse with a 15 amp fuse. works like a charm and simple to do.

[Chicknstripn]

What lunatic just said is pretty much exactly what I did when I installed heated grips on my xB about 3yrs ago. Has worked like a charm. This way you never have to worry about leaving them in the "on" position and running the battery down.
Take your time with the wiring. Measure twice, cut once. Use heat shrink and make quality connections and your instal will look professional.
To make things even easier you can buy a three way male connector/splitter, for the power connection going to the headlight, at your local auto parts store.
Let us know how the instal goes
Good luck

[mtg]

Thanks again, guys. I figured it was wishful thinking that my '03 magically had a switched aux power plug that would just work easily. I'll go the robust route of a relay switched aux power line direct from the battery.
Good to know, lunatic, on the recommended place to tap in a relay for controlling power on/off. I'll take some pics when I make the mod.

[mtg]

Install went well. I already had a battery charger plug and heated jacket plug hooked up directly to the battery; with the heated grips and phone charger that I just added, I wanted to make the system more robust and remove the stack of wires on the battery terminals.

So, behind the battery, I installed a positive terminal block, found an existing ground terminal block, installed a relay that's switched from the tail running light (ie powered when the key is on), connected all of my accessory wires, plus a 10ga wire (and ground) that goes to the front of the bike to the positive terminal block. Now, my heated jacket plug is on the relay controlled aux circuit vs connected directly to the battery as before, and I have an aux power circuit at the front of the bike made to handle 20A. I left the battery charger plug connected directly to the battery for obvious reasons.

Here's the area behind the battery with the relay, 20A fuse and terminal blocks. I have a rubber boot on the way to cover the positive terminal. After the pic was taken, I covered it in a few layers of electrical tape in the interim.

IMG_20160110_183126858[1].jpg

Up front, ran the aux power wires as close to factory looking as possible. The 10ga wires aren't terminated in this pic; I ended up connecting them with simple crimp connectors, but will redo the connection to be more robust when I figure out what plug system to use. The heated grip wires are also in there.

IMG_20160110_183203000[1].jpg

Cockpit. I made an aluminum bracket to hold the heated grip controller that mounts to an unused mirror perch on the clutch lever.

IMG_20160110_212736193[1].jpg

The heated grips will be awesome, and all the accessories are verified to be unpowered when the key is off. A nice to have would have been getting the relay switching signal from the low beam headlight for momentary kill when the starter is engaged, but I didn't want to run another wire from the front to the back. Oh well.

[wickedchop]

NICE job man, looks good and clean