Trouble With Temp on RT

3 times in the past two days, when we stop for less than 5 minutes after riding for awhile, then restart the bike, the temperature gauge spikes to the top, the red high temperature indicator light comes on and the fans start up. After starting to ride again for less than a minute, the gauge returns to normal, the high temperature indicator shuts off and the fans shut off.
Any idea what might be the issue, I am pretty certain the bike isn’t over heating, rather the temperature sensor is reading hot momentarily (pocket of steam?). I have never had this happen before.


Any guidance or advice would be appreciated.

Are you saying that you ryde in the heat of summer and then stop for less than 5min and at re-start you are showing the high heat....? It does happen as there is not enough time for the engine to cool and the fans are not on so you will build up a lot of heat. The good thing is the system is working as you get back to normal in a very short time. Only thing would be to replace the coolant if you have not done if for some time. :thumbup:

it may be just heat soak in the system that needs to get some cooler air once you move.if the sensor for temp and fans are the same one and its not a pain in the arse to change then you could try a new one.also check with brp if its a known fault.may be the software that drives the cooling system being a tad over sensitive.

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Originally Posted by gazunni

3 times in the past two days, when we stop for less than 5 minutes after riding for awhile, then restart the bike, the temperature gauge spikes to the top, the red high temperature indicator light comes on and the fans start up. After starting to ride again for less than a minute, the gauge returns to normal, the high temperature indicator shuts off and the fans shut off.
Any idea what might be the issue, I am pretty certain the bike isn’t over heating, rather the temperature sensor is reading hot momentarily (pocket of steam?). I have never had this happen before.


Any guidance or advice would be appreciated.

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An example to clarify this ..... Park a car in the sun on a summer day with the windows OPEN ...the interior temp will rise quite a bit ......now start driving the car ..... the interior temp will drop quite a bit ......the same applies to the Spyder ....external forces will change the temp, it's just the way it is ...... Mike :thumbup:

I live in Florida......where it is REALLY HOT right now.
There are about 6 Spyders in my riding group.
NONE of us has trouble like that.

I think you need a thorough inspection of your cooling system but it might just be a temperature sensor acting up.

Have you even LOOKED at the coolant level in the bottle ??

Coolant level is fine. I just had the bike serviced and it was returned a couple weeks later to replace a faulty cam shaft sensor that was throwing a code.
I have owned the bike for two years and never an issue. I have done lots of reading and have not encountered ANYONE else that has had this issue.

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Originally Posted by Easy Rider

I live in Florida......where it is REALLY HOT right now.
There are about 6 Spyders in my riding group.
NONE of us has trouble like that.

I think you need a thorough inspection of your cooling system but it might just be a temperature sensor acting up.

Have you even LOOKED at the coolant level in the bottle ??

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I would accept this if others reported the same issue, however, I can’t find anyone else reporting the same problem. Hasn’t happened in the two year I have owned the bike and never had it with my first Spyder either.

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Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911

An example to clarify this ..... Park a car in the sun on a summer day with the windows OPEN ...the interior temp will rise quite a bit ......now start driving the car ..... the interior temp will drop quite a bit ......the same applies to the Spyder ....external forces will change the temp, it's just the way it is ...... Mike :thumbup:

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I understand you said the coolant level is correct. Was this something you actually verified yourself or allowed the mechanic to verify for you?

When the Spyder is started, and the temp peaks, are the fans coming on immediately to cool it or do you simply start and drive away?

Does have the indications of being broken, just not sure what broke.

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Originally Posted by gazunni

3 times in the past two days, when we stop for less than 5 minutes after riding for awhile, then restart the bike, the temperature gauge spikes to the top, the red high temperature indicator light comes on and the fans start up. After starting to ride again for less than a minute, the gauge returns to normal, the high temperature indicator shuts off and the fans shut off.
.......

