I Need help from an electronics guru?! 2011 RT with BUDS issues!

[Summersnowmobile]

Two summers ago I lost my cruise control. Waited for switchgear. Dealer changed it. No difference. Then got limp home mode. Check DPS and VSS on gauge. Dealer changed VSM module. No difference. Dealer has a hard time getting through to BRP and they are not being helpful, just asking to check things my guy has already checked. Any thoughts out there? 2011 998 RTS with 65,000 km.

[jcthorne]

Two summers ago I lost my cruise control. Waited for switchgear. Dealer changed it. No difference. Then got limp home mode. Check DPS and VSS on guage. Dealer changed VSM module. No difference. Dealer has a hard time getting through to BRP and they are not being helpful, just asking to check things my guy has already checked. Any thoughts out there? 2011 998 RTS with 65,000 km.

If your mechanic is waiting for BRP to diagnose the bike remotely, you are at the wrong shop. Especially with an older bike. You need to find a mechanic that KNOWS the older Spyders and can diagnose on his own using service manuals and diagrams. No small order I know. But your bike will not get fixed using a mechanic that does not know how.

[UtahPete]

Two summers ago I lost my cruise control. Waited for switchgear. Dealer changed it. No difference. Then got limp home mode. Check DPS and VSS on gauge. Dealer changed VSM module. No difference. Dealer has a hard time getting through to BRP and they are not being helpful, just asking to check things my guy has already checked. Any thoughts out there? 2011 998 RTS with 65,000 km.

This is an authorized dealership with certified Spyder mechanic? It doesn't sound like it?!

[Peter Aawen]

Two summers ago I lost my cruise control. Waited for switchgear. Dealer changed it. No difference. Then got limp home mode. Check DPS and VSS on guage. Dealer changed VSM module. No difference. Dealer has a hard time getting through to BRP and they are not being helpful, just asking to check things my guy has already checked. Any thoughts out there? 2011 998 RTS with 65,000 km.

If the dealer &/or techs are having this much trouble, then I'm not all that sure I'd be trusting them to have diagnosed the Cruise Control issue correctly in the first place.... Sure, it might be obvious that it's not working, but who decided it needed new switchgear to get it sorted?!? This juuust might be starting to sound like a broken record from me to some here, but I've got a V-Twin Spyder that's had similar issues & I've seen quite a few other like aged Spyders with similar issues that all sheeted home to juuust the ONE thing.... so I'd ask - how old is your Spyder's battery & how was it being maintained before all this started?? What about since it's been sitting & waiting for switchgear, has it been on a battery maintainer, or just sitting there?? Anyone checked &/or recharged/replaced the battery before trying to operate it again after all that waiting??

These 998 V-Twins are all getting on a bit in age now, and even if it's had a battery replacement at some stage, they do tend to have a parasitic power loss over time, especially if it's been left just sitting; and even more especially if it hasn't had an active battery maintenance program during this sitting period, the battery could be telling you it's old, tired, dying, or all of the above - and possibly any/all of this has been masked if not hidden by a battery tender too!! Just some of the issues a low battery can result in on a V-Twin include things like Limp Home Mode; DPS issues/failures; VSS warnings, etc, etc, etc; and any of them in their turn could well mean that even tho you might happen to get your Spyder running, your Cruise Control still might not work..... :banhghead:

So, has anyone checked to see how old the battery in your Spyder might be?? And regardless of its age, even if it IS brand new (did it get a full & proper charge before installation??) has anyone ever &/or recently done a proper load check on it, or at least used a multi-meter to check that it's even vaguely within the right ball park to let it work your Spyder and all the power hungry things like DPS & VSS that could be contributing if not actually causing all this??

Just Sayin'

[erks1]

Had the same issue. I bent the brake light switch bracket a bit and that fixed it

[Peteoz]

Had the same issue. I bent the brake light switch bracket a bit and that fixed it

Are you saying that the Spyder believed the brake was being applied and shut off Cruise Control, Erks ?

Pete

[Summersnowmobile]

The brake light works normally going off and on with the pedal. However, when hooked up to buds the computer is reading that the brake is on regardless of what’s happening with the brake light.

[canamjhb]

I think you have just found the problem.....

