Losing steering assist

[Freddy]

It's not a steering FAILURE, it's a loss of POWER ASSIST. I agree it's a safety issue, but not something that would cause a loss of control. The odd thing about it is the battery starts the bike just fine, and everything else works, EXCEPT intermittent loss of power assist.
I wouldn't have believed it unless it happened to me.....

It ain't working like it should or as you expect it to or as designed to - that's steering failure and can cause loss of control and/or a collision. Why do you think there was a recall about 6 years ago?

[The Governor]

It ain't working like it should or as you expect it to or as designed to - that's steering failure and can cause loss of control and/or a collision. Why do you think there was a recall about 6 years ago?

Park the bike until fixed if you are concerned about the loss of POWER ASSISTED STEERING.

I hope you got the answer to your question. I'd bet it's a dying battery. That power assist sucks up a lot of power.

[KX5062]

Just remember, the power steering unit on the Spyder is an electric motor and not hydraulic, like on most automobiles.

[Freddy]

Just remember, the power steering unit on the Spyder is an electric motor and not hydraulic, like on most automobiles.

That must be why folks keep talking about the battery and connections.

[IGETAROUND]

A few Ryders here in Aust have experienced the same problem, most of them have been due to aging batteries, and they've able to rectify their intermittent steering problems simply by replacing the battery with a new OE Spec Yuasa or better. That could be a good first step for you exwinger - if your battery is more than a couple of years old or if it shows ANY signs of aging, fit a new one!

I had similar intermittent loss of assist, Before you do ANYTHING else, check and tighten both of your battery terminals. Loose ground was my problem, and I have star washers on my battery bolts.

[billybovine]

Just remember, the power steering unit on the Spyder is an electric motor and not hydraulic, like on most automobiles.

I hate to break it to you but most new automobiles have electric power steering.

[exwinger]

Pretty sure it's not a dying battery , it's brand new . Maybe a loose terminal but haven't checked that yet but will tomorrow . Had to make an appt. for dealer and leave it but he will at least check using BUDS. Will do that after I check the battery. Dealer did say it's funny it's not showing any codes when it fails .

[Freddy]

Faulty DPS doesn't generate a fault code I believe, just a dash warning on earlier trikes - if you are lucky.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Faulty DPS doesn't generate a fault code I believe, just a dash warning on earlier trikes - if you are lucky.

It did on my 2013 RT. The failure also was intermittent. Took it to the dealer and the DPS was on the list of problem units. Replaced under warranty.

[Easy Rider]

Pretty sure it's not a dying battery , it's brand new .

That could mean that it wasn't properly charged before being put into service.
And.....sometimes "brand new" things don't work right.

Edit: But I see that the problem has been located and fixed.

[exwinger]

Took it out this afternoon and rode curves back and forth that I had the problem on while testing before checking the terminal and absolutely no problem. A loose terminal on the spyder is a big deal for causing goofy problems .There's a lot of threads relating to the loose terminal and should be the first thing checked ....but on the older spyders it's a PIA big time to do.

[KX5062]

I hate to break it to you but most new automobiles have electric power steering.

Yes, many new cars do, but most cars do not.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I hate to break it to you but most new automobiles have electric power steering.

I hate to break it to you also ....... the number of NEW automobiles vs. the billions of Hydraulic equipped vehicles means " MOST " ....don't have the Electric assisted type ............... Mike

[Clary]

I also have this problem with my 2011RSS and I have the original battery. After reading all the post I am going with the weak battery is the source of the problem. I will replace in the spring and let you all know. Great place to solve problems .