I rode over to the Spyderpops gathering in Arkansas this past weekend. About 400 miles into the trip Thursday the “Lost communication with ECU” message came up on the screen. This happened as I was going down the road and the message was gone the instant I noticed it. The bike never skipped a beat then, over the weekend, or on the ride home yesterday.
The bike’s been sitting since last night and I’ve just now done the basic battery test with our voltmeter:
Key off 13.21
Key on 12.6
While cranking 11.4
At idle 14.24
3500 RPM 14.26
The reading while cranking tells the tale?
Sarah
It might not be the
only problem, but in my experience with quite a few Spyders now (all owned/operated by various other people),
that'll do it pretty much every time!
Do you still have the 'cheaper, less capable, lower CCA' OEM battery that BRP started palming off on new buyers starting around 2020?? If you do, &/or it's not a Yuasa or quality A/mkt alternative with at least 350 CCA & 21 A/hrs capacity, then it sounds very much like it's time to replace the battery! Only if you do replace the battery, don't just go in, buy one off the shelf, and throw it in - make sure that it has been initialised properly and then charged with a quality charger
for at least 8 hours BEFORE installation!! Even if the battery retailer/dealer says they've done that, if they put a battery straight in and say you're good to go, don't believe them - trust if you want, but at least, verify! A battery that's been given a quick charge once, probably when they first got it/put it on the shelf maybe 6+ months ago, isn't necessarily in all that good nick, and it likely needs at least a proper 8+ hour charge, which your alternator cannot do while you're riding home!
Failure to do that initialisation and proper charge thing will likely mean that you'll be once again looking for a new battery within a couple of years, or sooner! But if you do the initialisation and proper charge thing
first, before installation, then look after your battery properly from there on in, and there's a good chance your new battery will still be going strong 5 or more years down track!
Just Sayin'
