Any answers or clues about these RSS Speedo Cluster faults?

[markg2010rss]

I have a trusty 2010 RSS V-twin. My problem is VSS, DPS, Check Engine & Check Transmission messages flash across my screen continually. Last week, the dash went blank, then came back, along with all these faults. Also, the analogue tacho works very slowly and is jerky, yet the digital rpm works fine. I had a brand new battery fitted 2 months ago. I have checked all the plugs that are connected to these faults, read many different forums, but still can't get rid of these pesky warnings and the intermittent drop out of power. Otherwise, the bike is running great. Any help or clues as to where to start looking would be great. Also is buds programme available anywhere to download? Thanks, Mark.

 

[DickB]

With multiple faults like that I would check the battery and battery connections first.

BUDS requires an adapter and a software license and is a bit pricey.

 

[Jetfixer]

Also check and clean the ground connections on the frame.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Even a brand new battery can be a dud, especially if it wasn't charged properly (for at least 8 hours) BEFORE installation, or if it's one of the cheap lower capacity batteries that BRP is dumping on us as OEM batteries atm - and what you describe does sound very much like a dead or dying battery!

 

[markg2010rss]

My RSS is still giving me grief. When I ride for about 20 mins, the instrument cluster drops out all together, then boots back into life. I have checked power supplies, relays, and had a new battery fitted. When it is working, the tachometer needle moves very slowly, while the speedo needle is slow to return to zero, often still reading when I have stopped. The weird thing is that the throttle "blipper" is not working on down shift (SE5), but the bike runs great, even with DSS warnings scrolling across the dash, a transmission check warning, and the engine check light is constantly on. A VSS warning also pops up now and then, but no Limp Home mode.
Please, any answers or clues as to where I should look next? Apart from taking it to the local dealer 40 klms away and getting my wallet emptied! Thanks, Mark.

Just wondering if anyone has re mounted their battery in the "frunk/trunk" in the normal upright position? Surely laying a battery on it's side can't be good for them?

 

[Peter Aawen]

Just wondering if anyone has re mounted their battery in the "frunk/trunk" in the normal upright position? Surely laying a battery on it's side can't be good for them?

The AGM batteries that are generally standard in our Spyders & most modern motorcycles are designed to work in just about any position, including how/where they are mounted on your RSS. They are perfectly fine on their sides, ends, upright, or for many even upside down, as the electrolyte isn't really a liquid, it's a gel that's been absorbed into a fibreglass mat and as such, it doesn't 'run' or slop around like a liquid. So there's no need for concern there, just so long as your AGM type battery fits in the space available; is secured properly; and has a capacity of at least 350 CCA and 21 A/hrs.

That said, the earth point under the seat on those early Spyders is just a riv-nut type thread inserted into the frame in a way that is notorious for being stripped, causing a poor earth connection and the consequent poor charging; which in turn creates all sorts of problems, very much along the lines you've detailed above; and even the more recent Spyders will often present with similar issues if they have dirty terminals; poor earth points; a battery in not great condition; a new battery that wasn't fully charged before installation; a battery that never gets charged properly because it doesn't get regular 30+ minute runs at Hwy speeds; &/or even a battery that rarely spends much time off a tender when not being ridden which can hide a failing battery!! There's a LOT of discussion about all these issues already posted on the Forum, both collectively and individually, so it might be well worth your time to do some searching and spend a while reading.

All that said, it would help us to help you greatly if you could tell us - was your new battery initialised properly and charged for at least 8 hours on a proper charger (not just a battery tender) BEFORE it was installed?? Has your battery (the new one!) ever been load tested?? If it has, what was the result, in volts under load?? Did the tester know that our Spyders are EXTREMELY power hungry and that if the voltage ever drops much below 12 volts under starting load when all the computers and sensors etc are also drawing scads of power, then there's a very good chance that the issues you describe will occur?? Have you had your charging system checked, and do you also have any accessories that draw power fitted to your Spyder?? The answers to these questions and maybe more that others might ask could help guide us in the right direction to help you, but for now, from what you've told us, it really sounds like you have a battery &/or earth/connection problem; and if it's NOT that, then it may well mean a trip to your local dealer. If that's the case, then just be glad they're so close!

 

[markg2010rss]

Thanks for all that helpful info. I did find that dodgy earth point you suggested and have relocated the earth to another position, as well as adding an extra earth from the battery to the engine. The battery is brand new, I have had it load tested and "it passed the test". Now I have another issue, the throttle "blipper" is not working... aarrggh, what next?!

 

[Peter Aawen]

Thanks for all that helpful info. I did find that dodgy earth point you suggested and have relocated the earth to another position, as well as adding an extra earth from the battery to the engine. The battery is brand new, I have had it load tested and "it passed the test". Now I have another issue, the throttle "blipper" is not working... aarrggh, what next?!

The sad news is that unless whoever did the battery testing knows about Spyders and knows to look for a minimum voltage of 12 volts under starting load instead of the 10.5-10.7 volts that many, especially old school types &/or testing devices that aren't specifically set up for Spyders generally consider is 'OK', then just saying 'it passed the test' may not be anywhere near good enough.

See my earlier post - Even a brand new battery can be a dud, especially if it wasn't charged properly (for at least 8 hours) before installation, or if its brand new capacity is anything much less than 350 CCA & 21 A/hr - then even (or possibly even more so) the fact that the throttle blipper is not working could be a sign of a dead or dying battery!

Unlike the old school 'points & plugs' engines that many mechanics/auto electricians learned on, or the settings that many 'not strictly the latest tech' load testers are set to work on, where pretty much anything better than about 10.5 volts can generally be taken to mean that particular battery 'passes the test', Spyders are REALLY power hungry, and if the tester (the person &/or the device) doesn't actually look for at least 12 volts minimum under starting load, then just 'passing the test' isn't necessarily a good enough result, you need to know the numbers, cos without them, you still don't really know if the battery is up to the task. And again, even brand new batteries can be duds, especially if they haven't been initialised and charged properly BEFORE installation... did your 'new battery' get that done properly? Or were you just told by some retailer/a tech you don't really know from Adam that they did all that on a battery they just pulled off the shelf and fitted to your Spyder within an hour of you asking??

Sure, a dead or dying battery is not definitely the ONLY possible cause of your issues, but unless you know that the voltage reading on the battery under starting load is showing at least 12 volts or better when the computers, all the sensors, the steering assist (a MASSIVE power load), the SE gear selector, the starter, the ECU, and a bunch more electronic devices are all loading up the battery as the engine cranks over, then checking anything else is pretty much a wild shot in the dark! If the battery voltage is dragged down below 12 volts while all this is going on, then it's definitely going to take the charging system a moment or two, maybe even a fair bit of a longer while to re-charge the battery back up again once the peak load drops off, IF the battery &/or charge system happens to be in good enough condition that it can even take/do that re-charge, but in the meantime (ie, saaay, maybe for the next hour or so of riding with 'higher than idle' revs), anything electronic might not work properly - and that 'anything' juuust might include the throttle blipper!

So, it might sound as if I'm just being pedantic about this, but really, you do need to know that your battery voltage doesn't drop anything much below 12 volts under starting loads - just 'passing the test' isn't really anywhere near good enough.

Sorry...