Is the Alternator shaft squeal just a nuisance, or is it damaging anything?

[Donny Mott]

So after a few exchanges between the dealer and the BRP engineering team, and some BRP investigations into the internal data from the Spyder, they have ordered the dealer to go ahead with a whole "alternator shaft assembly" replacement which will be performed next week. Looks like I have the only Spyder which has had the TST performed on it that is still making the noise... Will keep you posted.

You’re not the only one!!!!

 

[BajaRon]

We haven't heard from slypx since May 28. I wonder how it's going.

 

[Snakeyes]

So .... I brought my 2026 S2S in for the 3,000 mile oil change and state inspection on 8/19/26. I told them I heard this "chirping" sound. I caught the mechanic when he brought my bike around and asked him about the "chirping" sound and he said, "yea it's kind of funny - some chirp and some don't."
What irks me is that they must have received the alternator shaft repair bulletin - it was dated 3/20/26, and they refused to address the issue.
I did tell BRP about this response when they sent me the survey a couple of weeks later. I'm sure it fell on deaf ears! I will monitor this closely.

 

[BajaRon]

So .... I brought my 2026 S2S in for the 3,000 mile oil change and state inspection on 8/19/26. I told them I heard this "chirping" sound. I caught the mechanic when he brought my bike around and asked him about the "chirping" sound and he said, "yea it's kind of funny - some chirp and some don't."
What irks me is that they must have received the alternator shaft repair bulletin - it was dated 3/20/26, and they refused to address the issue.
I did tell BRP about this response when they sent me the survey a couple of weeks later. I'm sure it fell on deaf ears! I will monitor this closely.

As with other strange responses, we are left to speculate. Here's my take, for what it is worth.

The official 'Fix' has not had a very good track record. I don't have any numbers, but it seems that, many times, the repair doesn't last very long. The chirp returns and so does the customer. Now you have an unhappy person at your desk and you're out of solutions.

Second, they are not making much profit on warranty work. Insead, it ties up a technician who could be doing something with a much better return. The better path, in the dealership's mind, may be to head this cascading event off at the pass before any investment is required. This way the problem goes away with the customer.

This has to be a design flaw. Something engineered into the system relatively recently. Because the 1330 has been out since 2014, having several years without this issue. Replacing the offending parts with the same items has not provided a path to success. Fortunately, it appears that beyond the annoying sound, there isn't any harm being done. Though long term, this remains to be verified.

 

[slypx]

We haven't heard from slypx since May 28. I wonder how it's going.

Not well... Well, it's status quo! Meaning the ugly noise is still present after the whole alternator assembly shaft was changed following the "friction disks" change in April. The noise came back, and since then, BRP have put a halt to any new fix attempt by the dealer. I'm just in a "twilight zone area" where they don't have a fix yet and the noise is present. At least they told me I can keep riding!

 

[BajaRon]

Not well... Well, it's status quo! Meaning the ugly noise is still present after the whole alternator assembly shaft was changed following the "friction disks" change in April. The noise came back, and since then, BRP have put a halt to any new fix attempt by the dealer. I'm just in a "twilight zone area" where they don't have a fix yet and the noise is present. At least they told me I can keep riding!

I think they are probably correct, you can still ride it. Have you tried the Amsoil fix?

 

[Little Blue]

Thanks for getting back to the Forum.
It is sometimes a real challenge to get things done right. I don't know what to say.

Maybe try the Amsoil fix.
Good Luck on Your Mission.

 

[slypx]

I think they are probably correct, you can still ride it. Have you tried the Amsoil fix?

I ride it as there wouldn't be an issue, about 6 000 miles since the 2 fix attempts and as I am in Canada, I can't find a shop to have an oil change done on my Spyder with Amsoil but found one outside the dealer network with Sinto 5w40 Synt oil for Spyder, will be trying this one as it is not something I can perform myself.

