Working on the F3

[spyderCodes]

My F3, Pugsly is new enough that I haven't done any routine maintenance yet.
I have had the opportunity to do a few things like install Fog lights, LED headlamp bulbs, design & build a 5 circuit relay controlled wiring harness as well as stuff a heating element in the backrest.

Figuring out the reason the top black plastic cover over the lights wouldn't come off was interesting.
BRP attached 5 or 6 wiring clips from the bottom, making the stubborn cover appear to held down by magic.
With that mystery solved, putting the LED headlamps (TricLED) was fairly straightforward.

On my base F3 model the accessory service plug provided an excellent trigger signal for a relay that controls a separate 30 amp service for my heated backrest, 5Vdc bus for my Garmin and some LEDs and Denali driving lights.
Finding a trigger signal was always a bit of a chore on the early RT.

Here's a BRP mystery.
On the bottom of the backrest two zippers can be found.
The zippers look normal enough except the zipper trolley doesn't have a pull tab.
When I saw the zippers I thought all I would need do to place the heating element into the backrest would be to unzip the zippers.
WrongO.
The zippers appear to be a one time, one zip kind of thing.
Why Jean Luc decided to sew two zippers that cannot be unzipped into the backrest remains for me a mystery.
If anyone has an answer I'd like to know what it is.
I could have missed something as I know as much about zippers as I do most things.
And that's very little.

 

[Ron2andia]

Can you detail the steps for the heating element upgrade?

 

[spyderCodes]

Can you detail the steps for the heating element upgrade?

It's almost ridiculously simple.
I bought this set from Amazon

Other trim-able sets would work too.

I cut the pad to fit.
You can use the accessory plug for power if you don't have any other loads on the circuit.
The accessory plug wiring can be found under the rear service cover.
You can use the switch provided by slightly opening the plastic hole on the dash or if you are willing to have a single temperature as I elected to do you can use this switch and it fits perfectly.
If you don't want a high/low you only need the heating pad & not the relay provided in the kit.
Remember to fuse it properly.

If you have the BRP backrest & can figure out the zipper then you won't have to cut the threads enough to get the element in.
Otherwise you will have to resew it whic h is no big deal because it doesn't show anyhow,