Need to replace the switch under front trunk on my Spyder RT - help?

[cobravip55]

anyone have an idea on how to replace the switch under front trunk? im new to this site and just purchased 2012 spyder rt s semiauto. the parts department said if switch on dash for brakes work then switch is good. he mentioned its uner the hood, like toogle switch? when i first turned key on i locked latch and pushed toogle by hand and it unlocked but wouldnt work, he mentioned the acuator? may be bad...anyone else have this problem? trying to see what panels are needed to take of to access it ty, would appreciate any infor Frank from indiana

[Easy Rider]

I don't understand WHAT it is that does not work.
Frunk latch ?
Parking brake ?
Something else ??

I don't remember that there is any kind of switch UNDER the frunk (front trunk)......for anything.

[cobravip55]

he called it a actuator under the trunk parking break and trunk switch is one unit one way sets brake and other way opens front trunk tested it by watching a video and it said open trunk, shut latch, with key on hit that , i call it a toggle switch, and see if latch releases. first try it did now it doesnt work apparently its connect to button on dash but not sure what to take off to reveal the part i may need. i know antifreeze reservoir is behind panel in trunk ty, frank

[CopperSpyder]

he called it a actuator under the trunk parking break and trunk switch is one unit one way sets brake and other way opens front trunk tested it by watching a video and it said open trunk, shut latch, with key on hit that , i call it a toggle switch, and see if latch releases. first try it did now it doesnt work apparently its connect to button on dash but not sure what to take off to reveal the part i may need. i know antifreeze reservoir is behind panel in trunk ty, frank

To open Frunk (front trunk) push your ignition in and hold it in while you turn it to the left that will unlock the Frunk. Now there is a toggle switch for the parking brake push and let go of the switch to lock the brake and then push and let go of it again to unlock the brake. So your problem is the Parking Brake or the Frunk latch? two different things.

[cobravip55]

The front trunk. Parking brakes works fine

[CopperSpyder]

OK the front trunk often called Frunk the ignition key opens that you have to push in on it hold in on it and turn left to open trunk. you may have to turn and hold it all the way to the left while you try lifting on the corner of the trunk.

[cobravip55]

You can hear it unlock when u turn key to left, it's the switch on dash that allows u to open frunk without turning Spyder off to unlock.

[Cruzr Joe]

They eliminated the "FRUNK" release due to a supposed safety concern somewhere around 14.

Getting it fixed is a real possibility, without too much expense. or you could just use the key like the rest of us poor people do.

Cruzr Joe

[Snowbelt Spyder]

He's talking about the electric frunk opening option that you folks with later models don't have.

Ok then Cobra - Remove the plastic panel on the right hand side that covers the coolant reservoir. You can then get a better look at that micro-switch as shown in the picture. It's like this: with the ignition on so that the bike is powered up AND the frunk lid open, that actuating arm on this switch is released and turns on the little interior frunk light. The camera angle is making it look crooked. It's not. You may not even know you have a light. It's in the front left hand corner of the frunk - usually covered up by the liner.

For whatever reason, BRP also put this switch in the electric unlatch circuit. When you close the frunk lid, the lid has to depress that actuating arm and operate the switch, telling the circuit that the frunk lid is closed. It doesn't just turn off the light, it also enables the electric circuit in order to unlatch using the dash switch. So again, with the ignition key on so that the bike is powered up, when you depress the pushbutton on the dash, a solenoid releases the frunk lid latch mechanically.

What usually happens is that a previous owner has bent up that actuating arm while they were removing and replacing the plastic panel for checking the coolant level. So with the frunk lid closed, the switch doesn't get actuated and the circuit is not satisfied. You can test all of this with the frunk lid open. Just latch the latch by hand and operate the switch with your finger. Typically all you have to do is bend that operating arm back into shape and everything works. The switch seldom goes bad.

[cobravip55]

Ty so much for your help ��

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

You can open the frunk and the seat both by pushing in and turning the ignition key. Doing that does NOT turn off the bike. I added a solenoid and switch to my 2013 RT because I thought it was such a great add-on. But when I got the 2014 RTS without the electric opener and started using the key to open the frunk I've hardly missed the electric opener.

[Easy Rider]

You can hear it unlock when u turn key to left, it's the switch on dash that allows u to open frunk without turning Spyder off to unlock.

With the bike running.....first pushing the key IN and then turning to the left should unlock the frunk without causing the engine to stop.

The newer models do not even HAVE the thing that you are worried about.
I suggest that you leave it alone and NOT worry about it.........assuming that the key works like it should.

