Total Loss of Engine Power at 65 MPH on Busy Freeway, All My Fault! Kill Switch...

[JamesLaz]

We were coming back into Phoenix on Sunday after a fun and relaxing weekend getaway trip up to the mountains and we were in the HOV lane doing about 65; I got a drink, gave my wife a drink, put the water bottle back in the drink holder, and all the sudden we lost all engine power.

I glanced down and the display was on, so we had electrical power. I did not have time to check to see what was wrong, I was in a good deal of traffic and there was no place to pull over on the left side of the freeway, so I had to get over 5 lanes to get off.

I hit my emergency flashers and my wife helped flag the cars behind us to let them know we needed to get over. I was really afraid we would stop on the freeway but luckily, we got to the side where there was room to pull off and stopped.

So now I have time to see what the hell is going on. I see I have no RPM's, until that point, I was not sure if I was losing power or had lost all power. I start thinking of what it could be; we had got gas at a small station earlier, maybe bad gas? No, that would not kill the engine so fast. I then find the problem; I know some of you already know what happened, and know it was all my fault!

Yes, when I put the water bottle back, my hand must have grazed the kill switch! I flipped the switch, and she started right up, and we were on our way. I felt like such an idiot, I've been riding for 53 years, and have not once had that happen before.

So yes, I am an idiot, but that switch is just sitting right out there! Now I want a safety shield around it, so I don't make the same mistake again.

Has this happened to anyone else, and should there be more of a shield around it so you can't just accidently bump it?

[Snowbelt Spyder]

A shield around the switch would pretty much defeat its purpose. Besides, now that you’ve done this once, you’ll never do it again. But, maybe consider putting your bottle holder on the left side.

[Longtimer]

I have a question - what happens if you flip the switch back on when you are still moving say at 55 mph?? Does it go thru the whole start up procedure? I remember a long time ago when I was a kid in a 1954 chev going down the road with my dad driving, I reached up and turned the key off, then turned it back on again. That blew the muffler up! My butt remembers it too...

[PaladinLV]

Been there done that!
That's why ALL stuff except for Pedal Commander is on my LEFT side!

AJ

[Peteoz]

I have a question - what happens if you flip the switch back on when you are still moving say at 55 mph?? Does it go thru the whole start up procedure? I remember a long time ago when I was a kid in a 1954 chev going down the road with my dad driving, I reached up and turned the key off, then turned it back on again. That blew the muffler up! My butt remembers it too...

It just picks up where you left off, as if nothing had happened, when you accidentally flick it off and then back on when travelling, Longtimer. The problem is, you often don’t know you have contacted it, so you panic.

I did it twice, once when pulling out of my driveway and reaching over to adjust a mirror and felt myself hit it. The next time was on the freeway, and my right hand helmet lock started to come loose, so I reached over. As soon as I lost power, I knew immediately what it was, flicked it back on, and everything immediately started working again. I have NEVER accidentally hit it again.

Pete

[Peter Aawen]

I have a question - what happens if you flip the switch back on when you are still moving say at 55 mph?? Does it go thru the whole start up procedure? I remember a long time ago when I was a kid in a 1954 chev going down the road with my dad driving, I reached up and turned the key off, then turned it back on again. That blew the muffler up! My butt remembers it too...

It just starts up again, just like that Chev did, but because (amongst other things! ) the injector system is electronically operated so that the engine's not getting fuel sucked &/or pumped into the cylinders & then forced on, unburnt, into the exhaust thru the ground driven rotation of the engine, you won't blow up the muffler or anything else!

Unless you coast for however long it takes for the entire shut-down process to complete & for it to trigger the need for everything to go thru the cold-boot cycle again (which I think is about 3 minutes, or is it more?? ) then it'll just start up again once the power to run all the electronics comes back on. Btw, if you're riding an SE, once the engine stops providing drive to the output shaft, the clutch will disengage, so you will truly be coasting, no engine braking at all!!

So if you do happen to flick the Kill Switch to OFF while you're doing 55+mph down the road, try not to back off on the throttle, or when the engine does re-start (well, if you work it out before you roll to a stop... ) then it'll re-start with the revs at idle, which is NOT QUITE the appropriate revs for anything doing 55+mph as it rolls down the road!! That aside, if you happen to flick the Kill Switch off & the engine dies, it's really no biggie just so long as you realise that's what's happened - just flick it back On and continue riding, there's usually no harm, no foul.... It's generally only when you DON'T realise that's what's happened that things can rapidly get all hairy & uncomfortable - or worse!!

Just Sayin'

Ps: Quite a few threads on this out there already, this one for instance:

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...ht=Kill+switch

It ALWAYS pays to search FIRST, cos given how long the Forum's been around now (pretty much as long as there's been Spyders! ) there's not too much that hasn't at least been discussed already!!

