Lots of maintenance leads to VSS fault --- :( ----- 2008 GS

Ok, before saying that I should not have done all of this at once..... I got a 2008 GS about 6 months ago. I have done some work on it but it seemed to run fine. Replaced the shocks (thanks Baja Ron, they are AWESOME) but did not do much else.

I realized that I did not know how many miles were on the oil so I decided to change it. Oil change kit from Baja Ron too...

While I had everything opened up I decided to fix the parking brake. Found the rear pads were getting a bit low and decided to change them out. Took some time to figure out you could not just push the caliper in but the parking brake needed to be twisted... While I was there I noticed that the brake lights were not working on the left side so I decided to change them out too ( what a pain in the but! )

Then I had the bright idea to swap out the headlight bulbs because I was tired of everyone referring to my ride as the "blind spyder" because I could not see anything at night :).

After I put most of it back together I fired it up to see if the headlights were any brighter and I could shed my nickname of shame. That is when I got the VSS fault and the stability control light on... Not sure what the heck is going on but quite disappointed.

So here is what I did...

1. Changed oil
2. Fixed parking break
3. Swapped out brake pads
4. Changed out the taillights in the back for working LED's
5. Put in new (not LED's) headlight bulbs, seemed to be upgraded Sylvania H7's

On the bright side, I did clear the seat switch code by reattaching the seat switch :)

I thank all in advance and love the info provided in this group!!!

A couple of follow-ups. It starts and runs ok. I have no idea how to get the codes but would love the procedure... Still very confused.

It juuust might pay to take your Spyder for a gentle run down the street & back.... if you've run the engine in gear & let it turn any wheel without all the other wheels turning at the same speed, you've probably triggered the VSS fault & stability code errors simply because the Nanny expected to see all three wheels turning at the same or nearly the same rate! :shocked: A bit of a gentle run with all three wheels on the ground & turning at the same speed should clear the code & see you back in business.... :ohyea:

Altho I have seen a few (older) Spyders now that scored some codes & faults like that, but got so many of them before getting all three wheels back on the ground & doing that clearing run that the Nanny basically said 'HEY! This is keeping on happening, so it's just gotta be a MAJOR problem, & cos of that I'm not gonna let you play any more until it's properly fixed!! SO GO AWAY, I want BUDS!!' :shocked: :banghead:

Good Luck! :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Peter Aawen

It juuust might pay to take your Spyder for a gentle run down the street & back.... if you've run the engine in gear & let it turn any wheel without all the other wheels turning at the same speed, you've probably triggered the VSS fault & stability code errors simply because the Nanny expected to see all three wheels turning at the same or nearly the same rate! :shocked: A bit of a gentle run with all three wheels on the ground & turning at the same speed should clear the code & see you back in business.... :ohyea:

Altho I have seen a few (older) Spyders now that scored some codes & faults like that, but got so many of them before getting all three wheels back on the ground & doing that clearing run that the Nanny basically said 'HEY! This is keeping on happening, so it's has gotta be a MAJOR problem, & cos of that I'm not gonna let you play any more until it's properly fixed!! SO GO AWAY, I want BUDS!!' :shocked: :banghead:

Good Luck! :thumbup:

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:agree: …..if this doesn't work - dis-connect the Battery for about 10 min. …. when you re-connect put STAR washers on the Batt terminals before tightening , a common issue with Spyders seems to be the connections have to be quite tight …. the washers will prevent loosening - unless you do it ….. good luck …. Mike :ohyea:

4. Changed out the taillights in the back for working LED's

Put stock globes back.

:agree: with all , older :spyder2: are picky about LED bulbs. Can be fixed usually by adding a resistor, some find it difficult. Double check the brake caliper & the sensor that mounts to it. Not broken or touching the notched disk:lecturef_smilie: then hopefully a lap around the block will get things talking happily. :coffee:

The computer monitors the current used by the headlights & tail lights. Some LED bulbs that are not CAN BUS friendly (draw the right power) will trip codes.

I took the caliper completely off in order to figure out how to push the piston back in. I did not see any sort of sensor anywhere. The only thing connected to it was the cable from the parking brake (fixed now) and the hydraulic line. Am I missing something?

I will take it around the block as well as swap the bulbs back to "regular" ones and see what happens. My wife thinks it kinda funny listening to me try to find those screws with my larger hands.... Found a great video on how to do it though.

Can only watch this one. :bbq: :bbq: :bbq:

The only sensors on the rear caliper are for ABS and speed. LED stop lights will produce a fault due to very low current draw which the 'black box' interprets as blown bulbs and therefore a safety issue.

So.... Lots of pain and adult words later and i swapped them back to the regular bulbs and BOOM it all worked. Wondering now how to get the LED's working because i do not want to do that again!

See heading for GS : Dreading replacing a tail light globe?

http://www.spyderryders.net.au/tips.htm


To get fault codes: see post 2.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/...code+retrieval

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rivernet

So.... Lots of pain and adult words later and i swapped them back to the regular bulbs and BOOM it all worked. Wondering now how to get the LED's working because i do not want to do that again!

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Somebody will probably remember which size/type resistors you need to fix this …… Mike :ohyea:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stevencovert

The computer monitors the current used by the headlights & tail lights. Some LED bulbs that are not CAN BUS friendly (draw the right power) will trip codes.

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As far as the headlights the only connection between the computer and lights is the relay that powers the lights after the engine reaches the minimum rpm, about 900 rpm. Current draw of the headlights is not monitored.