F3-S stuck in 2nd gear

[dorourke7280]

Hi all. My 2016 F3-S died on me, 2.5 miles from home. No limp mode, no warning lights, just loss of power and then the engine shut off. In my bewilderment as I pulled off the road, I forgot to shift to N. Now, I’ve got a dead Spyder that’s stuck in gear. Is there a way to get it out of gear without being able to start it? It will be hard to move it around otherwise!

[JayBros]

Did you attempt to restart the engine by first stepping on the brake and then hitting the start button?

[AZCanAm]

I don't know if these Spyders work like cars but have you tried resetting the computer (by unplugging the battery for 30 minutes)?

[ottawa-rider]

Manual or semi-automatic?

If automatic, you should still be able to push it around because the clutch should not be engaged with the engine not running.

If manual, you should be able to shift it to neutral.

[dorourke7280]

Yes. Turns over fine, but doesn’t start.

[dorourke7280]

Semi auto. I didn’t realize that. Thanks.

[JayBros]

Ouch!

[dorourke7280]

And this was my first ride after getting it back from the repair shop a couple months ago. Looks like it’ll be going to a different shop this time.

[Hoginedgewood]

Im fairly new here, but looking at the wifes f3s, I think I would loosen the back wheel and slide the belt off the pulley if we're seeing the same problem

[Snoking1127]

Im fairly new here, but looking at the wifes f3s, I think I would loosen the back wheel and slide the belt off the pulley if we're seeing the same problem

Read post number 4 above^^^!

[Peter Aawen]

Hi all. My 2016 F3-S died on me, 2.5 miles from home. No limp mode, no warning lights, just loss of power and then the engine shut off. In my bewilderment as I pulled off the road, I forgot to shift to N. Now, I’ve got a dead Spyder that’s stuck in gear. Is there a way to get it out of gear without being able to start it? It will be hard to move it around otherwise!

Really just thinking out loud here.... so in no order, just throwing out some random thoughts:

• Is there any chance you could've hit the Run/Off switch on the RHS handgrip when this started?? Still, that might explain the initial 'shut-down', but it won't explain the subsequent attempts to start where you say it turns over fine but won't start - possibly a fuse or relay failure??
• Have you checked all of those to make sure every one is functioning? Just as a test, swapping the relays around in their positions might be worth a shot too.
• Check the battery & all it's earth connections - and the dash's earth too! Any poor condition &/or connection might mean you get enough juice to crank the motor, but not quite enough to run.....
• What does your dash do when you first turn the ignition on; and then when you try to start??
• If your engine has cranked over since all this occurred, is it still showing it's in a gear rather than neutral - cos if the engine turns over the computer should've reset the Gear Position Sensor & gear selection to Neutral.... unless there's something wrong with the GPS??

Probably not much help, but maybe something there'll prompt an idea that could help?!?

Good Luck!

[Snoking1127]

Really just thinking out loud here.... so in no order, just throwing out some random thoughts:

• Is there any chance you could've hit the Run/Off switch on the RHS handgrip when this started?? Still, that might explain the initial 'shut-down', but it won't explain the subsequent attempts to start where you say it turns over fine but won't start - possibly a fuse or relay failure??
• Have you checked all of those to make sure every one is functioning? Just as a test, swapping the relays around in their positions might be worth a shot too.
• Check the battery & all it's earth connections - and the dash's earth too! Any poor condition &/or connection might mean you get enough juice to crank the motor, but not quite enough to run.....
• What does your dash do when you first turn the ignition on; and then when you try to start??
• If your engine has cranked over since all this occurred, is it still showing it's in a gear rather than neutral - cos if the engine turns over the computer should've reset the Gear Position Sensor & gear selection to Neutral.... unless there's something wrong with the GPS??

Probably not much help, but maybe something there'll prompt an idea that could help?!?

Good Luck!

With the "kill" switch on(active, on or off is confusing when talking about it), the starter button does nothing. He said it turns over, however does not start. Post #5 ^^^^ above.