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As others have mentioned, these are the classic symptoms of heat-soak spiking the temp once you stop.... Once it gets really hot in my part of the World here in Aust (as it does fairly often) this happens very often & at times to ANY & EVERY vehicle with a radiator/thermo fan cooled engine when it's hot enough, your stop is long enough for the heat-soak to occur, & short enough that the engine & cooling system don't get a chance to cool down! :sour:

I'd say this has probably happened to me on my Spyder somewhere in the vicinity of 2 or 3 HUNDRED times over the last few years when I've been ryding on hot days & I stop for a quick break or just to top up the fuel but I never made any comment about it because I know what it is & that it is a common occurrence - I suspect there are others in the same boat. However, over the last few decades of driving all sorts of motor vehicles in the heat testing tires & other things, then making short stops to check various sensors & indicators etc, I'd guess that exactly what you describe has happened to me at least a couple of THOUSAND times, if not more!! Quite simply, it is what happens to an internal combustion engine with similar cooling systems if you are driving on days when the ambient temp is high & your stops are short.... The major indicator that you don't really have an issue is that once you start up again & the cooling system gets airflow thru the radiator once more, it all cools down & the alerts go off pretty quickly. If you had a problem, the temp would stay high, the alerts would stay on, & the engine would probably start showing other signs of over-heating pdq!! :shocked:

Since you report that the alerts etc are clearing up in less than a minute, then I doubt very much that you have any problems with the cooling system, altho cos it IS hot atm, you should regularly check your coolant anyway! If you are really worried about this happening, then only ever park your Spyder in the shade & always wait at least an hour before re-starting every time you stop - if you do that, I'd be quite surprised if it ever occurs again. Or if you like, you could try shutting the engine down & leaving the ignition on, then sitting there so you can watch the heat-soak spike the temp as you listen to the fans working overtime to try & drag the increasing temp down.... it'll probably only take 10-15 minutes or so.... maybe 30 mins or more on really hot days. ;) In the meantime, why not just Ride more, & worry less! :thumbup:

Thermostat? Bad, stuck, or installed backwards/reversed?

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Originally Posted by gazunni

I have done lots of reading and have not encountered ANYONE else that has had this issue.

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So.....then is it not obvious that you need to take it in and get this fixed.......before it really overheats and damages the engine ??

I certainly think so.

Just started after having work done on it in the shop. What did they have apart? Thermostat in upside down? Did they get an air lock in it?

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Originally Posted by gazunni

Coolant level is fine. I just had the bike serviced and it was returned a couple weeks later to replace a faulty cam shaft sensor that was throwing a code.
I have owned the bike for two years and never an issue. I have done lots of reading and have not encountered ANYONE else that has had this issue.

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It it was normal oil/filter service and brake pad change, two weeks later they replaced the cam shaft sensor. The believes it to be air in the system and provided me with some bleeding instructions, so will try that. Not overly concerned as heat dissapates immediately upon riding, if it didn’t I would be concerned about water pump issues.

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Originally Posted by wingit3611

Just started after having work done on it in the shop. What did they have apart? Thermostat in upside down? Did they get an air lock in it?

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Originally Posted by gazunni

Not overly concerned as heat dissapates immediately upon riding, if it didn’t I would be concerned about water pump issues.

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Maybe you should be a bit more concerned because something is not working right.

Depending on what is causing the problem, some parts of the engine might be getting a LOT hotter than the design maximum.
All you are SEEING is the temp at the sensor.

Are the fans running when you stop? If so, you might try letting it idle for 30 seconds before you shut it off to take some of the heat out of it before you shut it down. Idling will cool a hot engine down quite a bit.

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Originally Posted by stu

it may be just heat soak in the system that needs to get some cooler air once you move.if the sensor for temp and fans are the same one and its not a pain in the arse to change then you could try a new one.also check with brp if its a known fault.may be the software that drives the cooling system being a tad over sensitive.

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Yup! :agree::thumbup:

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Originally Posted by stu

it may be just heat soak in the system that needs to get some cooler air once you move.if the sensor for temp and fans are the same one and its not a pain in the arse to change then you could try a new one.also check with brp if its a known fault.may be the software that drives the cooling system being a tad over sensitive.

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What is 'heat soak'?

