New-to-me Spyder, won't start after a week sitting

[Madison Sully]

The front luggage compartment light can be hard to see and find if you dont know where to look. The hood might not be lined up with the switch properly and the light is staying on with the hood closed. Thats about the only thing I can think of other than maybe a USB power outlet that has an LED indicator on it and stays on all the time. Most likely just a weak battery though.

That helps, I'm a'gonna go check that one, thanks.

[Madison Sully]

I'm sorry guys, but 11.8 volts resting charge in a 12 volt battery is FLAT!!

It's not low, it doesn't mean 'you might need a new battery soon', if 11.8 volts is its 'resting charge' or the voltage it returns to within a few hours (well, minutes really, but give it some slack...) after you take it off charge, then it's a DEAD FLAT battery & you NEED a new battery NOW - or better yet, YESTERDAY!

Sure, if you discharge a battery down to 11.8 volts (or anything much below 12 volts really) under load and it charges right back up immediately afterwards & then holds that higher voltage as a resting charge voltage - somewhere about 12.8 or 12.9 volts, for at least a week or preferably a couple of weeks afterwards, then it's probably OK & should be fine for some time yet; but every discharge below about 12 volts shortens the life of the battery and it is less likely to regain that 12.8 volts resting charge condition.

Btw, that 12.8 volts resting charge condition = a 100% charged battery! 12.4 volts resting charge condition = a 50% charged battery & 12.0 volts resting charge = DEAD FLAT - so if that's what your battery sits on after you took it off the charger & let it sit for a couple/few hours, then it's past time for a new battery!!

So I'm sorry Madison, it looks awfully much like you need a NEW BATTERY, regardless of whatever else might be going on! I'd suggest going with a Yuasa, or at the very least another good quality AGM battery. Good Luck!

Well that was enthusiastic!
Seriously though; there are so many possible causes of a dead battery, it isn't reasonable to just throw a new one in every time you see it's dead.
Take that luggage compartment up front; how many batteries should I go through to find the real cause?
Oh, and by the way, 11.8V was after 6 days; very reasonable for a small LED to drain an 18Ah battery to this level after 6 days.
The point of my original post was to ask if there are common causes of parasitic drain.
Luggage compartment light, check (though I couldn't find it; mine is a 2010 RT-S SE5. Is there an LED in the front compartment, and if so, where??).

BTW, voltage across the posts with the engine at idle was about 13.5V, with the battery ~70% charged (~12.3V resting after a minute or so of removing the trickle charger). I don't have a feasible means of checking under normal riding RPM to be sure the charging system isn't cooking the battery.
Just checked ~15 minutes after removing the trickle charger and the battery puts out 12.6V.

End of the day looks like I'm getting a new battery.

Cheers, and thanks.

[Madison Sully]

Madison, a couple of things you're probably not aware of as a new owner. Contrary to how bikes and cars have functioned in years past, a Spyder will not start if the battery voltage drops to below 10.5 when you hit the start button. If you had only 11.8 to begin with I'm sure that's what happened. Second, from posts that have been here in the past, be very careful with the terminal bolts on the battery. They are hard to get wrenches on to turn and easy to lose. You might search the forums for some comments about that. In 2013 the battery was moved to the front and much easier to work with.

There have been lots of comments about alternate batteries to the OEM Yuasa, but the general consensus is that as far as value for money and overall quality the Yuasa OEM battery is about the best choice. If you're knew to this world don't waste your time looking for anything better. There are some, but not easy to find and definitely not easy on your wallet.

Now, as far as tires go, that's a whole nuther story!!!!! You'll suffer brain strain to the max trying to figure out what's the best way to go. One of the best cures for insomnia ever invented are tire threads on SpyderLovers!

So about that bit in red, am I correct that the starter will engage, and then perhaps half second later due to the voltage drop, the whole system 'reboots'? Because that's what happened yesterday. I'm currently convinced the voltage dropped, and I'll be putting in a new battery. I just want to know if there are other known causes relative to Can Am Spyders that kill batteries.

Thanks much!

[Madison Sully]

Have fun with the battery install..

Re not shifting into reverse, se5 query - presuming you had your foot on the brake - these things are really sensitive to oil level, and the first sign is weirdness with changing gears ... Worth checking - follow the book - the procedure is also weird.

With our twin, we used a trickle charger when not riding daily (not needed on the triple)

Very good to know, thanks.
I did see a 'low oil level' icon pop up for a second one time.
As I understand it you check oil level by running the motor for ~30 seconds, THEN check the dipstick.
Which seems both odd and frankly silly. Any reason given for this? Why not check when static?
I mean, I get that the oil needs to be in the right place, but what would be wrong with the OEM just letting the oil settle, THEN make the dipstick?

[Peter Aawen]

....

