DON'T DO THIS! Please Read - Newbies and old alike

[kevorama]

OK guys and gals, here's a real no - no. I ordered a 16' set of 300 RBG LED roll from SuperBrightLED's.com so that I could do a custom under lighting different from the norm that is available. I felt comfortable enough in my abilities to pull this off. It has been sitting in the box for almost 45 days and I really needed to check that they worked as not to go past the warranty and find out down the road, when I finally got them on, that they were bad.

So, I popped the seat, loosened the + jumper barrel nut, loosened the - jumper bolt (see first pic) ... and that's where it all fell apart. You'll see that there's a big + and - molded into the plastic cover for where you would put jumper cables to start a dead battery. I have taken a series of photos, I hope that this helps to keep anyone else from making this mistake. I can't believe that BRP has such a rediculous design on this.

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This looked pretty straight forward. Loosen the bolt, add the binding ring for the LED power supply and re tighten. Not to be. As you can see, it's a shouldered bolt with a thick metal spacer and last, but not least a Nylon nut. The nut just happens to be in the most difficult areas to access.

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In order to get the nut back on you have to start with the right mirror and work your way back, removing panel after panel until you reach the jumper area.

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Once you get all the plastic out of the way you'll have to pull the small fuse block from it's holder and remove 4 of the 5 harness plug-ins in order to push it far enough out of the way. At that point you will start losing skin and patience quickly. If I contorted my hand just right I could manipulate my left index finger to where I could feel the bottom of the bolt.

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I ended up taping the nut to my finger so that it would stay on as I worked my way through the tight turns until I could get the bolt to catch the threads on the nut. After talking with Scotty, Lamont and my Cowtown mechanic, Kevin, I was able to pull this mess together in a little over an hour. I never would've figured it out without the help of this site and Kevin. I will never, ever touch that bolt again except to make sure that it's tight. I did put a pig tail on it while in there. After all, that's what started this tear down to begin with.


Ahhhh! Now, that's much better :thumbup:

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[JCSMOKE]

Nope don't do that!!!:banghead::cus::banghead:
A lot of trouble fixing that mess up

 

[exwinger]

loose bolt

Maybe I just got lucky but I had no problem tightening the bolt. I put a screwdriver blade under the bar , applied pressure and tightened right up.

 

[boborgera]

I said this before and I'll say it again, BRP should put a tag on that bolt saying ;
Do not loosen or try to remove this bolt. And they should have done that 3 years ago. :gaah:

 

[kevorama]

I said this before and I'll say it again, BRP should put a tag on that bolt saying ;
Do not loosen or try to remove this bolt. And they should have done that 3 years ago. :gaah:

Scotty said the same thing. I just dug in, not realizing what a horrible design that - jumper is. What I don't get is that the base is threaded. I was tempted to go find a bolt the would fit those threads and be done with the almost impossible to get to Nylon nut design. My guess is that it's a carry over design from previous models and it was just cheaper to put a different bolt in instead of changing the base. I will post some good qaulity pics as soon as I get some rest. Been a long day. After 27 yrs with GM I have seen similar BS fixes.

The long and the short of it: If you need to check an electrical item, ground it at the gas tank bolt. Not the obvious jumper bolt.

 

[kevorama]

Maybe I just got lucky but I had no problem tightening the bolt. I put a screwdriver blade under the bar , applied pressure and tightened right up.

That's exactly how I loosened it to the point that I'm posting this. It's also the way that I managed to get it tightened back up. But, not until I pulled everything from the mirror to the back panel in order to get it back in place to tighten it.

 

[NancysToy]

Kevin, I'm sorry you didn't see any of the many times I have posted this. Glad you got it resolved, anyway. :thumbup:

 

[kevorama]

Kevin, I'm sorry you didn't see any of the many times I have posted this. Glad you got it resolved, anyway. :thumbup:

Scotty, I'm still a newb. I've only had my RTS since last July. I get a lot of my info from this site and Kevin and Len at Cowtown in Cuba, MO. It looks like it should be a logical point for a ground attachment. I wish I would have seen it as well. The upside is that I am learning where everything is and how it comes apart and together. I've learned from the school of hard knocks and modifying the Spyder is no different.

On a different note, where are you and Nancy staying during SpyderFest. We'll be at the Best Western.

 

[Grandpa Spyder]

I Did This the 1st week

I loosened the ground bolt the 1st week I owned the Spyder and went out and bought a bolt that screwed into that threaded area and made the cable hook up bigger to fit (Drill) and all is well. but I agree that is a bad design. I think because the one ground strap hole was not big enough they just cheaped out and put the bolt through the hole.

 

[Bob Denman]

WHEW!! :shocked: I'm glad to hear that this one didn't turn out like so many of my mis-adventures! pps: :thumbup:

 

[effgjamis]

What happened to the lights??????

 

[kevorama]

I loosened the ground bolt the 1st week I owned the Spyder and went out and bought a bolt that screwed into that threaded area and made the cable hook up bigger to fit (Drill) and all is well. but I agree that is a bad design. I think because the one ground strap hole was not big enough they just cheaped out and put the bolt through the hole.

That was going to be my next move if I couldn't get the original back on.

 

[kevorama]

What happened to the lights??????

The LED's looked fantastic! I'm not happy with the remote's options or the size of the power supply. It's HUGE! I'm looking into other remote options.

 

[bluestratos]

I did this as well, caught it as soon as felt it break loose but I was still concerned. I bent a cheap 10 mil wrench (the type that comes with a motorcycle tool kit from the factory) and pushed in down throught the small space next to the bolt. I then turned the top until I felt my wrench slip in and all fixed in about 10 min.

 

[spyder3]

"So, I popped the seat".......

Thats exactly where i stop as far as working on the RT. :roflblack:

 

[MarkLawson]

When I installed the CB/Intercom system, I had so much of it already apart I decided to replace the bolt with an 8mm, which fits the threads.

 

[GeoffCee]

Kevin, I'm sorry you didn't see any of the many times I have posted this.

And because of the publicity you've given to this goddam awkward nut I've left it well alone. Obviously, it's a problem lying in wait for unknowing owners. Thanks. :thumbup:

 

[kevorama]

And because of the publicity you've given to this goddam awkward nut I've left it well alone. Obviously, it's a problem lying in wait for unknowing owners. Thanks. :thumbup:

I have 27 years with GM and I know a bad design when I see one. This is just one of those 'things' that finally gets addressed after complaints pour in about it. The base is threaded for an 8mm bolt, but the factory binding rings have to be drilled out a tad to fit the post. I hope that BRP addresses this in the next model year.

 

[MouthPiece]

I have 27 years with GM and I know a bad design when I see one. This is just one of those 'things' that finally gets addressed after complaints pour in about it. The base is threaded for an 8mm bolt, but the factory binding rings have to be drilled out a tad to fit the post. I hope that BRP addresses this in the next model year.

Well they certainly haven't for the last three years.

Chris

 

[Lamonster]

Here's what they need


http://www.034motorsport.com/hardware-fittings-hoses-metric-hardware-step-stud-8mm-to-6mm-p-231.html