2020 Spyder Rt Passenger Heated Seat stops working after 5 mins?! Ideas?

[Peteoz]

Hey Peter,

Good question. No answer. I never removed the seat b/c I can never find those seat tabs that everyone says need to be pressed to remove the passenger seat lol. Since the dealer replaced the seat on Tuesday, I'd think that even if it wasn't connected before, it should be now, but who knows? LOL. Maybe I'll try to find those tabs again. I was so irritated I almost purchased the sea to sky seat assembly that someone was selling on here, but figured if the problem is with a connection, it would leave me in the same situation I'm currently in.
The question I have is does someone have to be seated on it to activate it? That doesn't make sense to me, b/c the rider's seat activates w/o me on it.

Yeah, those seat tabs are a real bugger the first couple of times. John. You can see them if you shine a torch under the front seat, but they blend pretty well with the rest of the black plastic under there. They are about an inch wide and you press them directly toward the rear of the Spyder. If you feel it move back, try to lift the rear seat on that side at the same time. I’ll see if I can get a photo for you. I’ll also try my rear seat heater without anyone sitting on it to see what it does.

Pete

[Peteoz]

No, you do not need a passenger on the rear seat…..the seat heats fine without. Photo of rear seat tabs to come.

Pete

[Peteoz]

Here is the tab. Because you are looking toward the rear of the RT, it is the one on the right.It has a slight curve on the front of it. It’s hard to see under there. I stand on the left of the RT (looking toward the rear). Reach under and push it toward the rear of the RT, and when you feel it move, reach over the rear seat with your other hand and try to lift that side. Repeat for the other side. It DOES get easier.
5FBCD363-65DC-4E2A-A039-7C3D617B037C.jpg

Pete

[JohnRuckus]

Thanks Folks!

[eschmid2]

Just an FYI, the passenger seat sensor is not part of the heated seat circuit ...

[JohnRuckus]

Here is the tab. Because you are looking toward the rear of the RT, it is the one on the right.It has a slight curve on the front of it. It’s hard to see under there. I stand on the left of the RT (looking toward the rear). Reach under and push it toward the rear of the RT, and when you feel it move, reach over the rear seat with your other hand and try to lift that side. Repeat for the other side. It DOES get easier.
5FBCD363-65DC-4E2A-A039-7C3D617B037C.jpg

Pete

I'm finally revisiting and updating this.
I took Gwen back to the shop this past spring to have them look at it. (remember my long gripe from previous comment). They were just as bad this time around as they were last time. Except they offered to have me leave it with them for a few weeks to check it out. No thanks! Not in good riding weather So, I took it home and attempted to remove the seat and check the connections myself.
After a little effort, I was able to get to the tabs and remove the seat myself. Thanks Peteoz! I disconnected and reconnected the seat. Still no dice. My warranty ends in April '23. So, I decided to take it to a new dealer this morning. Since the temps are dropping a little now and I promised some little people a ride around the neighborhood during Christmas break, I might as well get this fixed while under warranty. I dropped her off at a different dealer/shop. Hopefully, they can figure it out quickly and not tell me the seat is on back order until the e- RT arrives
Has anyone else ever gotten this resolved by the dealer/shop?

[USAF]

We have this same issue with our 22 RTL ! The passenger seat will turn off after 5/10 min. Is there a relay to check or is everything inside the seat ? I was going to take a chance and buy another passenger seat and hope for the best because as others have stated, we also have a terrible dealer that I dont want to deal with... Hope someone can update this thread with any fixes for this issue !

[Mikey]

All you guy's can skate around your crappy dealers if you want and buy parts that BRP should be buying for you if you want, but one thing for sure, if they don't start a case#, or claim, you will never get payed back for the money your spending!! I just don't understand why people buy something NEW and would not use their warranty! Why should we be faced with doing R and D for a billion-dollar company and not get some sort of restoration for it?? If you buy used you expect to take it on the chin when things don't work as they should, but buying new and have a defective part that's a horse of a different color!! Good luck, for what it's worth, don't let them off the hook this easy!

[JohnRuckus]

All you guy's can skate around your crappy dealers if you want and buy parts that BRP should be buying for you if you want, but one thing for sure, if they don't start a case#, or claim, you will never get payed back for the money your spending!! I just don't understand why people buy something NEW and would not use their warranty! Why should we be faced with doing R and D for a billion-dollar company and not get some sort of restoration for it?? If you buy used you expect to take it on the chin when things don't work as they should, but buying new and have a defective part that's a horse of a different color!! Good luck, for what it's worth, don't let them off the hook this easy!

Huh? I took mine to the dealer. I don't think most folks are trying to spend more $, but if the dealer is unable to determine the problem, I believe most of us are asking for suggestions from others who may have experienced the same issue. Therefore, possibly identifying a fix that is easily DIY or relayed to the dealer/shop. For those willing to just buy a new seat, I'm sure it's b/c of not wanting to deal with the headache and frustration of poor support from a dealer/shop. It may not be financially logical on the surface, but if it avoids frustration, brings a resolution, and peace of mind, why not? I've been waiting nearly 2 yrs to get this resolved. I practice patience, but at some point the writing is on the wall that you have to look at avenues other than a shop that has proven to be unable to assist (for whatever reason); or they want to keep your machine for an extended period of time w/o providing regular updates. Besides, if the "crappy dealer" doesn't do the normal things to address the problems presented to them, how can you be certain that they'll open a claim properly?
I try not to knock a shop or dealer b/c ultimately, they're only as good that service that they're employees provide. That can change at any given time from good to bad, bad to worse, or vice versa. I allowed time for the shop I went to to address with exception for C19, Supply chain issues, and the BRP Cyber attack. So, I took Gwen to a different shop farther away.
What suggestion would you offer other than don't let them off the hook?

