Wow @
DannoXYZ thank you for the detailed response! Sorry for the delay, I've been sick and haven't been able to make progress the last couple of days. I bought a multimeter, but have a few clarification questions.
0) Do I remove the thermoswitch just by unscrewing it? Will this cause coolant to poor out if I don't empty all the coolant?
1) What do you mean "bridge two terminals"? Sorry for the basic question, but I'm lost on the terminology here.
2) Do you have a suggestion for getting +12v? I haven't tested some of the rogue wires so I may have a live wire somewhere that was leading to the grip warmers (not good, but can fix that later), but if not is the best bet to go buy another battery?