[cobravip55]

I did that with my finger. It worked 1 time then when I tried it again couldn't get latch to unlock. Ty

[cobravip55]

I tried that with finger. It worked once to release latch but now nothing. Wondering what I have to remove to gain access to whole unit

[TRBorslien]

You can open the frunk and the seat both by pushing in and turning the ignition key. Doing that does NOT turn off the bike.

That's why this forum is so valuable. I never even thought to try and unlock the frunk or seat without first turning the bike off. What a dope I am!

[Snowbelt Spyder]

I tried that with finger. It worked once to release latch but now nothing. Wondering what I have to remove to gain access to whole unit

I can appreciate you wanting to restore all of your features to proper operation. And the good news is that you got it to work once, and so now you know how it's supposed to work and that the circuit functions - at least intermittently.

I trust that every time you operate the micro switch with your finger that you are hearing a nice, audible click. That indicates that, at least, the mechanics of the switch are working. You should clearly hear the electrical solenoid that unlocks the lid latch make a loud thunk every time you try the dash switch - with the ignition switch ON, of course. You heard it once already. The lid latch itself doesn't have to be closed for the solenoid to operate. So first, you may want to consider lubing the crap out of that whole latch and solenoid assembly in case the solenoid is hanging up.

If you want to tear into it, looks like removing that panel that is around the headlights will gain you some better access. It's called the facia panel. First you can remove the two little plastic panels on either side of the frunk. The one that covers the coolant tank and the matching one on the other side. Then remove the two mirrors. It's a little scary the first time. But you'll have to do that sooner or later. Remove the two upper side panels. Follow the instructions in your owners guide. Then look around the facia panel and remove those screws. I believe there are 6. Then that panel slides straight out to the front. Take note that there are tabs on the panel that slide into slots on the body. You'll want to insert them properly on assembly.

If that doesn't gain you enough access, just scope out the area and see what else you might need to remove. I'm not sure you'll need to remove the whole frunk or not. But, that's a little more in depth than we're going into here. Good luck with it.

Edit - While you have the facia panel off, look around inside there and do some general fastener tightening.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I did that with my finger. It worked 1 time then when I tried it again couldn't get latch to unlock. Ty

The microswitch operates both the latch solenoid and the frunk light. When the switch lever is down then when you push the switch on the dash the solenoid will operate. When the microswitch lever is up the latch does not operate and the frunk light comes on if the ignition is turned on. Make sure it all works this way. As has been said, the microswitch lever often gets bent and then does not get pushed down by the tab on the frunk lid. The microswitch completes the ground circuit for both the solenoid and the frunk light, depending on whether it is down or up.

[cobravip55]

So then the solenoid could be bad

[Snowbelt Spyder]

So then the solenoid could be bad

Or the frunk micro switch. You said it worked once so it could be that either one of those is intermittent. Or just the electrical plug on the back of the micro switch has a bad connection. What you were told about the dash switch isn’t exactly accurate, either. That dash switch is really two different switches in one, controlling two different circuits. One half is the parking brake and the other is this frunk latch. Of course, one part of it could fail - electrically - and not the other. But I believe that is less likely.

[Easy Rider]

I don't understand.

IF.....you can open the Frunk with the key.......why are you wasting your time worrying about the button not working ?

OR....are you trying to say that you can not open the Frunk AT ALL ???

[cobravip55]

Just want everything to work as it should. Not worrying , just want to fix it. Just bought it

[cobravip55]

Just want to know what osnels I have to take off to get to it

[Peter Aawen]

Dunno if we got different switches here in Aus than those you got over there, but here Down Under, those RT's with the combined Park Brake/Frunk Opener switch that some pre-2014 models have, there's been a whole raft load of failures in the Frunk Opener switch portion of that double duty switch!! And it's almost always the Frunk Opening switch that becomes 'hit & miss', working maybe once out of a hundred tries?!? It's got to the stage that those who can't just put up with only using the key, &/or those who want all their Spyder's features to work, are replacing the double action switch with two single action switches instead!! That's not such a hard or expensive thing to do, especially if you use non-OE switches - you can get switches that fit & match the look on e-Bay, they just don't have the symbols on the button; and once that double duty switch is replaced with two individual switches, very few seem to ever have switch issues with the frunk opener again (or at least so far!)

But it is certainly worthwhile making sure all the other components of the electrical frunk opening system are working first.... there's a few things that can go wrong & they are usually an easier fix than replacing the dash mount double duty switch!

[cobravip55]

Ty, what I'm trying to get is what pieces have to come off to access that in the frunk, so I can get a better look at it. Ty

[Easy Rider]

Just want everything to work as it should. Not worrying , just want to fix it. Just bought it

IF......you can open the frunk with the key, I think you are wasting your time......and might make things worse instead of better in the process.

Your time would be better spent riding.......or polishing......or taking a nap.

Done.