I was told by the tech at my dealer that on some RTs that the sensor faces downward and picks up heat from the pavement. I don't know how true this is but I'm sure someone will.

With any internal combustion engine, while the engine is running it is generating a fair amount of heat that is mainly collected by the oil & coolant circulating & dissipated thru the various cooling systems, but all the metal bits & the oil & coolant & everything will get quite hot..... albeit usually only to a controlled level dictated by how effective the cooling systems are & what temp the thermostat opens at etc. Shut the engine down & the oil & coolant cooling systems are no longer running either, & the engine is not getting rid of all that heat into the atmosphere, so it 'soaks' the immediate area & surrounding components, especially if contained under a bonnet or as in this case, the tupperware. If you turn your engine off but leave the ignition on so you can still watch the gauges on one of these hot days you are experiencing atm, or if you want, use another thermometer to watch the temps - you'll likely notice that immediately after shutting down, the temperature of the gauge can actually rise & stay high for maybe as long as 5 mins after shut down before beginning to cool off..... that's Heat Soak, or at least the heat soak we are concerned about here! :thumbup:

So if you only shut your engine down for a short period on a hot day, there's a good chance that if you re-start again within just a few minutes of the last shut-down, things will be somewhat hotter in the engine than they were & that can set all the high temp alarms off; but once the cooling systems are running again, circulating oil & coolant around everything & pumping that thru the various radiators & heat dissipation devices so that it can radiate it into the now moving air, the temperature of everything will come down very quickly & you can ride on happily. :yes:

Edit: if the pavement is already hot from the sun, the added high temps from the engine radiating out can be reflected back into the engine etc, further compounding the heat soak issue. If it's a really hot day & your engine's cooling systems are at or near capacity anyway, simply shutting the engine down can sometimes cause the coolant to boil!! That's one reason that some drivers won't switch off as soon as they pull up, especially if they are driving a diesel engined truck that's been working hard (diesels generally run a little hotter than gas engines) or a turbo-ed vehicle that's been running hard for a while - and it's why many owners here in Aust fit 'turbo-timers' to allow a wind-down/cool off period on stopping, especially for their turbo diesel engined vehicles! The heat soak on & immediately after shut down can actually damage things if it does push the temps up past boiling point!!

This shouldn't be an issue on our Spyders if their cooling systems are otherwise working well, and it's not such a biggie on vehicles that are not running close to their cooling system's capacity all the time either, but it's still something to be aware of & keep in mind on really hot days if you are working your engine hard &/or close to capacity for a long time! If your temp is up high anyway, then slow down & fast idle for a while to let it cool down a bit before switching off, and don't be surprised if the high temp alarms scream at you if you start up again within just a few minutes - if you do, watch for the temp to come down fairly quickly once you start moving again, & remember, you probably only need to worry if they don't! ;)

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Originally Posted by 2Paw

I was told by the tech at my dealer that on some RTs that the sensor faces downward and picks up heat from the pavement. I don't know how true this is but I'm sure someone will.

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:roflblack:
No, sorry, it's not funny.
The cooling system is designed to run up to 220 degrees F or so.
And the "sensor" is inside the liquid loop, not outside.
Even if it "pointed down", I seriously doubt that anybody is riding on roads that are hotter than 180.

The fans were NOT running when I shutdown and the temperature is at mid gauge where it always has been once the engine is at running temperature. Thanks for the tip.

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Originally Posted by BajaRon

Are the fans running when you stop? If so, you might try letting it idle for 30 seconds before you shut it off to take some of the heat out of it before you shut it down. Idling will cool a hot engine down quite a bit.

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Originally Posted by UtahPete

What is 'heat soak'?

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I think it's pretty much a non-issue with modern engines......if the components are working right.

2 cylinder John Deere tractors are the ONLY vehicles I've driven in 50 years or so that really exhibited that behavior.......and they were working VERY hard to make it happen.

The theory is that metal components near the cylinders are still hotter when turned off and the entire engine temperature goes up when that heat comes out. It just don't happen with a properly operating liquid cooled engine. Air cooled is a different story.