# 24" SHO Heated Handgrips Don't Work



## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

Hi......................used my 2 year old 24" SHO yesterday and neither handgrip gets warm..............anyone have this problem? (and yes, the switch is on:smile2: )


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

scotzz said:


> Hi......................used my 2 year old 24" SHO yesterday and neither handgrip gets warm..............anyone have this problem? (and yes, the switch is on:smile2: )


And the plugs are connected?

Sorry Scot, just had to ask the other half of obvious - you got the first half.

Here's a wiring diagram for my Pro 28 - too lazy to figure out your model #:

https://parts.ariens.com/partlookup...agram/03883000|~model|~926038/03883000|~con/y

Most hand warmers are in series, i.e. if one goes out, they both go out. A more likely failure, though, is the switch. If similar to mine - a 2014 - yours might be an uncovered toggle switch.

I'm an old fart, so hand warmers are mission critical.:wink2: I keep a new switch in my spare parts box.

Good luck!


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## Vermont007 (Mar 29, 2015)

When my Hand-Warmers clunked out . . . . it was the *"Connector"* between the alternator and the fuse that had died.

In his wisdom, the Manufacturer had located this Connector right at the bottom of a drip loop where it would accumulate salty water to accelerate the corrosion of the chintzey aluminum contacts within the Connector.

I spent quite a bit of time diagnosing this problem, and only when I went back to verify my assumptions did I discover the disconnect between the engine and the HandGrips.

Hardwired, they've been working fine . . . . nothing wrong with the Heated Hand Grips.

The Connector is there solely to simplify the manufacturing process.


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

jburson250 said:


> And the plugs are connected?
> 
> Sorry Scot, just had to ask the other half of obvious - you got the first half.
> 
> ...


Yes, mine is the uncovered toggle switch. Leads seem to be connected but I'll have to double check


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

jburson250 said:


> And the plugs are connected?
> 
> Sorry Scot, just had to ask the other half of obvious - you got the first half.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the parts list


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

scotzz said:


> Yes, mine is the uncovered toggle switch. Leads seem to be connected but I'll have to double check


I added this to my Pro 28 when I first got it. Ordered 3, got 1 left.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GIGUKQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My switch is still the original one - maybe the cover helped extend it's life.

Here's where to get a new one:

https://www.jackssmallengines.com/jacks-parts-lookup/part/ariens/02485700

You can go back to Jack's home page, enter your model #, and find just about any part on earth for your blower.

Best Regards


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

well...............I tested the switch and it is ok. No power coming through the leads to the switch with the engine running. I am not sure of the wiring. I assume power from the alternator comes up the right side of the handle to power both the light and hand grips. If this is the case then there is a problem with the wiring under the dash. How many volts should be coming through the leads?


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

scotzz said:


> well...............I tested the switch and it is ok. No power coming through the leads to the switch with the engine running. I am not sure of the wiring. I assume power from the alternator comes up the right side of the handle to power both the light and hand grips. If this is the case then there is a problem with the wiring under the dash. How many volts should be coming through the leads?


Actually I am testing the leads incorrectly. Should I be checking voltage from the yellow lead to ground?


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

@scotzz go to parts.ariens.com, put your model # in, and you'll get some diagrams.

One of these will be the wiring diagram, similar to the one in the link I included in Post #2.

There you'll find the wire colors. These engines usually produce 12-18 volts AC.

Does your light work? If not you may have a bigger problem.

Your blower has a 3 year warranty. Call Ariens for advice. Phone #'s in your owner manual.


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

jburson250 said:


> @scotzz go to parts.ariens.com, put your model # in, and you'll get some diagrams.
> 
> One of these will be the wiring diagram, similar to the one in the link I included in Post #2.
> 
> ...


I looked at the wiring diagram from the Ariens site but it doesn't match completely. They show a single yellow lead coming into the switch but my snowblower has a two yellow leads piggybacked. Each grip has a yellow and brown lead. I assume the brown are ground leads? What do the brown ground leads attach to? Since the engine is aluminum I assume ground leads connect to the alternator?


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

scotzz said:


> Actually I am testing the leads incorrectly. Should I be checking voltage from the yellow lead to ground?


With motor running full throttle does your headlight work?? 
If so then alternator is working. 

If no headlight you must check with voltmeter set to read AC voltage. Put either test lead on an engine bolt or nut, then the other test lead on the Yellow wire at the headlight..... you should have 12 to 18 volts reading at that point. In this area the Yellow wire splits into two, one going to the headlight and other going to the right handgrip. 

If you have no voltage at this point with a good clean metal ground on the engine, you must check connector coming from the engine for voltage. It should be located on the right side of the engine above or near the starter. If you have voltage at this connector then the alternator is working and you have a broken wire or bad connection up to the yellow wire at the headlight & hand grips from this point. Check wiring and connectors to find the problem and repair. 

If you still have no voltage at this engine connector you have an alternator problem and front of engine must be taken off to get access behind the flywheel to further diagnose this problem with no voltage. 

