HELP! High Temperature.

[mcalva]

Hi.
I have noticed that the temperature needle rises to 90% on a 4 km journey in first second gear withcity traffic.
Is it normal or do Ihave a problem?
Two weeks ago I made1,000 km between highways and mountain roads and did not exceed 50%.
I do not see that it's losing any kind of liquid.
The air temperature here is no more than 19 grades Celsius.

I started it in the parking lot for 5 minutes and it has gone up to 50%. When I stop the Spyder, the clock hand stays halfway down when the power is disconnected after 30 seconds and only goes to zero when Istart it again.
Then climb back up.
The fan fires and works even though the needle is highup.
The fact is that I have planned a journeyof 1,000 km this week end and I do not know what to do.

Thank you in advance for your help!

[BernardD]

Can you provide more details about your spyder?

[OverHillAndDale]

Yes - year? Model?

You said you hadn't noticed any leakage of coolant but have you checked the reservoir? Mine has a very slow leak that requires me to top it off every 4000 miles or so.

[Bob Denman]

The temperature gauge will climb under "stop & go" conditions...
It's normal.
If the bike gets warm enough: the fans will come on, and things cool off pretty quickly!

[jcthorne]

Hi.
I have noticed that the temperature needle rises to 90% on a 4 km journey in first second gear withcity traffic.
Is it normal or do Ihave a problem?
Two weeks ago I made1,000 km between highways and mountain roads and did not exceed 50%.
I do not see that it's losing any kind of liquid.
The air temperature here is no more than 19 grades Celsius.

I started it in the parking lot for 5 minutes and it has gone up to 50%. When I stop the Spyder, the clock hand stays halfway down when the power is disconnected after 30 seconds and only goes to zero when Istart it again.
Then climb back up.
The fan fires and works even though the needle is highup.
The fact is that I have planned a journeyof 1,000 km this week end and I do not know what to do.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Have you checked the coolant level in the tank?

[mcalva]

Is an RT Ltd 2011.
15.000 km.
I bought with 13000 aprox and the seller said everything was in order.
But I can't ensure.

-jcthorne. No i did not checked the coolant level in the tank. I've read is very difficult to refill but I could try to see.

[ARtraveler]

If the fans are coming on when it gets very hot--it is working as it should.

[BernardD]

It is normal for a 2 cylinders 998cm motor to high in temperature when riding in city, low speed.
Mine is doing the same.

[Bfromla]

Check & watch your fluid levels mine did have a leak right at thermostat but the leak was har to find. No puddles so to say just the gauge would slowly climb them jump all of a sudden & put me in limp home mode. Turnd out to be a loose hose clamp of all things.

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

My '014 did the same thing. Even after stopping for a short while, and after starting the gauge would spike all the way to hot. The fans would come on and get the limp home mode. But then after getting in gear it would come back down to normal. I wasn't checking my reservoir and the level of coolant was low enough I got an "air bubble" in the system. I had it flushed and all is well.
Chuck

[Peter Aawen]

I sent you a PM mcalva, did that info help any?

[jcthorne]

Is an RT Ltd 2011.
15.000 km.
I bought with 13000 aprox and the seller said everything was in order.
But I can't ensure.

-jcthorne. No i did not checked the coolant level in the tank. I've read is very difficult to refill but I could try to see.

Not all that difficult to see or fill. Use a flashlight from the wheel well to light up the fluid and better see the level in the tank. The cap is a simple push and turn radiator cap, just smaller.

[Peter Aawen]

Hey all, just got the heads up from mclava that he's resolved his problem!! I sent him a PM with a couple of things to look for re the Magic Mirrors; he tried 'em; & his temp gauge is now working properly again!!