[Snoking1127]

And this was my first ride after getting it back from the repair shop a couple months ago. Looks like it’ll be going to a different shop this time.

Water in the fuel? If it has been setting with only a partial filled tank, then condensation can amount to water in the fuel.

[Peter Aawen]

With the "kill" switch on(active, on or off is confusing when talking about it), the starter button does nothing. He said it turns over, however does not start. Post #5 ^^^^ above.

True, that's why I said it:

....might explain the initial 'shut-down', but it won't explain the subsequent attempts to start where you say it turns over fine but won't start - possibly a fuse or relay failure?? ...

.

[Snoking1127]

True, that's why I said it: .

I will bet on water in the fuel, setting for a few months and only made it 2.5 miles! Had my gas golf cart do that a few years ago. I peak at the fuel filter might be in order.

[Peter Aawen]

.... I will bet on water in the fuel, setting for a few months and only made it 2.5 miles! ....

That's a pretty good possibility!

[dorourke7280]

I wasn’t very clear: I was returning home from a ride of about 25 miles round trip when this happened. I’m definitely going to try topping off with fresh gas.

[Spyderman2018]

a couple ounces of DRY gas might do the trick.......

[dorourke7280]

I see today that it’s leaking fuel. I’m guessing a fuel line popped off.

[billybovine]

Fuel leak looks like good place to start. Let us know what you find. A few pics would be great. Good luck.

[Hoginedgewood]

Read post number 4 above^^^!

Yeah. I see 2 shoulds. What I see is a person debating on how to get the bike out of the "line of fire"
If they aren't familiar enough with their ride to get it in neutral, my solution would work.

[Peter Aawen]

Yeah. I see 2 shoulds. What I see is a person debating on how to get the bike out of the "line of fire"
If they aren't familiar enough with their ride to get it in neutral, my solution would work.

The thing is Hoginedgewood, if it's an SE then the moment the motor stops & oil pressure drops, then even if it IS jammed in a gear, due to the lack of oil pressure holding it engaged, the clutch still disengages the engine from the gearbox, belt, & drive sprockets, so it'll roll away if you don't use the Park Brake. And if it's an SM, then even if it IS jammed in a gear, pulling the clutch lever in will disengage the engine from the gearbox, belt, & drive sprockets so it'll roll anywhere you like, unless/until you release the clutch lever.

Just like dorourke apparently did in his first post in this thread, many get caught out by this, thinking that just cos the dash shows it's still in a gear it won't roll! However, just cos the Gear Position Sensor still says the GEARBOX is in a gear (any gear) if the engine isn't running in an SE, then (barring any other mechanical failures ) the clutch isn't connecting the engine &/or gearbox to the rest of the driveline, so the Park Brake is ESSENTIAL to stop it rolling! And with an SM the clutch lever does the same thing - so in both the instances ottawa-rider suggested in post #4 & Snoking mentioned/you quoted, pulling the belt off any sprocket would be completely redundant - the Spyder will still roll with the belt on!!

Now if the clutch mechanism had failed & jammed the gearbox in a gear with the clutch also jammed & inoperably still engaging the rest of driveline to the gearbox & belt, then that'd be where your 'remove the belt' scenario would come into play!

Make sense?!

[dorourke7280]

Update: there is no fuel leak. What I was seeing was fuel dripping from the expansion tubes at the filler neck from me sloppily filling from a can. Back to square one. Full disclosure: when this happened, it was my first ride after having it in the shop for the same issue. They came back with water (lots of it) in the tank. I suspected the notoriously hard to close fuel cap, so just this morning I installed the LaMonster keyless gas cap. I can get it started with starting fluid in the air filter housing, but it quickly conks out. I’m about at my wit’s end with this thing.

[dorourke7280]

If you’re seriously bored, or intensely curious, I posted about this issue back in October. You can search my username if you want to check it out. It’s the only other thread I’ve started.

[billybovine]

You may already have checked this but is the fuel pump working. With the engine kill switch in the run position. Turn on the ignition key. You should hear the fuel pump run for a couple seconds. If not that may be your problem.