Continuing on... With motor running at full throttle...
If you do have voltage at the yellow wire Split near the headlight then the problem lies with circuit to the right hand grip next to the left handgrip then to the switch and finally from the switch to the ground. 

I like to do my diagnosing with the power on as it seems easier and faster to me checking it this way. With voltmeter set to read AC put either test lead connected to a good engine ground and the other one to the wires on the right hand grip connector, you should have 12 to 18 volts on both wires. If you have voltage on only one wire then the right hand grip is burnt out. [ I did not specify colors of the wires at the handgrips because you said yours did not match the schematic, color really doesn't matter it should read the voltage I am telling you ] . 
If you do have voltage on both wires continue onto left hand grip and do the same test. If you have voltage only on one wire at this point the left hand grip is burnt out. if you have voltage on both wires you must continue on to the switch and then to the ground to find out where you have a bad connection or an open circuit. 

I know I have posted up a lot of information here, and hopefully I have said everything correctly. Sometimes it is very hard to put down in words telling how to do a particular task to a person that you do not know their skill level in troubleshooting. So I always try to give as much information as possible, but sometimes I give too much and I have confused my directions. 
Please post up the findings on your machine and hopefully we can get you back up and running ASAP. If you have any other questions just ask and I will try to walk you through it to find the problem.


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

The electrical drawing for my blower and likely yours too, appears to be a combination wiring and continuity/schematic diagram. A true wiring diagram would show all the wires that physically make up the harness + plugs, light, switch, grips, etc. This isn't necessarily true for a continuity/schematic diagram.

The standard symbol for ground is an inverted triangle made up of horizontal lines. Ground wires are typically black, but may be a different color downstream of a plug or connector within the harness. BTW, aluminum conducts electricity as well as steel or cast iron.

The "piggyback" at the switch is possibly the connection point (shown as a black dot on the diagram) for power to the light and the grips. The light is not switched, but the grips are. You haven't stated if the light works, or not. You did say there was no power to the switch, so I assume there's 0 VAC from the yellow piggyback to ground, with the engine running. This could be due to a harness or plug problem (Post #3), a bad ground, or worse, an alternator fault.

Since you confirmed the switch was good, I assume you used some sort of VOM (volt ohm meter a.k.a. multi meter). Did you check continuity of each grip, unplugged? They should indicate some amount of resistance, i.e. ohms. If either is "open" neither will produce heat.

Sorry Scot, but I'm really at a loss to provide further guidance.

If you bought the machine from a dealer, go talk to him. If you bought it at HD or Lowes, don't bother. 

If you're unable to sort this out, I suggest calling Ariens. Others here have done that, and found them helpful. I've never had to call 'em, so can't say.


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

The headlight works so I guess the alternator and wiring up to the dash are ok. Below are two pictures. One showing the leads to the switch and the piggybacked yellow leads. And it does appear that one of the yellow leads goes to the headlight. The second picture is the connector for the right handgrip. You can see the color of the leads are yellow and brown. I assume the brown lead is the ground? 

I checked the switch with a multimeter and it is ok.

So, I guess I should check voltage between a ground on the engine and both the yellow and brown leads on the right handgrip? If the brown is ground then there should be no voltage............correct? Voltage should be checked AC?................I thought output from alternators were DC.


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## Shaw351 (Nov 15, 2016)

Yellow wire at switch is 12 volts...
Your hand grip heaters are wired in SERIES, which means only ONE grip is grounded to the chassis. 

With your voltmeter set to read AC Voltage... Engine running at full throttle...
Put one test lead to a nut or a bolt on the engine, other at switch on brown wire with red connector and flip switch on... you should have 12 volts on the brown wire. If you DON'T... switch is BAD.

If you have 12 volts on the brown wire at the switch follow it to the hand grip and check the brown wire there for 12 volts, then check the yellow wire and you should have 12 volts there. 
If you don't have 12 volts on the yellow wire on the hand grip that means the hand grip is burnt out.

If you have voltage then follow the yellow wire over to the other hand grip and you should have 12 volt there at the connector, if you do not have voltage there then you have a broken wire or connection from one hand grip to the other hand grip on that yellow wire. If you do have voltage on the yellow wire on the other hand grip then test the brown wire at the same connector and you should have voltage there. If you do not have voltage on the brown wire then that means that hand grip is burnt out. If you have voltage at the brown wire on the 2nd handgrip then you have a bad ground at the end of that brown wire. Hope this helps and get you to the problem.


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

scotzz said:


> The headlight works so I guess the alternator and wiring up to the dash are ok. I thought output from alternators were DC.


Thanks for finally answering the headlight question I asked in Post #9. Your blower's Alternator is working. That's good.

An Alternator is given that name because it produces alternating current, a.k.a. AC.

A Generator produces direct current, a.k.a. DC. With the addition of an Inverter, a Generator's output is converted to AC.

Repeat from Post #12: "Did you check continuity of each grip, unplugged? They should indicate some amount of resistance, i.e. ohms. If either is "open" neither will produce heat." An "open" circuit is one that indicates infinity on the ohms scale of a multimeter.

Between my posts, and the excellent ones from @Shaw351, you have 100% of the information needed to locate the problem with your hand warmers.


