Malfunctioning Spyder

[WilderThomas]

I have a 2012 Can Am Spyder with just over 23,000 miles. The wife and I took it for a ride yesterday without any issues. However, on a ride this morning, the display turned itself on and off as if the ignition were turned on and off. This must have happened six or seven times. Reached my destination. Came back out later, started the bike, but the display was dark, and all the idiot lights on the speedometer and tachometer were continuously flashing. The head, fog, tail, brake lights, and turn signals work just fine. However, the display remains dark, and the bike cannot be shifted into any of the forward or reverse gears. Does anyone have any thoughts on the issue?

[Jeriatric]

Original battery? If so it has probably reached its end.
Could be the negative cable is loose at the battery.
That's where I would start.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

.......WITH POSTER #2..... do you normally keep the Spyder on a battery MAINTAINER ??? ..... RT's with the V-twin engine have a Magneto re-charging system that is marginal at best .... and if you have an orig. battery it is very likely to problem .... Do have an SE trans ???? ..... when you check or install another battery put STAR washers on the terminals .... they will never loosen by themselves ( a common problem without them ) .... good luck .... if you jump start with a car or truck Battery - DO NOT HAVE THAT VEHICLE ENGINE RUNNING .....it may fry something in the spyder ............. Mike

[Chupaca]

I see from your profile you have a 2012 RT se5. about the battery or if work was done requiring dash removal some loose connections none of which would keep you from shifting if the motor is running. If you can't start it then pretty much nothing works but some lights on the surface charge...if it does start and doesn't shift we would suggest checking the oil. These V-twins do use oil...

[youngers]

hey , have the 2012 , with the shift lever manual clutch , now 2 weeks ago , my little spydiee , started the flashing dash lights , the cycle ran fine , but the flashing dash gives one a terrible feeling for sure , thanks too a fellow rider we were with at the time , mentioned take the key out of ignition , walk away with key in hand , about 5 or 10 minutes , then try the cycle again ! took 2 times for me but it did work , went for a 5 hour ride with no problems ! { now just for the sake of it , if you have the manual shift cycle , could be your clutch reservoir is dry , if you have the auto matic cycle , the oil is low ? a possibility of having 2 problems at one time , with hopes it is an easy fix ... } let us know if you have solved the problem ...

[Bob Denman]

Start there, and work your way back to the more "intriguing" problems...

Good Luck!

[ARtraveler]

Throw another card on the "battery" as most likely causing the problem.

[WilderThomas]

.......WITH POSTER #2..... do you normally keep the Spyder on a battery MAINTAINER ??? ..... RT's with the V-twin engine have a Magneto re-charging system that is marginal at best .... and if you have an orig. battery it is very likely to problem .... Do have an SE trans ???? ..... when you check or install another battery put STAR washers on the terminals .... they will never loosen by themselves ( a common problem without them ) .... good luck .... if you jump start with a car or truck Battery - DO NOT HAVE THAT VEHICLE ENGINE RUNNING .....it may fry something in the spyder ............. Mike

I bought the Spyder preowned, and was told that the battery it had, was not the original. The bike is the RT-S, with the semi automatic transmission. The bike's battery was kept charged with a device called the Battery Tender over the winter. But I'd go out to the garage, disconnect the battery tender, then start and warm up the engine.

[GOZFST]

Starting and not riding the Spyder is not a good idea, it needs to be ridden to charge the battery properly and to warm up all the fluids. You're better off just changing the oil before you store it and keep the Battery Tender on it till you can ride it. I'd test the battery as a starting point.

[WilderThomas]

I see from your profile you have a 2012 RT se5. about the battery or if work was done requiring dash removal some loose connections none of which would keep you from shifting if the motor is running. If you can't start it then pretty much nothing works but some lights on the surface charge...if it does start and doesn't shift we would suggest checking the oil. These V-twins do use oil...

Sometime just after buying the Spyder, the tachometer, xpeedometer, fuel and temperature gauges quit on me. So the dealer would have had to remove the dash panel to check out the instruments. The display screen never went to orange, and at no time did the "limp home" message ever appear.

[WilderThomas]

I see from your profile you have a 2012 RT se5. about the battery or if work was done requiring dash removal some loose connections none of which would keep you from shifting if the motor is running. If you can't start it then pretty much nothing works but some lights on the surface charge...if it does start and doesn't shift we would suggest checking the oil. These V-twins do use oil...

The Spyder does start. But the display remains dark. Pressing the "mode" button, does nothing. Attempting to use the paddle shifter, has no effect. The bike is currently in neutral, so it can be pushed around the garage. It can be placed in the park position, although the character "P" cannot be seen on the instrument panel. I'm not sure though how a low oil level would affect the LCD screen display.

[Chupaca]

Sounds like the instrument panel is the problem. Oil is more to the engine and shifting not the display. The connections or additional electrical components wired into the panel or the panel itself. With no panel you can not see any codes so you need to get to a buds system. The codes can direct you to the problem.

[stevencovert]

Disconnect the battery for about 5 minutes to fully take away power, resetting the control module. The shifter (on SE5/6) is just a switch feeding the control module. I have seen a case where one pin on a connector was pushed out, causing problems on another system. Not sure where the display cable connector is on the RT to check. All else fails, have a shop swap in a known good control module (forget what they call it) to see if that's the problem. They also can plug in and might be able to see something via the CanBus connector.

[WilderThomas]

Starting and not riding the Spyder is not a good idea, it needs to be ridden to charge the battery properly and to warm up all the fluids. You're better off just changing the oil before you store it and keep the Battery Tender on it till you can ride it. I'd test the battery as a starting point.

Thank you. Riding it this past winter was not an option as this area of Idaho experienced a record snowfall. The road surface on the highway (I-84) was uneven. Ride a few minutes, then ride over a section of patched road, and this occurred six or seven times. The display would go dark, then reappear as if you just turned the ignition on. The tach and speedo needles would cycle, the display would come on with the words, Can Am, and there was never any need to press the mode button.