Lost electric power

[philbtv]

2008 GS. Owned for a little over a year. 19100 miles. Rode yesterday for 45 minutes of freeway driving. Rode this morning for 35 mins freeway driving. On my way back later this morning (20 minutes of riding) stopped and shut off motor. When I went to start it back up (5 minutes later) it turned over once or twice stopped and the instrument cluster went blank. Towed home. Checked battery at 12.5 volts. Terminals all tight. Put on charger (Battery Tender Jr.). turned key after an hour and the instruments/panel flickered a bit for about 6 seconds then went away. I could hear a relay click when I turned the key off. Went back after 6 hours turned the key and absolutely nothing. I have had no issues with starting or any electrical drop outs. I don't know how old this battery is. Just came back from the shop where they replaced a bad oil pressure sensor. Any ideas? Thanks!

[taxmyzer]

2008 GS. Owned for a little over a year. 19100 miles. Rode yesterday for 45 minutes of freeway driving. Rode this morning for 35 mins freeway driving. On my way back later this morning (20 minutes of riding) stopped and shut off motor. When I went to start it back up (5 minutes later) it turned over once or twice stopped and the instrument cluster went blank. Towed home. Checked battery at 12.5 volts. Terminals all tight. Put on charger (Battery Tender Jr.). turned key after an hour and the instruments/panel flickered a bit for about 6 seconds then went away. I could hear a relay click when I turned the key off. Went back after 6 hours turned the key and absolutely nothing. I have had no issues with starting or any electrical drop outs. I don't know how old this battery is. Just came back from the shop where they replaced a bad oil pressure sensor. Any ideas? Thanks!

The same thing happend on my 2013 RT. Turns out two relays were bad and not making good contact. I ordered new ones on line plus spares just in case. Total cost just over $20.00, I also replaced my 5year old battery just in case. All is good now. Check the relays start with the one that controls the cluster. Some of the relays are the same so swap out the one which controls the cluste and see what happens.

[canamjhb]

Have you tried to jump start it? If it jump starts, check for alternator output. It should be about 14V. If OK, replace the battery. Our batteries are small and can die instantly. One minute, OK. Next time, zero.

[PistonBlown]

On the early GS/RS's the relays occasionally worked their way loose so I would start by checking those first and just pushing on them all firmly just to make sure they are making good contact. If you're not sure where they are located I can post some instructions.

[taxmyzer]

Pre 2014's have a Stator. Oops! my bad Magneto/Stator & Voltage Regulator/Rectifier. There!

[billybovine]

Pre 2014's have a Stator.

Yes pre 2014 models have a stator. So do 2014 models and later. So does your car and so does the electricity generating station that sends electricity to your house. I think the word you were looking for was magneto. In this case it does not matter what the generator type is. It is likely a bad battery, loose connection or charging system.

[Easy Rider]

Just because the connections LOOK good doesn't mean that they really ARE.

You need to measure the voltage ON THE CABLE ENDS, not the actual battery posts......with the key ON and then with the start button pushed.

12.5 is a little low. You might find that it goes WAY down when a load is applied.

[UtahPete]

Just because the connections LOOK good doesn't mean that they really ARE. You need to measure the voltage ON THE CABLE ENDS, not the actual battery posts......with the key ON and then with the start button pushed. 12.5 is a little low. You might find that it goes WAY down when a load is applied.

Measure the voltage when you're trying to start it. If it drops below 10v, you probably have a weak battery.

[billybovine]

Measure the voltage when you're trying to start it. If it drops below 12v, you probably have a weak battery.

I assume you mean the minimum voltage during crank. There is not going to be a battery (unless it is grossly oversized for the application) that is going to meet a minimum voltage of 12V during crank. The motor vehicle standard and repeated in the BRP service is 10V.

[UtahPete]

I assume you mean the minimum voltage during crank. There is not going to be a battery (unless it is grossly oversized for the application) that is going to meet a minimum voltage of 12V during crank. The motor vehicle standard and repeated in the BRP service is 10V.

Okay, thanks. I'll fix that.

[Easy Rider]

The motor vehicle standard and repeated in the BRP service is 10V.

I think that might need to be updated.

Some of the electronics have a minimum operating voltage a bit ABOVE that......like 10.5 or 11.

The battery itself might still have some life left in it but it might not be USEFUL life.

[UtahPete]

I think that might need to be updated. Some of the electronics have a minimum operating voltage a bit ABOVE that......like 10.5 or 11. The battery itself might still have some life left in it but it might not be USEFUL life.

I was just suggesting a quick and easy way of doing a load test, without removing the battery or taking the bike down to the dealer's.

[philbtv]

Well after swapping the relays-with no change-I got a new battery. BINGO! We are back on the road. I appreciate the comments and shared knowledge here on the forum. You guys are my first resource when I have issues-well Spyder issues!

Thanks a million!

[billybovine]

Well after swapping the relays-with no change-I got a new battery. BINGO! We are back on the road. I appreciate the comments and shared knowledge here on the forum. You guys are my first resource when I have issues-well Spyder issues!

Thanks a million!

Thanks for the update. So many do not get back to us with the results.

[billybovine]

I think that might need to be updated.

Some of the electronics have a minimum operating voltage a bit ABOVE that......like 10.5 or 11.

The battery itself might still have some life left in it but it might not be USEFUL life.

I don't know of any critical electronics on a motor vehicle that requires minimum voltage of greater then 10V. If I remember correctly the ECM does not record a low voltage fault until it is below 10V. Battery technology for motor vehicles has been around for a very long time. So it would dumb for a manufacturer to make electronics that did not work with current batteries. The gauge cluster on a Spyder shuts down below 10V. So the Spyder has a accidental load test feature built in. So when trying to start. If the gauge cluster shuts down. Then the ECM disengages the starter as a result. The gauge cluster then reboots because the voltage goes above 10V again. So the battery is discharged, bad or there is a loose connection increasing the voltage drop under load.

But when having a battery load tested with a proper load tester. As a personal preference if the results came in lower then 10.5V. I would replace it.