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

Shaw351 said:


> Yellow wire at switch is 12 volts...
> Your hand grip heaters are wired in SERIES, which means only ONE grip is grounded to the chassis.
> 
> With your voltmeter set to read AC Voltage... Engine running at full throttle...
> ...





jburson250 said:


> Thanks for finally answering the headlight question I asked in Post #9. Your blower's Alternator is working. That's good.
> 
> An Alternator is given that name because it produces alternating current, a.k.a. AC.
> 
> ...


Hey guys thanks. I am pretty good with mechanical repairs but my knowledge of electrical stuff is pretty limited. I read through your posts and I should be able to track down the culprit. I will report back when I have an answer. Thanks for your patience. Scott


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

Been really cold here but today I started to diagnose problem. With engine running full speed: I checked voltage at the yellow wire at the switch. One lead on the yellow wire connector and the other on an engine bolt. I get only 7 VAC. But the headlight is bright so I am suspicious of that reading. I tried using a number of engine bolts as well as the block and got the same number. I connected the yellow lead to the switch and measured voltage across the switch and when it is in the on position I get 7 VAC on the outgoing pole. 

Next I disconnected the leads going into the right handgrip. There is a black and brown lead from the harness (the handgrip leads are yellow and brown though). Voltage across these leads is about 17 VAC. I didn't check each individual lead though. Maybe tomorrow I'll do some more. Does the 17 VAC across the leads going into the right handgrip make sense?

Thanks.


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

@scotzz:

Hi Scot, good to hear from you!

The resistance of the headlight bulb will drop voltage somewhat, but a 10VAC drop is a lot. What you're experiencing here is called Ohm's Law - Google it for more info.

Just to simplify things a bit, try removing and unplugging the light bulb. It comes out of the housing with a quarter turn or so CCW, similar to a car headlight. Then run the blower and take more voltage readings. 17VAC is good, but 7VAC is a substantial drop, IMO. I wouldn't expect much of a voltage drop across a halogen bulb, but it could possibly be due to a high resistance connection - due to corrosion in a plug, for example.

When reinstalling the bulb, clean any fingerprints off with alcohol. Halogen bulbs don't last long with fingerprints on them. Also, you can use dielectric grease on plugs and connections - it helps keep moisture out of the contact surfaces.

As I suggested before, unplug each grip and measure resistance (ohms) of each. I just now checked both of my grips. They each read *2.5 ohms*. Yours should read close to the same. This was on the Pro - the Classic doesn't have heated grips. If either is open (i.e. infinite ohms) neither grip will heat - they're wired in series. If your meter is old, you might need to change scales manually to take a similar reading.

Keep at it - gotta be something simple.


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

It's been really cold here and I have other things to do so just able to check a couple of things today:

1. VAC coming out of the alternator is 12 volts
2. Resistance across the right handgrip is 2.6 ohms

Do I have the multi-meter set correctly for resistance? 

Both of these readings are OK.............correct?

I should have 12 VAC coming through the leads into the right handgrip...............correct?

Headlight seems to be pretty bright.


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

scotzz said:


> It's been really cold here and I have other things to do so just able to check a couple of things today:
> 
> 1. VAC coming out of the alternator is 12 volts
> 2. Resistance across the right handgrip is 2.6 ohms
> ...



Everything looks good Scot.

Did you read resistance across the left handgrip?


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## scotzz (Oct 9, 2012)

jburson250 said:


> Everything looks good Scot.
> 
> Did you read resistance across the left handgrip?


Didn't get a chance to check resistance across the left handgrip. I did check voltage again from the engine to the hot lead (piggybacked yellow wires) to the handgrip switch and was only getting about 3 volts.........last time I checked it was around 7 volts. So I guess something going on with the wiring under the dashboard. I am going to pull the light and check the voltage to it. Hard to see how all the wires connect.....they are all zip tied.


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## jburson250 (Oct 25, 2017)

I'm baffled by the 3 and 7 volt readings.

As I suggested in Post 18, remove the socket from the light housing, then take the bulb out of the socket. Start the machine, then take the AC voltage readings. Stop the machine. Put the bulb back in it's socket, restart, then recheck voltage.

Please be careful with the bulb, when illuminated it'll get hot very quickly. Also if you touch it with bare fingers, clean it with alcohol before reinstalling it in the housing.

Obviously, I'm running out of suggestions! Sorry.


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## 71gtx471 (14 d ago)

Simplicity model# 1696921 heated grips inop,after diagnosing & testing for voltage & open circuits found that the R/side grip plug connector terminals had spread open interrupting the circuit, tightened the female pin connectors & the grips started working.


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## Auger1 (Dec 4, 2020)

71gtx471 said:


> Simplicity model# 1696921 heated grips inop,after diagnosing & testing for voltage & open circuits found that the R/side grip plug connector terminals had spread open interrupting the circuit, tightened the female pin connectors & the grips started working.


Hi, welcome to the site. This is a pretty old thread and you might not get much info from it. Start a new one in the Repair section, these guys here will always willing to help out.


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