Need help starting 2014 Spyder RT - blank dash & radio not working too?

[Checy40342]

Need help with my 2014 Spyder RT
The digital screen went black and the radio won’t work
The bike will start sometime and sometimes it won’t
I changed battery’s with new 1 I made sure it with fully changed (I changed it myself)
I checked all the fuses
I changed the solenoid
And it still not working
After I changed the solenoid it started 2 time but the screen and radio didn’t work .
Now it won’t start
I have pulled my hair out try to find the problem
All the dealers are booked up until next month
If anyone ca help I would greatly appreciate it
Thank you

[UtahPete]

Sure sounds like a loose battery cable somewhere.

[Peter Aawen]

Need help with my 2014 Spyder RT
The digital screen went black and the radio won’t work
The bike will start sometime and sometimes it won’t
I changed battery’s with new 1 I made sure it with fully changed (I changed it myself)
I checked all the fuses
I changed the solenoid
And it still not working
After I changed the solenoid it started 2 time but the screen and radio didn’t work .
Now it won’t start
I have pulled my hair out try to find the problem
All the dealers are booked up until next month
If anyone ca help I would greatly appreciate it
Thank you

When you write this bit (in bold above), what was the specification of the new battery you put in - size/capacity, CCA, Amp/hrs etc? And I take it you charged it yourself??? For how long and using what battery charger?? We need more detail....

That aside, all these bits (underlined above) point to it still being a dead/dying/poorly charged battery or loose connections at the terminal end or possibly where the earth cables bolt onto the frame...

[2dogs]

Check your ground wire.

By the way, when it's fixed don't just go away. Let us know what fixed it. It may help others who could have the same issue.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Check your ground wire.

By the way, when it's fixed don't just go away. Let us know what fixed it. It may help others who could have the same issue.

.... and while your dealing with this ADD some STAR washers to any terminals you use ..... then they will never loosen by themselves .... Mike

[BertRemington]

2014 RT -- that's 8 years of history. You need to tell us more. Like mileage. How many times you replaced the battery (should be at least once before)? Who did the maintenance? Was BRP's maintenance schedule followed rigorously (eg, you should have at least three brake fluid changes)? Do you keep your Spyder inside or outside?

Anyway time to buy a service manual and a good (at least $50) digital multi-meter. You're going to be chasing gremlins (if you're lucky) or major failures (if you aren't lucky).

[Bfromla]

Default electrical questions procedure: Take battery somewhere for load testing, Clean terminals, add star washers. *note if charger is something like a “Battery Tender” it can not charge a dead battery, only maintain during non use - hibernation periods. You did not mention trying to jumpstart. Please review manual couple time first & don’t just slap some cables on like car to car jumping blank screen & no radio are Good indicators there is at least some juice. Might get a sore back doing the battery work, will ease up quickly when get going again

[Little Blue]

...All excellent TIPS posted. Do you know that Spyder's are big on battery power?
What I am trying to say is that you need a good quality battery to get the job done. So hopefully you have a OEM type battery that is up to specs.

If you are able to get the battery 'Load Tested', say at your local area auto parts store. I have used Auto Zone in the past. So you know how much life your battery has in it.
Minimum voltage should be about 12.8 volts and cranking amps should be at 350 cca or higher.

It is really hard to beat the OEM 'Yuasa Battery' ...YTX24HL ......been there and was not happy with a different brand.

So a quick question.
How does your battery check out?

Let us know so we can help you.

Good Luck on Your Mission. .....

[Checy40342]

I will post the problem when I find it and hope it helps other (when I find it )
Thanks for all the suggestions
The battery is a yuasa battery when they tested it it was 12.9 and cranking amp was like 350-360
It a 2014 can-am spyder
Miles 15400
I have purchased the bike about 2 months ago
All maintenance was supposed to been done at Lexington shop or another shop in morehead
This is the third battery that the bike has had on it since new
My charger is a big charger I use it on my hot rod battery and it works great but I will check and make sure it’s working .
I will check all the wires again to make sure they're tight
I will order me a manual. Hope that helps
Thanks for all the suggestions and help I will let everyone know when I figure it out
Anymore ideas would be great

[trikermutha]

Check the cluster connection too . Maybe worth checking?

[BertRemington]

If you haven't done so already, check the position of the Red safety cutoff switch on the right-hand switch cluster. (Yeah, happened to me and cost a tow charge.)

This worries me "My charger is a big charger I use it on my hot rod battery and it works great but I will check and make sure it’s working."

I have a big Moroso charger with 12V and 16V outputs for my friend's drag racer. I would never ever use it on my Spyder because there's several problems with big chargers. One is charging faster than the 10amps (maximum, should be 4amps) the small Spyder battery can accept without damage including overheating. Another is poor voltage regulation and smoothing (filtering) leading to transients that can't be damped (absorbed) by the small Spyder battery and therefore enter the vehicle electronics. Leading to "The digital screen went black and the radio won’t work."