[Summersnowmobile]

Yes. That’s the problem for sure. Trouble is we don’t know how to fix it��

[ARtraveler]

Check for crud on or in the brake actuator lever. Anything preventing the lever from full contact can cause the bike to not have cruise control (because the brakes are read as being on), or to go into limp mode.

I had this issue with my 2008 GS and one of our friends who visited AK in 2010 had the "limp mode" issues. Riding the AK highway in unpaved places during the rain caused "glacial till" to coat the actuator. It caused a problem similar to riding with the foot on the brake, which will cause the actuator to seem as though the brakes are on. This will eventually kick in the limp mode. Actuator cleaned, problem solved.

[Summersnowmobile]

Did the brake light behave as normal even with the dirty actuator?

[jcthorne]

Yes. That’s the problem for sure. Trouble is we don’t know how to fix it��

Now that the problem is known, you refer to the wiring diagrams and diagnose the circuit from the pedal swatch to the ECM to find where the problem is. You now know its in that circuit somewhere.

[Mikey]

I seem to recall someone having something like this going on and that assembly having a twostep micro switch of some sort and having to clean it or replace it to make it work right! good luck, I would dive into that switch assembly if it was me.

[erks1]

Yes. The cruise control switches off when braking. The signal word is the brake light. If the brake light is on, the cruise control does not work

[Summersnowmobile]

Been battling my 2011 RTS SM5 for the past 3 years. First no cruise control; Changed the right-hand switchgear; Nothing. Then the VSS & DPS alarms came on and I got Limp Mode; so changed the VSM module; Nothing. Finally decided to change the ECM, which may have cured things, but BUDS then said to change the Gear Select Sensor as the sensor has to ‘learn’ the gears. It learned all but first gear....

This is where we’re stuck! All this has been done by the dealer. I also ordered air intake and valve cover gaskets. When asked, BRP came back with ‘obsolete’. Grrr.

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Northwester Ontario, eh? Dealers must be few and far between. Not a guru. Read back through your other posts. Let's look at the low hanging fruit first.

There's no difference in valve cover gaskets between 2011, 2016, or any other year 998 engine. The part number is 420650345. You can even find them on Amazon. SE5 and SM5 are the same. Just buy it yourself. Obsolete? Sounds like BS.

Air intake gasket. Not really sure which one you are referring to. If it is the intake flange gasket - that one that the throttle body assembly goes into, that part number is 420267151. Same thing. No difference. Can be found on eBay and other places. Buy it yourself.

Google is your friend.

The ECM monitors the brake system by looking at BOTH the brake light switch, and brake system pressure from the sensor in the VCM. But, the cruise control only looks at the brake light switch. You already can see that the brake light switch is operating normally, and you've replaced the VCM and the ECM. After you replace an ECM, he needs to do more than just re-learning the gears. He needs to do a Complete ECM First Initialization Reset. That will not only initialize the gear position indicator, but also the throttle position sensor and the brake pressure sensor, so that the ECM knows what 0 pressure actually is.

Because you have an SM5, it should be relatively simple to just jack up the rear wheel by the lower shock mount, and perform the Gear Position Sensor reset that way. Which, by the way, is the BRP official way of doing it. The procedure in this bulletin is how.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FL4...ew?usp=sharing

Honestly, not sure if I would put any more money into that machine. Your call, though. Good Luck.

[Bfromla]

Snowbelt The previous brake light issue would definitely kill off CC. So maybe something lingering could also be simple as a weak return spring on pedal sorry. Dealer dilemma & they gonna bow down to BRP unless you find a cranky old professor type that will find way for legitimate argument.

[Summersnowmobile]

Who is the best electronic guru on spyder rt. 2011. Willing to travel. HELP!!

[Summersnowmobile]

Need the best electronic guru to fix Check Engine & Limp Mode problems!

I’m looking for a crackerjack electronic guru to fix my Spyder. I’ve spent three years and thousands of $ trying to get rid of check engine and limp mode problems. I’m willing to bring it almost anywhere.

[BajaRon]

I’m looking for a crackerjack electronic guru to fix my Spyder. I’ve spent three years and thousands of $ trying to get rid of check engine and limp mode problems. I’m willing to bring it almost anywhere.

What codes are you getting?

[Ex-Rocket]

Would be nice to know year and model

[BajaRon]

Would be nice to know year and model

2011 RT according to his earlier posts...