Here's the specs and info about it : https://www.sintoexpert.com/en/max4-5w40-3-wheels-motorcycle

 

[BajaRon]

I ride it as there wouldn't be an issue, about 6 000 miles since the 2 fix attempts and as I am in Canada, I can't find a shop to have an oil change done on my Spyder with Amsoil but found one outside the dealer network with Sinto 5w40 Synt oil for Spyder, will be trying this one as it is not something I can perform myself.

Here's the specs and info about it : https://www.sintoexpert.com/en/max4-5w40-3-wheels-motorcycle

Sinto uses highly refined Group III, mineral base oil. It is not a true synthetic and not the same thing as Amsoil, which is an engineered, Group IV or Group V base product. I hope it works for you, but if it does not, you still won't know if a true synthetic oil will give you the releaf that you're looking for.

It is a shame that the industry is allowed to play these word games, selling mineral oil as 'Synthetic' when, in fact, it is not. Europe does not allow this slight of hand marketing. So, in North America, it falls to the customer to sort things out. Most never know what they are getting.

 

[slypx]

Sinto uses highly refined Group III, mineral base oil. It is not a true synthetic and not the same thing as Amsoil, which is an engineered, Group IV, Ester base product. I hope it works for you, but if it does not, you still won't know if a true synthetic oil will give you the releaf that you're looking for.

It is a shame that the industry is allowed to play these word games, selling mineral oil as 'Synthetic' when, in fact, it is not. Europe does not allow this slight of hand marketing. So, in North America, it falls to the customer to sort things out. Most never know what they are getting.

Thank you for the technical info. Will see how it goes with Sinto and as I am about to store it in 5-6 weeks from now. When spring comes back, will see what BRP has come for a solution with if they ever does and look for real synth oil next year. What is your opinion about BRP "synth oil", is it really or another word game ?

 

[BajaRon]

Thank you for the technical info. Will see how it goes with Sinto and as I am about to store it in 5-6 weeks from now. When spring comes back, will see what BRP has come for a solution with if they ever does and look for real synth oil next year. What is your opinion about BRP "synth oil", is it really or another word game ?

XPS Full Synthetic uses a highly refined Group III mineral based oil. Similar to the Sinto that you are going to use. It certainly is a step up from the Synthetic Blend product, which I do not recommend for the Spyder/Ryker/Canyon. It's false savings, in my opinion.

There is, of course, a spectrum of quality within this category. Without testing, it is impossible to say which might be better. They might well be comparable. I have never had occasion to test Sinto.

I will say that these mineral oil based products are less expensive to produce compared to a true synthetic using a Group IV or Group V base oil. And this fact always figures into the equation. Nor it is always necessary to get the more expensive product. Though, in this case, I honestly feel that it is. This is why we sell Amsoil at our actual cost. Still, it’s important to always remember, it’s just my opinion.

 

[slypx]

XPS Full Synthetic uses a highly refined Group III mineral based oil. Similar to the Sinto that you are going to use. It certainly is a step up from the Synthetic Blend product, which I do not recommend for the Spyder/Ryker/Canyon. It's false savings, in my opinion.

There is, of course, a spectrum of quality within this category. Without testing, it is impossible to say which might be better. They might well be comparable. I have never had occasion to test Sinto.

I will say that these mineral oil based products are less expensive to produce compared to a true synthetic using a Group IV, Ester base. And this fact always figures into the equation. Nor it is always necessary to get the more expensive product. Though, in this case, I honestly feel that it is. This is why we sell Amsoil at our actual cost. Still, it’s important to always remember, it’s just my opinion.

Thank you very much for your (always) great informations that you share thru the different forums.

What exact Amsoil Oil should I be looking for, Amsoil 5W-40 MS or FS or something else?

Love your BajaRon Bar on my S2S, makes it a whole new driving experience.

 

[CrazyCooter]

Not that this info changes the discussion on the slipping alternator shaft clutches, but group IV is actually a PAO while group V is the Ester............