Basically, it seems we have a very tiny percentage of Spyders who, upon installing the Magics, then show an abnormally high reading on the temp gauge. So far, the effected Spyders either have had the dash opened & wiring moved behind the temp gauge, or the polarity of the top RH magnet has somehow effected their temp gauge to make it read high! So far, 3 out of heaps of installed Magics kits (I haven't got the latest figure... yet?!) shows it's not a very common problem (except it is significant for those it's happening to, of course! ) But at least we know how to fix it now!! (Thanks for getting back to us mclava! )

The fixes are either: open the dash & make sure all the wiring in there is properly insulated & where it should be, clear of the inside of the mirror mounts; or possibly just simply flipping the top RH Magnet will do it!! All this cos it seems the magnet's polarity makes a difference to some temp gauges (very few?!); &/or the gauge wiring getting too close to the magnet (possibly with compromised insulation?!? I can see some more testing coming up!! ) can create this abnormally high reading in the temp gauge?!

I'm sorry we didn't find this during testing, but now we know it's there, & we know how to fix it if you happen to be one of those with the issue!

[Kawaman]

I've been having my temp gauge pegging at the top since installing the mirror mounts. I couldn't put the mirror mounts with the problem since I also replaced the coolant at the same time. I've been all over the bike trying to find the problem. I knew the bike was not hot as it would take several minutes for the fan to come on. My only solution was the temp sensor was out of specs. I tested it but it showed good. Not sure I would have ever got back to the mirrors. I'll flip the magnets tomorrow and see if that does it. Dash has never been open but I'll check the wiring too if flipping the magnets doesn't work.

Great that you posted this. Thanks

[Kawaman]

I've been having my temp gauge pegging at the top since installing the mirror mounts. I couldn't put the mirror mounts with the problem since I also replaced the coolant at the same time. I've been all over the bike trying to find the problem. I knew the bike was not hot as it would take several minutes for the fan to come on. My only solution was the temp sensor was out of specs. I tested it but it showed good. Not sure I would have ever got back to the mirrors. I'll flip the magnets tomorrow and see if that does it. Dash has never been open but I'll check the wiring too if flipping the magnets doesn't work.

Great that you posted this. Thanks

As a follow up on this post I couldn't wait until tomorrow to se if this fixed the bike. I flipped the magnet and it helped some. I then just removed all of them watching what happened after each was removed. The right front made the most change in the gauge. I then reinstalled watching again for change. When one moved the needle much I flipped it and kept going until all three were installed and the needle was back to normal. All is well after a lot of head scratching.

[Peter Aawen]

Thanks for posting up about your issue & how you solved it kawaman, glad all is well, but that makes 5 now?! You mentioned head scratching - I can only add that this is curiouser than curious?!? Altho maybe I should add that a couple of the high reading gauges did help to draw attention to dodgy wiring behind the dash that was on the verge of creating potentially expensive shorts, so even if you think no-one's ever looked behind your dash, it might just pay to check in there yourself & look for bare wires or frayed/burnt insulation just in case!!

[BernardD]

Good day Peter,
I ordered the magic mirror but now I am afraid of using as my Spyder is know to run with high temperature, which may make the needle to go to the red section.
OK, yes, I am not an expert and may get this all wrong but I just want to be sure I do it right.
When talking about wire isolation, What would you suggest?
Thanks,
Bernard

[ByronM]

Interesting, I just did a full service on my 2012RT and installed the mirror mounts when I took my bike out of storage, when I rode it I found my temperature gauge didn't work, I assumed that I must of forget to plug in the sensor while I had it apart to check valve clearances but I couldn't find the problem so in trouble shooting the problem I disconnected the fuel and temp gauges and the digital gauges worked fine, I figured that the temp gauge must of failed so I bought dash plugs for the holes and tossed the temp gauge in the trash. Wish I would of seen this before I threw it away as it was probably still good.

[Jeriatric]

Interesting, I just did a full service on my 2012RT and installed the mirror mounts when I took my bike out of storage, when I rode it I found my temperature gauge didn't work, I assumed that I must of forget to plug in the sensor while I had it apart to check valve clearances but I couldn't find the problem so in trouble shooting the problem I disconnected the fuel and temp gauges and the digital gauges worked fine, I figured that the temp gauge must of failed so I bought dash plugs for the holes and tossed the temp gauge in the trash. Wish I would of seen this before I threw it away as it was probably still good.

But, if you ever find you need those gauges, let us know. Many here likely have some that have been collecting dust for years.

Now you'll actually get to know how much fuel is really in that tank. The bar gauge, is so much more accurate.

