Possible Thermostat Failure?

[spydeyblue]

My husband and I own a 2012 Spyder RT-S. We live in Northern California, so we don't have cold weather, for most of the year. Normally, our Spyder's analog coolant temperature gauge reads right in the middle, or even higher, during hot weather. Now that we finally have cooler weather, I've noticed our Spyder's coolant temperature has been reading very low when we are riding at freeway speeds. During a ride last night, with temperatures between 50-60F, the needle on the coolant temperature gauge practically bottomed out, while we were traveling at freeway speeds, but then returned to the middle, whenever we were traveling at lower speeds in traffic or in town.

The service manual states the thermostat begins opening at 167F, but the coolant gauge is analog, without any numbers on it. If this were happening in a car, I'd suspect the coolant thermostat had failed open. Does anyone know if this is normal behavior for a Spyder RT in colder weather? Unfortunately, I don't have the utmost confidence in my local Can-Am dealership, so I'd like to figure out what is going on, before I take my Spyder back to the shop again.

Thanks in advance for your advice. This forum is a great asset to all Spyder owners!

[Spyder-Buck]

Mine does the same thing, only runs 1/4 of the way up the Guage. Runs 1/2 way up most of the time.My Tech said it is normal in cold weather.

[Chupaca]

the analog guages tend to be very unreliable. Many have disconnected them which in turn puts the digital graph gauges on the screen. They then replace them with others like battery condition, amp, oil pressure etc. Could be the thermostat but I would suspect the gauge...

[spydeyblue]

Mine does the same thing, only runs 1/4 of the way up the Guage. Runs 1/2 way up most of the time.My Tech said it is normal in cold weather.

I guess I'll have to see what my local service department says, then. Maybe it is normal, although the needle nearly bottomed out. I didn't notice the coolant temp gauge doing this during the previous two winters, but maybe I just missed it. Thanks for your input!

[Jeriatric]

At those temps it will drop because of the additional air flow brought on by freeway speeds. If you watch your under tupperware heat indicator reading you'll notice it will change much the same as your water temp reading(just slower). Next time you're riding in similar conditions...watch both.

[redflasher]

My 2012 RT A&C does the same thing. I think it is normal.

[bruiser]

Normal ops. My 2012 RTS and the wife's old 2010 RTS did the same thing. Rode my 2012 the other day and the digital reading hardly moved off the lower bar. This was at 50F and 65 mph. Unless you smell coolant or the temp rises rapidly, I wouldn't be concerned. There are more reported failures of the water pump seal than the thermostat.

[finless]

In the mornings here in So Cal when it's about 50-55, I will get down to 2 bars at freeway speeds.
In October when I rode to Redding, going over the pass it was 45 and I was at one bar for quite a while.
FYI this is with the digital gauge as I removed the analogs.

Bob

[Bob Denman]

Normal...
Just ride the bike, and enjoy it!

[ARtraveler]

Normal operating temps seem to run 4 bars on my 2014 and similar on the 2011.

When I am doing colder weather riding (30-35ish) the temp gauge will stay on the bottom for a long time. The last time out it took 15 miles of highway speeds (65 mph) before the gauge was up to "normal." I was thinking something was wrong with the gauge at first.

[bruiser]

Average temps on the 1330 seem to be right around the 4 mark digital and mid way on analog. This is close to the same on the 998. The only time I really watch mine is hot ambient air temps and extended idle.

[R FUN]

My 2012 RTL does the same in cooler weather,staying at the bottom bars. I also thought it was a bad thermostat not closing but appears it must be the norm.
Roger

[ahh-cool]

It's normal, if it was wide open it would read lower all the time
I'm glad to see we have a female that understands mechanics

[Dan McNally]

Exactly what mine does in cold weather . . . at highway speeds, the gauge drops way down . . .

[Marker]

Yes. that's normal.

[Spyder2012]

I just noticed this on my 2012 RT/S this winter. Thought it might be a problem, but feel better about it after reading these posts. I wonder if this has any effect on the already low gas mileage?
Better too cold than too hot I suppose, it seems fine in warm to hot weather.

[DrewNJ]

It is NOT normal to run under 3 bars for any period of time other than warmup.
My 12' had a sudden drop in temp early in the winter running cooler than it ever has before (1-2 bars at any speed. It would come up to 3-4 at idle). After digging into it found the thermostat was sticking open a bit. Swapped the thermostat and everything is back to normal.
Fyi - the thermostat starts to open to the radiator at 3 bars.

[Spyder2012]

It is NOT normal to run under 3 bars for any period of time other than warmup.
My 12' had a sudden drop in temp early in the winter running cooler than it ever has before (1-2 bars at any speed. It would come up to 3-4 at idle). After digging into it found the thermostat was sticking open a bit. Swapped the thermostat and everything is back to normal.
Fyi - the thermostat starts to open to the radiator at 3 bars.

Do you know where the thermostat is, and the procedure for replacing it? That is a tight area (aren't they all) under there, and some of the factory clamps seem to be non reuse items. Thanks for your response, I really appreciate the information.

[DrewNJ]

It's on the right side, right next to you right foot just behind the radiator. Black plastic cone shaped assembly with 3 hoses attached. I think i paid about $45 for the replacement. Procedure for replacement is straight forward, remove and replace. Not a bad job at all after removing all the plastic to get to it. I used regular worm hose clamps after cutting off the old factory clamps.
Tip- don't loosen your radiator fill cap and your coolant loss will be minimal. I had to add about 1/2 quart to top off the system when done.
Also, when cutting off the old clamps don't damage the hoses...

[Spyder2012]

Thanks for your great reply and all the information. I will take a look at that soon. As the weather is warm now, it probably will no do any harm. Just tightened the one worm clamp that came on it this week to stop a very minor coolant leak. Only had to add a pint of coolant due to that.

Thank YOU!