i searched and either i s**k at searching or didnt find what i was looking for. i have a 94 v-max 600.. hasnt been riden in a few years. did a quick once over on it and took it out for a day. everything went flawless except..... no hand or thumb warmers. wiring all looks to be correct under the handle bar pad. whats got me stumped is i can understand is neither work at all ?? they are wired seperatly if im not mistaken so im confused as what would take out both. can some one point me in the direction on how to figure this out without just throwing parts or money at it ?? i am clueless as where to ever start. everything else seems to work as it is supposed to , headlight, taillight, starter, just no hand/thumb warmers... tia
Last edited:
The warmer switch might be bad, or perhaps a mouse chewed some wires in the warmer circuit.
You can test each warmer individually by disconnecting them from the harness (under the handlbar cover/foam). Just do one at a time and remember/mark the wires if you are worried about forgetting how to plug back together. When you have the first warmer disconnected down to just the pair of leads for that warmer, hook both leads to an automotive or power equipment battery charger or 12V battery, again be careful and be ready to disconnect if you suspect something is going wrong, I've never had any issues on mine, whether the warmer is good or bad. If the warmer is good, it will heat up in a short amount of time.
If you have a multi meter and don't want to try the method above, you could still disconnect the warmer as above and test each warmer individually for continuity between the pair of wires. If no continuity, the warmer is bad. If you have continuity, the warmer is likely good, and there is also an ohms resistence value but I don't know what those are offhand.
To be thorough you could also test each wire lead one at a time to "ground" for continuity, with ground being the metal handlebars, and you may need to find a bare/rubbed area on the bars to make good contact, as most Yamaha bars have a coating on them that the multi meter may not be able to read thru. If you get any continuity from a wire to the bars, that warmer is shorted and may not work properly or at all.
If you run the tests above and find that you should have good individual warmers, then you have a wiring issue, switch issue, or possibly stator/magneto issue. I don't think there is anything else in the warmer circuit on a 1994, but I could be wrong.
You can test each warmer individually by disconnecting them from the harness (under the handlbar cover/foam). Just do one at a time and remember/mark the wires if you are worried about forgetting how to plug back together. When you have the first warmer disconnected down to just the pair of leads for that warmer, hook both leads to an automotive or power equipment battery charger or 12V battery, again be careful and be ready to disconnect if you suspect something is going wrong, I've never had any issues on mine, whether the warmer is good or bad. If the warmer is good, it will heat up in a short amount of time.
If you have a multi meter and don't want to try the method above, you could still disconnect the warmer as above and test each warmer individually for continuity between the pair of wires. If no continuity, the warmer is bad. If you have continuity, the warmer is likely good, and there is also an ohms resistence value but I don't know what those are offhand.
To be thorough you could also test each wire lead one at a time to "ground" for continuity, with ground being the metal handlebars, and you may need to find a bare/rubbed area on the bars to make good contact, as most Yamaha bars have a coating on them that the multi meter may not be able to read thru. If you get any continuity from a wire to the bars, that warmer is shorted and may not work properly or at all.
If you run the tests above and find that you should have good individual warmers, then you have a wiring issue, switch issue, or possibly stator/magneto issue. I don't think there is anything else in the warmer circuit on a 1994, but I could be wrong.
i thought maybe the switch , that would be the only thing i could think that would take out the hand and thumb warmer. i have a newer (95-96) adjustable reostate style switch. i will see i can wire that in. is it common for a stator to go bad and affect only the hand warmers ?? but i will also check the hand warmers for a short once i get back home.
ok., checking switch with a multi meter it appears good. ohming out hand warms they are 3.7 ohms on the right and 3.3 on the left. thumb warmer comes in at 27.2 ohnms. i see no wiring issues anywhere.. i suppose i can tr hooking directly to 12v and see what hapens but i think its safe to assume they will get warm.. anyone possibly have a wiring diagram for 94-96 600 vmax ??
I just had the same problem with mine on my 96. The problem ended up being that a wire was broken off deep in the wire loom. I spent many hours until I found it.