How long should it take to replace the Wiring harness? ‘17 F3 LTD.

[mstella101]

It’s a long backstory, but does anyone know what the allotted hours BRP says it should take to replace a wiring harness in a ‘17 F3 LTD. Trying to get an approximate cost. Dealer hasn’t been specific. All help will be much appreciated.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

It’s a long backstory, but does anyone know what the allotted hours BRP says it should take to replace a wiring harness in a ‘17 F3 LTD. Trying to get an approximate cost. Dealer hasn’t been specific. All help will be much appreciated.

Well they know exactly what it costs ..... it will be in the " shop hourly rate book " ..... and if think by removing ALL the tupperware they will charge you LESS ...... good luck .... Mike

[Woodenfish]

Your Spyder is out of warranty. During the warranty period the dealership is paid according to a factory allocation of time. This time guide is generally a loser for the technician doing the repair. When the Spyder is out of warranty the dealership service department is free to make their own rate of time needed based largely upon reality and making a SWAG.

Replacing a wiring harness would most likely require total removal of all body panels and several other items necessary to gain accessibility. Why does the entire harness need replacement? Is this something common? Could a smaller scope of work be all that is needed? Will in fact the complete harness be replaced or will the necessary parts just be cut and pasted because the whole harness is the only way to purchase the needed components?

[mstella101]

Woodenfish, after multiple tests and an open case with BRP since the middle of June, BRP determined a new wiring harness was required. The bike has been at the dealer with a whole bunch of panels off already since then. The wiring harness has been on backorder since then too. It was supposed to be available Sept 13, then Nov 1st, now supposedly Dec 22nd. My usual last ride of the year is the Chicago 'Toys for Tots' ride the 1st Sunday of Dec - looks like I'm gonna miss that. Wow - I sound like a crybaby - haha. I'm just seeing if anyone has the allotted hours from the shop hourly rate book. It has been a frustrating summer.

What part of Il are you from?

[mecsw500]

Out of warranty, my guess is that it would be on a time and materials basis. I suspect the warranty book rate is quite unrealistic for the time it actually takes for a trained tech to do the work.

If it is replacing the full main wiring harness, that is not a simple job obviously, and it may involve a lot more than just getting the panels off. Bearing in mind that most shops for bikes these days charge $150 per hour, and that I would expect it to be a multi-day job from just looking at my Spyder.

If the tech is competent and the dealer is historically fair and reliable, then the cost will be the price of the harness plus their actual shop hours to perform the work, which is fair, no one works for free.

Realistically, you are probably at their mercy. You might ask them to quote a ceiling, but in reality, that would make it very tempting for them to then come close to that no matter what.

I would be very curious as to how, if they could diagnose it to be a harness problem, they could not just repair the faulty part of the harness? To my mind, if a tech has the skills to perform such a diagnosis, which would be far from trivial and would have to be very specific, then I'm sure they would be qualified enough of an auto electrician to expedite a suitable repair. It's not like the dealer has a BRP Harness Test machine sitting in the corner of the shop waiting for the once every ten years a Spyder comes in with a defective harness. I had an electrical problem on a 2016 Jaguar a couple of years back, where if they had replaced the whole harness to fix the problem, it would have probably totaled the value of the car. The main dealer fixed the fault by other means and even warranted the work. I know, I know, a Jaguar with an electrical fault, who would have known the chances of that?

I hope it all gets fixed for your ride. Maybe if you talk nicely to the dealer, they may have a demo bike to loan you for that time to ride? I mean, it is for a charity, and you are potentially throwing a few thousand dollars their way and they can always put their dealer advertising on the bike. Cheap advertising exposure for them I would have thought, lots of people going "what's that bike?", and there are the dealership details! I'd go and have a nice chat with the Sales Manager, buy them a coffee, and see what they can do for you; you never know.

[Woodenfish]

Mstella101, I am from Homer Glen. What type of electrical problem is your Spyder suffering from? Replacing a whole entire wiring harness seems to be radical surgery.

[TroubledJuan]

You might get off cheaper trading it in for a New or slightly used Spyder JMHO

[BajaRon]

Mstella101, I am from Homer Glen. What type of electrical problem is your Spyder suffering from? Replacing a whole entire wiring harness seems to be radical surgery.

The problem is, the main harness comes as a single unit. It is several harnesses loomed together. But separating them is a daunting exercise. You can find them used from wrecked bikes. But it is a bear replacing that system. And a very expensive way to troubleshoot a Spyder.