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My 2025 RTL Display has blacked out a couple of times - any thoughts?

Opal555

New member
2025 RTL S2S - Two similar episodes have happened. First time going down the road (in reaallllly hotttt weather), using Apple Car Play map on one side of display and gauges on the other side. The gauge view blacked out totally and the Map display just froze. No response to buttons pushed, nothing. Next stop, I turned the bike off, let it sit for several minutes, started it again, and everything went back to normal.
The 2nd episode was on another trip: the display suddenly froze, then blanked out, then rolled through several screens including the startup Can Am logo. After that, it came back. The bike didn't miss a beat.
I Upgraded to the latest software cluster update and it hasn't happened again - yet. Any thoughts?
 
It may not be the cause of your problem, but it IS the cause of this sort of problem often enough that it's definitely worth doing, as it is with ALL Spyder issues like this, and ESPECIALLY if it's a later model Spyder (post 2020) that's likely to have one of the cheap and nasty, low capacity OEM batteries in it - always check and Load Test your battery & its connections FIRST!! It's quick and easy enough to do, and it can be/is the cause of this sort of problem often enough that failing to do it FIRST can cost you a lot of needless time, $$, and worry - so take the time to do this (or get it done) properly before looking for anything else! ;)

Checking for battery issues properly includes checking all the terminals & Earth points to ensure they are clean and tight, making good contact onto bright and shiny metal; that the lugs are actually well secured to the cables too (do you really need to ask me how I KNOW that they aren't always soldered onto the cable well?! :rolleyes:); and then LOAD TEST your battery, but don't be caught out by any of the old 'fob off' stories or beliefs, like 'but it's a new battery' (even brand new batteries can fail, ot not be initialised/charged properly from the outset!) or "the load test said 'it's good!'" - you NEED to be able to see that the battery has and holds very nearly 12 volts or better WHILE CRANKING the engine over to start it!!

Anything less than that 'very nearly 12 volts while cranking' bit means the battery is likely to be unable to support all the necessary electronics at some stage; and it's also a sign that your battery is failing - 11.5 volts while cranking IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! 11.7 volts while cranking might work for a little bit longer, but you'll probably get more and more 'dash drop-outs', cascading Codes &/or VSS errors, Limp home modes, &/or more. Getting/seeing12 volts or better from a battery that has at least 350 CCA and 21 A/hr capacity and that was properly initialised and charged for at least 8 hours on a proper 'Battery Charger', not just a battery tender, means that battery should work well for years, unless it's abused - but if a dealer/retailer supplies and fits an AGM or wet cell battery on the spot and says "you're good to go!" - YOU ARE NOT!! 🤯

Batteries, especially AGM batteries that need to be initialised first so that the electrolyte is fully activated between the plates, take at least 8-9 hours to initialise and charge properly, and if that wasn't done at all, or maybe it was done some months ago when they first put the battery on the display shelf, it probably needs doing again!! :cautious:

So before you do anything else, Load test your battery, and check to see that it holds very nearly 12 volts while cranking. If it doesn't, it's new battery time, or at the very least, a good looong (proper!) charge, altho that is probably just a short term band-aid for a dying battery! If it does show very nearly 12 volts while cranking, at least you've excluded that from the possible causes of your dash display failures and can now move on with your trouble-shooting knowing that it's not your battery. But if you do need to get a new battery, don't accept one of the cheap and nasty BRP excuses for a battery that can barely manage 300 CCA on a good day - get a quality battery with at least 350 CCA and 21 A/hr capacity, then initialise and charge it properly, which takes 8-9 hours to do! ;)

Just Sayin' - again! (y)
 
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