BTW, voltage across the posts with the engine at idle was about 13.5V, with the battery ~70% charged (~12.3V resting after a minute or so of removing the trickle charger). I don't have a feasible means of checking under normal riding RPM to be sure the charging system isn't cooking the battery.
Just checked ~15 minutes after removing the trickle charger and the battery puts out 12.6V.

End of the day looks like I'm getting a new battery.

Cheers, and thanks.

My point was to highlight that if your 11.8v was the resting charge voltage, then your battery IS DEAD!! In fact, if your resting charge voltage is 12.3v then the battery isn't all that healthy either! That low a voltage is not the 'resting charge voltage' if you can start the engine up by jumping or charging or whatever & run it for long enough to recharge the battery and it recovers to a higher voltage which it then holds it once you shut down, and that's especially the case if you shut it down & it holds a higher charge for the next 6 days - nor is it the case if you have a parasitic drain dragging the voltage lower, but I was talking about a Resting Charge Voltage of 12v or less in a 12v battery meaning that the battery is FLAT & if it doesn't recharge higher & hold that higher charge then the battery needs replacing sooner rather than piss farting around trying to get a dead battery to recover - it's dead, they don't recover from that!! And btw, Resting Charge Voltages have little to do with the charging voltage; that just shows you if the charging system is working properly or not! The RCV is what the battery can maintain/hold if you leave it sit for a while - so at the risk of repeating myself, if you've left it sit for 6 days & the RCV shows 11.8v (RCV implies that is without parasitic drain) then the battery is dead flat & needs replacing!

And yes, as IdahoMS wrote in a slightly different way, if you try to start with a dead flat battery then the starter won't kick over & the voltage will drop even lower, causing the computer to reboot - as you've discovered!

As for the oil level checking, it's NOT start & run for 30 seconds then check, but as the manual suggests, you need to run the engine for long enough to get it up to operating temps, which can be around 30 MINUTES or at least 2 cycles of the fan/thermostat system, then let it IDLE for 30 seconds & check the oil level!! This is because these engines are Dry Sump engines & whenever yhey are running there are a number of scavenge pumps picking up oil from the sump & reservoir & putting it where it's needed - so if you do the dip cold or before starting the engine, the oil may have drained out of the reservoir where the dip is normally read from so you won't get an accurate level reading & if you fill that reservoir then, you can significantly overfill things & cause some fairly extensive damage to the engine when you do run it!! So you really need to follow the instructions in the manual re checking the oil level too!

[loisk]

Very good to know, thanks.
I did see a 'low oil level' icon pop up for a second one time.
As I understand it you check oil level by running the motor for ~30 seconds, THEN check the dipstick.
Which seems both odd and frankly silly. Any reason given for this? Why not check when static?
I mean, I get that the oil needs to be in the right place, but what would be wrong with the OEM just letting the oil settle, THEN make the dipstick?

Agree it is a "unique" method of oil checking. As Peter explained it's due to sump oil. We just idle, get our gear on, ride around the block, come home, idle a jiffy, turn off then check oil. If we remember, we just check when we get home from a ride. (Ie when we had Rs or st) It is detailed in your owners manual, also available on line if you don't have it.

The other major tip is that the ride goes south very quickly if tyre pressures are off - really important that both fronts are the same, and the rear not too low - and, yes, it is very painful to check the rear!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Agree it is a "unique" method of oil checking. As Peter explained it's due to sump oil. We just idle, get our gear on, ride around the block, come home, idle a jiffy, turn off then check oil. If we remember, we just check when we get home from a ride. (Ie when we had Rs or st) It is detailed in your owners manual, also available on line if you don't have it.

The other major tip is that the ride goes south very quickly if tyre pressures are off - really important that both fronts are the same, and the rear not too low - and, yes, it is very painful to check the rear!

Think about this - how many hours are you willing to waste getting to the proper temp - I NEVER do the WAIT thing - NEVER .... check the Oil level after a normal ride - if it's OK ..... it WON'T change while it's parked ( unless you have a massive leak & that will produce a noticeable puddle ).... it will be the same when you go for another ride - then check it when you park it....... Mike

[Easy Rider]

When you try to start it what did the voltage drop off to? 11.8 is a bit low

A voltage of 11.8 with no, or very little, load indicates that the battery is MORE than 50% discharged.

An old weak battery can cause it's own parasitic drain.....internally.

I think the odds are that he needs a new battery. Charge it thoroughly before installation.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

As for parasitic loss, check to see that the grips heaters are indeed off with the key off. Other culprits are farkles that were added by the PO not wired properly.

The grip heaters are fed through the load shedding relay, which is activated by the motor running, not the ignition switch. Other than possible farkles the only parasitic loads are the cluster and radio. Both of them have full time power to keep all the settings active. There are no other factory connected parasitic loads.

[Tazzel]

In the winter if the temp was in single digits My 2012 RS would not start if sitting in the cold for 8 to 10 days. I kept it on a battery tender during those times. My 2015 F3 would do the same thing. When my 2017 started behaving that way it turned out to be a bad battery and was replaced under warranty.