If you ever connected your big charger to your Spyder when only one battery terminal was connected you could be facing multiple electronics failures.

[Little Blue]

... I am really concerned about the 'big battery charger'. As already posted above, a Spyder Battery is only supposed to be charged at 2 amps. This is another issue that will kill your Spyder battery real quick. Been there and done it.

Also if you installed the charger to the battery while it was connected to your Spyder, you may have caused some problems.
By the way, do you have any 'Codes'?

[DGoebel]

And you can get the pdf Maintenance manual online right now if you want, for about $25 at
https://greatrepairmanuals.com/can-am-spyder.htm
I've bought them for my old '13 and my current '18 and they're great quality, searchable.

[Checy40342]

Update on bike - the battery is good; the battery was checked again at Adavnce auto and the battery is good second time being checked there. The charger was the the right size battery charger, it has multiple settings on it not just for big battery’s. I can even use it on lawn mowers, cars, trucks - it has multiple settings on it. I’m pretty sure it’s not the battery.
So, that said, yesterday morning I unhooked the battery terminals from the battery. It sat all day unhooked; I work 12 hour shifts, so I came home last night, hooked it back up, and the bike started but the radio and the digital dash didn’t work... so I shut it off for about 1 minute and started again - radio and digital dash still not working! After the 5th time of doing this, the radio and dash started working like it should. So I took it out for a ride of about 6 miles, came back home, parked it, shut it off, & started it back up 3 to 4 times and everything worked like it should! So I’m like "hey, good it works!" I don’t know what I did, but I was happy because it was working. So I went out at 7:00 this morning to see if it will start. I put the key in, turned it on and it won’t start; no digital dash; no radio � So that’s where I’m at this morning!!

[PMK]

Update on bike - the battery is good; the battery was checked again at Adavnce auto and the battery is good second time being checked there. The charger was the the right size battery charger, it has multiple settings on it not just for big battery’s. I can even use it on lawn mowers, cars, trucks - it has multiple settings on it. I’m pretty sure it’s not the battery.
So, that said, yesterday morning I unhooked the battery terminals from the battery. It sat all day unhooked; I work 12 hour shifts, so I came home last night, hooked it back up, and the bike started but the radio and the digital dash didn’t work... so I shut it off for about 1 minute and started again - radio and digital dash still not working! After the 5th time of doing this, the radio and dash started working like it should. So I took it out for a ride of about 6 miles, came back home, parked it, shut it off, & started it back up 3 to 4 times and everything worked like it should! So I’m like "hey, good it works!" I don’t know what I did, but I was happy because it was working. So I went out at 7:00 this morning to see if it will start. I put the key in, turned it on and it won’t start; no digital dash; no radio � So that’s where I’m at this morning!!

Understand you checked fuses. Also understand it is not a battery issue.
My suggestion is to remove each relay in the fuse box, verify no corroded terminals, then apply a light film of white grease or similar to each terminal, and reinstall firmly to ensure the relays are fully seated. Second suggestion is the load shedding relay could be suspect. Did not reference a wiring diagram, but pretty certain it controls much of your woes.

I seldom post here these days, but you might find me on one of the Spyder FB group pages.

Should be an easy fix knowing the battery is good, now it's likely just simple electrical stuff. Check the relays since they are known to come loose.
There may also be a service bulletin regarding improperly sealed wire bundles that resulted in corroded fuse box back sides.

You will easily resolve it.

[trikermutha]

Now check the battery before charging it again I wondering if something is draining the battery?

[Checy40342]

I want to say thanks for all the input on my bike troubles .
I got it back for the shop today it was the (Gauge Cluster) it went bad .
Thanks again for all the help

[Mikey]

[CopperSpyder]

Sorry to hear about the bad gage cluster. Thanks for getting back and letting us know what the outcome was. Hopefully you can enjoy the rest of the riding season now.

[BertRemington]

Yeah that's a major failure and an expensive one. Something I do here in Socal that you might consider is to cover the cluster with a microfiber towel held down by my gloves against the wind blowing it away. I worry about heat and sunlight getting to the LCDs etc of the cluster. I've also read about bad solder joints and the little RPM logo on my tachometer is already flaky. Sooo...its probably a matter of time...

[Peter Aawen]

I want to say thanks for all the input on my bike troubles.
I got it back for the shop today, it was the (Gauge Cluster) it went bad.
Thanks again for all the help.

I wonder what the heck it was that tipped it over the edge??

Usually, the electrickery bits are either dodgy from the start & then get worse until they die, or there's some triggering event/series of events that kicks them over.... In your first post, you mentioned that it started sometimes, didn't others; did you notice if that was getting worse over time, until it finally gave up entirely?? Or did you notice some rather specific/traumatic event that could've been the 'event/last in a series of events'??

I guess it could've been 'old age' & years of vibration etc... but.....

Just wondering??