[Mikey]

Well John, you are doing the right thing! My only suggestion would hang in there!! My point wasn't to you in general, but to the people I see all the time that get on here and don't use their resources to the FULLEST! As like a few posts above you, Step back take a breath and chill my friend! I hope you get your problems resolved!

[Longtimer]

I read somewhere that if the RPM drops below I think it was 800 RPM, the heat in the seat would quit working. Could there be a program that has the seats separated & which would one to stop? Just throwing this out there. Good luck and please keep us informed?

[JohnRuckus]

I read somewhere that if the RPM drops below I think it was 800 RPM, the heat in the seat would quit working. Could there be a program that has the seats separated & which would one to stop? Just throwing this out there. Good luck and please keep us informed?

No idea. Mine never seemed to work. I don't recall ever seeing RPM drop below 850 at idle either. I've read through the thread and some mentioned that the heat works and stops after a few minutes, but never starts up again. I believe the riders seat does something similar. Meaning that it warms in continuous cycles. I've sat on the passenger seat for 30 minutes without the seat ever getting warm from a source other than my body heat.
The rider seat gets very warm, even on the low setting. It becomes noticeable quickly. This is the same if I'm just sitting at idle after an initial start up. Hopefully, the shop will be able to give me some feedback within the week. I'll update once I have more information.

[USAF]

No idea. Mine never seemed to work. I don't recall ever seeing RPM drop below 850 at idle either. I've read through the thread and some mentioned that the heat works and stops after a few minutes, but never starts up again. I believe the riders seat does something similar. Meaning that it warms in continuous cycles. I've sat on the passenger seat for 30 minutes without the seat ever getting warm from a source other than my body heat.
The rider seat gets very warm, even on the low setting. It becomes noticeable quickly. This is the same if I'm just sitting at idle after an initial start up. Hopefully, the shop will be able to give me some feedback within the week. I'll update once I have more information.

]

There is definitely an issue. After I read through most of the posts about this, they all seem to have the same problem, and it's only with the passenger seat. My thoughts are that it's the element in the seat that is bad, just need to find a way to test it. If you come up with anything, please let us know.

[Longtimer]

I would take the rear seat off, unplug it, take volt meter and put in plug, start up bike, turn on heat, and watch the volt meter to see what the voltage does. That should tell you what is going on, and then run a ohm test on the seat itself. I think if the element was bad it would not heat at all, I don't think it would work once in while. I wish I had a wiring diagram to trace it out. Also, did you try it on low heat, then high heat? Maybe it's in the switch, but if checking the votage to seat, it should give you a place to start...

[JohnRuckus]

Ok. So, Gwen is back from the doctor's office. After few hours of surgery they believe they found and fixed the ailment.
I really hope this is the same issue that you all have experienced. The fix for Gwen is kind of comical. Ready for it.....?

Here goes.
The seat was plugged into the wrong connector on the harness. Which 1 you ask? It was plugged into the connector that is used for the passenger heated grips.
The connector for the seat was tied down and stuffed away. The connections were swapped and Voila! It worked LOL.
The surgeons initially tried a transplant with a known good seat, but discovered no heating after doing so. They also tested voltage and ohms. Everything checked out.
SO, I hope your issues are as simple as that. If you have the RT base and swapped for heated seats, make sure that the connections are plugged into 1 that may be hidden away. If you have an RTL, I guess the fix is technically the same. Except your passenger heated grips are probably plugged into the connector for the passenger seat and vice versa. So, just swap them.
I hope this helps and I hope this works for all of you

[USAF]

Ok. So, Gwen is back from the doctor's office. After few hours of surgery they believe they found and fixed the ailment.
I really hope this is the same issue that you all have experienced. The fix for Gwen is kind of comical. Ready for it.....?

Here goes.
The seat was plugged into the wrong connector on the harness. Which 1 you ask? It was plugged into the connector that is used for the passenger heated grips.
The connector for the seat was tied down and stuffed away. The connections were swapped and Voila! It worked LOL.
The surgeons initially tried a transplant with a known good seat, but discovered no heating after doing so. They also tested voltage and ohms. Everything checked out.
SO, I hope your issues are as simple as that. If you have the RT base and swapped for heated seats, make sure that the connections are plugged into 1 that may be hidden away. If you have an RTL, I guess the fix is technically the same. Except your passenger heated grips are probably plugged into the connector for the passenger seat and vice versa. So, just swap them.
I hope this helps and I hope this works for all of you

What was your initial problem ? Did yours not work at all or like everyone else where they only work for 5/10 min ?

[JohnRuckus]

Mine didn't work at all or so poorly that I couldn't tell. I've had a couple of people ride with me and they stated that it didn't work. My hope for those of you having problems with the 5 min of heat thing is that it's really a connector thing.