[ByronM]

But, if you ever find you need those gauges, let us know. Many here likely have some that have been collecting dust for years.

Now you'll actually get to know how much fuel is really in that tank. The bar gauge, is so much more accurate.

Thanks​ for the offer, at this point I agree with you on the fuel gauge but it is hard for me to read the temp gauge in the sun, hopefully I will get used it it.

Buy to way I feel for you with your trouble with your bike, I have owned lemons before and it sucks.

[Peter Aawen]

..... but I just want to be sure I do it right.
When talking about wire isolation, What would you suggest?....

Nothing 'extra' Bernard.

The only 'issue' here is that we've discovered a few (VERY few) gauges have started showing high readings when the coolant temp really wasn't high at all!! So if you ride your Spyder beforehand, have a look at where the gauge is showing the temp; then do the Magics Install; once done, go for a ride - if the gauge climbs fairly quickly right up into the red & stays there, then since you just rode earlier & your Spyder wasn't over-heating, chances are it still isn't overheating & your gauge is reading incorrectly.

If anyone tests the gauge off the Spyder, it will work fine; if you remove the Magics, it will once again work fine & won't show any fault - not unless something else is wrong with it anyway! And so far, every confirmed instance of this (5 out of about 1000 installations) has either been clearly due to moved wiring, usually with poor quality joins or insulation too, bringing the wiring from where it should be, behind the gauge & towards the middle of the 'behind the dash cavity' over to hard up against the inside of the RH mirror mount where the wiring with poor quality joins or dodgy insulation has been able to move & rub & fray & do all sorts of stuff wiring should NEVER do, including picking up the tiny (& I do mean tiny!) amount of magnetic field that can be detected thru the frame there, or it's somehow been due to the polarity of the mounted magnets & is readily remedied by flipping one or more until the false 'high reading' goes away!

How to avoid this false reading? In the first instance, do nothing but check the gauge before & after installation as mentioned above - the odds of there being a problem are pretty small (so far, 5:1000+, possibly marginally higher; but still very likely less than 0.1%!!) So if you DO have a problem appear with your temp gauge reading & you don't think your dash has ever been opened, try flipping the RHS magnets one by one & watching what your temp gauge does; if that resolves the problem (as I suspect it will) I'd still suggest dropping the dash to check the wiring inside for any potential or pending problems with the wiring & make them good, ie, proper plugs or spliced joins with insulation/heat shrink tape over them! And if you already know your dash has been opened, do all the above but CERTAINLY check behind the dash & make sure any extra wiring is at least about 50mm away from the inside of the mirror mounts &/or has proper joins & patent insulation with any exposed wires covered & everything secured so it can't move around &/or fray/wear!!

And if you still have concerns, talk to Russ/Merlot, I'm sure he won't have any issues with you returning the kit for a refund!

It really isn't anything extra hard or even unwarranted, just make sure any wiring additions are done properly & maybe flip the magnets to avoid any polarity concerns, but unless there is already something 'improper' with any extra wiring in there, the chances of this 'polarity' thing being a concern are quite small!

[BernardD]

Hi Peter,
many thanks for taking the time to go through all the details.
kind regards,
Bernard

[gkamer]

Who would have thought that a problem with a temp gauge wold have been connected to a mirror? This is a pretty weird world we share.

[Bob Denman]

Peter,
Since installing my Magic Mirror Mounts: I sometimes get some buzziness in my left front (J&M) speaker...
Do you think that flipping the top magnet would help with this issue also?

[Peter Aawen]

You could give it a try Bob, altho the magnet bods tell us that unless there is movement in the wires while they are IN the magnetic field, there can't be any 'interference' like that....& there should be no magnetic field beyond the plate they mount on?!

My radio/one or both speakers used to buzz occasionally, well before we started magnet testing, & they still do at times, maybe yours were doing the same but now you notice it & attribute it to the magnets?

I really don't know if the magnets would be involved at all in that type of interference, as any magnetic field getting thru their mounting points would really be quite small, tiny in fact, & as the experts have told us, theoretically, there should be no way they will impact - but we all know there's 'theory' & then there's reality!