[JohnRuckus]

Happens to the best of us. You made it out healthy and unscathed. I call that a good day.

[Snoking1127]

Well "now" I know why I put both my phone holder and drink holder on the left side!!!

[LongIsland]

Well "now" I know why I put both my phone holder and drink holder on the left side!!!

I have mine installed on the left side as well. I've always wondered how you use the throttle and grab a drink while moving if the holder is installed on the right. Do you reach across your body with your left hand to grab the bottle and then return it the same way? Or, do you release the throttle, get the bottle, have a drink, return the bottle all the while letting your ride slow while you sip? Or, do you only have a drink while stopped? Having it installed on the left seems to be the safest location.

[BajaRon]

Did the same thing in the fast lane (with no shoulder) of a 4 lane freeway during rush hour (which is pretty much all 24) in LA. Managed to get all the way to the shoulder on the right hand side without getting killed only to discover I'd hit the kill switch. Which only goes to prove the old saying that 'Stupid Can Kill!'.

And, 'Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger' (and hopefully smarter!)

Glad you made it out alive!

[jjc54]

Well "now" I know why I put both my phone holder and drink holder on the left side!!!

I have my beverage holder on the left side but it is the model that comes with longer screws that you remove 3 OEM screws and replace with these longer screws. It has happened twice now when I replace the cup back in the holder the cruise control will deactivate and my screen will flash the check engine several times. No loss of power but have to reset the cruise and check engine quits flashing. It seems to be associated with how aggressively I push down when replacing the cup. Any thoughts anybody? It is a Show Chrome model 41-165 beverage holder.

[Wheelman]

Look into the Lamonster F3 frame mounted cup holder. Takes it off the handle bars and puts the cup or bottle down by your right knee. I've had one for a couple of years and never had a problem. Easy to reach and very sturdy.

[AndysF3S]

We were coming back into Phoenix on Sunday after a fun and relaxing weekend getaway trip up to the mountains and we were in the HOV lane doing about 65; I got a drink, gave my wife a drink, put the water bottle back in the drink holder, and all the sudden we lost all engine power.

I glanced down and the display was on, so we had electrical power. I did not have time to check to see what was wrong, I was in a good deal of traffic and there was no place to pull over on the left side of the freeway, so I had to get over 5 lanes to get off.

I hit my emergency flashers and my wife helped flag the cars behind us to let them know we needed to get over. I was really afraid we would stop on the freeway but luckily, we got to the side where there was room to pull off and stopped.

So now I have time to see what the hell is going on. I see I have no RPM's, until that point, I was not sure if I was losing power or had lost all power. I start thinking of what it could be; we had got gas at a small station earlier, maybe bad gas? No, that would not kill the engine so fast. I then find the problem; I know some of you already know what happened, and know it was all my fault!

Yes, when I put the water bottle back, my hand must have grazed the kill switch! I flipped the switch, and she started right up, and we were on our way. I felt like such an idiot, I've been riding for 53 years, and have not once had that happen before.

So yes, I am an idiot, but that switch is just sitting right out there! Now I want a safety shield around it, so I don't make the same mistake again.

Has this happened to anyone else, and should there be more of a shield around it so you can't just accidently bump it?

I've owned my F3S for about 9 months now and use the kill switch to stop the engine so I am very aware of its location and other than using cruise control I don't multitask when driving the F3S.

We started mountain sledding in 1996; my first sled was a Summit with a 670 engine. It didn't take more than a trip or two to discover that the kill switch which sat upright on the bars needed to be rotated forward so that when climbing under full power you didn't accidentally bump it with your chest resulting in getting stuck in the worst place unless you could rotate the sled to point back down hill. After digging out, rolling the sled over to point back down hill and pulling the starter rope 10 or more times you learned that the first thing you want to check was the kill switch. The 670 was a 2 handed pull on the level when cold and at 6-8000' when hot and flooded it wasn't much better pulling the rope and holding the throttle wide open.

You can't rotate the kill switch on the Spyder so I am glad to hear you were able to pull over without being run over and someone mentioned that it does restart so I may try that on a low traffic road just to be sure. Thanks for sharing.

[Dennis in Lodi]

I have a question - what happens if you flip the switch back on when you are still moving say at 55 mph?? Does it go thru the whole start up procedure? I remember a long time ago when I was a kid in a 1954 chev going down the road with my dad driving, I reached up and turned the key off, then turned it back on again. That blew the muffler up! My butt remembers it too...

I always test that on my motorcycles. Yes, my 2022 RT limited self-starts right back up when the kill switch is returned to the normal position. No, I do not have to push the start button.