My wife complained this past weekend about a high pitched squeaking on the Canyon only while on the throttle? I can hardly hear it, but it kind of sounds like a slipping v-belt. Wondering IF it's the alternator shaft OR maybe the belt alignment is changing under load and catching the inside of the front pulley? Amsoil in this bike already.

She said the RT made the same noise sometimes too and the RT also chirped at idle at cold startup after installing the LiFEPo4 battery, but the chirping went away when I swapped it back to the AGM. Amsoil made it stop after a fresh oil change, but it always returned.

We will just keep monitoring with 15mo of warranty remaining.

 

[EdMat]

She said the RT made the same noise sometimes too and the RT also chirped at idle at cold startup after installing the LiFEPo4 battery, but the chirping went away when I swapped it back to the AGM. Amsoil made it stop after a fresh oil change, but it always returned.

That's the shaft. The reason it did it with the LiPo is it will accept a higher charge rate than the AGM so it loaded the alternator more.

 

[CrazyCooter]

That's the shaft. The reason it did it with the LiPo is it will accept a higher charge rate than the AGM so it loaded the alternator more.

Yep, the LiFePO4 battery's lower impedence loaded it down for sure right after a start.

With that in mind, why does it not show up on the Canyon when turning the bars not moving and the power steering electrical load actually pulls the idle speed down? Aux lights on double high beam for another 180 watts load? Maybe it's not the shaft?

 

[EdMat]

Yep, the LiFePO4 battery's lower impedence loaded it down for sure right after a start.

With that in mind, why does it not show up on the Canyon when turning the bars not moving and the power steering electrical load actually pulls the idle speed down? Aux lights on double high beam for another 180 watts load? Maybe it's not the shaft?

Bfromla may be close to accurate. At the 2023 BajaRon event Daniel noticed a slight exhaust leak in mine that would periodically give off a chirp/squeal sound til it warmed up.

 

[amkrat]

Not that this info changes the discussion on the slipping alternator shaft clutches, but group IV is actually a PAO while group V is the Ester............

My wife complained this past weekend about a high pitched squeaking on the Canyon only while on the throttle? I can hardly hear it, but it kind of sounds like a slipping v-belt. Wondering IF it's the alternator shaft OR maybe the belt alignment is changing under load and catching the inside of the front pulley? Amsoil in this bike already.

She said the RT made the same noise sometimes too and the RT also chirped at idle at cold startup after installing the LiFEPo4 battery, but the chirping went away when I swapped it back to the AGM. Amsoil made it stop after a fresh oil change, but it always returned.

We will just keep monitoring with 15mo of warranty remaining.

Must be something to this. As soon as I installed the NOCO lithium battery the squealing increased dramatically. About this same time I switched to Rotella T6 5W-30 but I don't think it affected the incessant squeal like I hoped it would.The Spyder is at the dealership now for the "fix" depending of course of the arrival of the mysterious "special tool". I was really excited about the benefits of the lithium battery. It would be a shame if I had to go back to an AGM, although they are good batteries too. The dollars wasted on all of this battery swapping would be the biggest disappointment.

 

[BajaRon]

Thank you very much for your (always) great informations that you share thru the different forums.

What exact Amsoil Oil should I be looking for, Amsoil 5W-40 MS or FS or something else?

Love your BajaRon Bar on my S2S, makes it a whole new driving experience.

Unless you are starting you Spyder in sub-zero temperatures, I recommend 10-40 MCF wet clutch oil. 10 is plenty thin enough and will be more resistant to shearing and viscosity loss.

 

[Poppie65]

I switched to the lithium battery and have had it in service for the better part of this year and haven't noticed any difference in the frequency or volume of the alternator shaft squeal.
I'm considering Ron's suggestion about the oil I use when I do the pre-winter change in a couple months.

 

[slypx]

Unless you are starting you Spyder in sub-zero temperatures, I recommend 10-40 MCF wet clutch oil. 10 is plenty thin enough and will be more resistant to shearing and viscosity loss.

OK thanks, although in Canada, this machine is like me, not running in sub-zero temperature