Added risers, now bike will not start

[RollonAA]

I added the taller risers and now I have no console display and the bike will not start. The lights come on and the horn works. Obviously the change caused the problem. Being new to the Spyder I'm not sure how to proceed to check out the problem. I removed the speaker covers and can see that both wiring harnesses go down the right side. I have yet to check the fuses, perhaps something shorted when I moved the bars up about an inch; I did not have to pull on the harnesses, they went up without any additional pressure.
Anyone else been thru this before? What was the cause and correction? Thanks

[dpetrick]

Welcome to Spyderlovers! I am assuming that you checked the obvious kill switch to make sure it is on. Check all the connectors to see if any of them were pulled loose. Hopefully some one on the forum will have more suggestions.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I added the taller risers and now I have no console display and the bike will not start. The lights come on and the horn works. Obviously the change caused the problem. Being new to the Spyder I'm not sure how to proceed to check out the problem. I removed the speaker covers and can see that both wiring harnesses go down the right side. I have yet to check the fuses, perhaps something shorted when I moved the bars up about an inch; I did not have to pull on the harnesses, they went up without any additional pressure.
Anyone else been thru this before? What was the cause and correction? Thanks

.......... to help you ...help us ..... What Spyder are you talking about ????? ....year - model etc. .....Mike

[Motorcycledave]

I added the taller risers and now I have no console display and the bike will not start. The lights come on and the horn works. Obviously the change caused the problem. Being new to the Spyder I'm not sure how to proceed to check out the problem. I removed the speaker covers and can see that both wiring harnesses go down the right side. I have yet to check the fuses, perhaps something shorted when I moved the bars up about an inch; I did not have to pull on the harnesses, they went up without any additional pressure.
Anyone else been thru this before? What was the cause and correction? Thanks

Hi Welcome to Spyder Lovers, NOTE: when posting questions, please tell us what you have Year and model. RT- RTL-F3-F3S- RS-RSS and so on.. Check the kill switch on the handlebar first

[RollonAA]

Hi Welcome to Spyder Lovers, NOTE: when posting questions, please tell us what you have Year and model. RT- RTL-F3-F3S- RS-RSS and so on.. Check the kill switch on the handlebar first

So right! Sorry about that, I was in a hurry to get to an appointment.....it's a 2020 Spyder RT Limited. I have checked all the fuzes in the right side box and the wiring connections on the right hand grip. Everything was good there.

[RollonAA]

I just removed all the tupperware on the RHS and traced the wiring harnesses from the left and right sides of the handlebar down to the receptacle plugs on the left side of the engine. The receptacles are tightly joined and and the retainer tabs have not come undone.

[RollonAA]

I just removed all the tupperware on the RHS and traced the wiring harnesses from the left and right sides of the handlebar down to the receptacle plugs on the left side of the engine. The receptacles are tightly joined and and the retainer tabs have not come undone.

I have 3 keys for the bike and I tried each of them, no cluster lights and bike will not start. I didn't think the handlebars had anything to do with the problem, so I removed the RHS covers and the electrical connections all look good. I also turned the key on and loosened the handlebars and rotated them up and down, made no difference.

I really don't believe adding the riser could cause this problem. The battery voltage is 12.4 V.

[RollonAA]

Is there a ground associated with the riser? I noticed on the wiring diagram that all of the components that are NOT working are on the same ground wire! It's JT BK 5

[Snowbelt Spyder]

So right! Sorry about that, I was in a hurry to get to an appointment.....it's a 2020 Spyder RT Limited. I have checked all the fuzes in the right side box and the wiring connections on the right hand grip. Everything was good there.

You have checked all the fuses in the right side box. Why just that box? The electrical system on a Spyder is not divided into a right side and left side bus. There’s a fuse for the cluster in the left side box and others for the ECM. Of course you should check them all.

[ff73148]

Again, did you check the kill switch?

[RollonAA]

I did check the kill switch, in fact I tried it several times today. I think that the cluster should display even if the kill switch was bad, but don't know for sure

[larryd]

When installing the risers, DID YOU HAVE ANY ELECTRICAL PLUGS APART, ANYTHING,??? If you did, unplug the connection and check for a bent pin connection...larryd

[RollonAA]

Thanks larryd. I didn't have to take any electrical connectors apart to install the riser.

[RollonAA]

Actually, I was in front of the bike and thinking left/right fuse box. I did check all the fuses related to engine, ECM and cluster on both sides. All of the fuses were good. Thanks for the input

[UtahPete]

Is there a ground associated with the riser? I noticed on the wiring diagram that all of the components that are NOT working are on the same ground wire! It's JT BK 5

Have you tried tracking down that common ground wire to make sure it's not broken or loose at the ground?

[Quickdraw]

Sounds to me like when installing the riser, somehow a wire or wires in the wiring harness got pinched somewhere. First thing I'd do is remove the riser and check that.

[RollonAA]

UtahPete, do you know where I can find the ground? I have a service manual and all those components have a common ground, but it doesn't say where it is located. Thanks

[Snowbelt Spyder]

Is there a ground associated with the riser? I noticed on the wiring diagram that all of the components that are NOT working are on the same ground wire! It's JT BK 5

Hey AA. So, when you turn on the key, you get the lights that come on directly from the key as usual - tail, running, plate, etc - but nothing else, correct?

If you've double checked all of your workmanship on the riser, and determine that it wasn't due to that, then that sounds reasonable. If all of the components that don't work share a common ground, then they probably share a common power supply, such as the Main Relay or Load Shedding Relay. Those relays have been known to fail and also have been known to come loose in the box, and simply need re-seated. Don't forget to check battery connections for tightness.

And as we've learned over the years, you can't judge a fuse just by looking at at. You need to remove it and test it or just replace it with a known good one. The fuse box arrangement of fuses and relays is all there at the bottom of the wiring diagram. Don't forget to check the bigger, square fuses, also.

You have the service manual. There are diagrams for wiring harness connections and grounds in there. But I think you'll find the problem on the power supply end - fuses, relays or battery terminals. That's just more common. Good Luck.

[UtahPete]

UtahPete, do you know where I can find the ground? I have a service manual and all those components have a common ground, but it doesn't say where it is located. Thanks

Each of those components is fed by two wires; a positive and a negative (i.e. 'ground'). If you can, trace one of those components' negative wire back to where it connects into a harness and then back to the battery negative.

Before you do that, though, trace each of those components' negative wires on the wiring diagram back toward the battery negative and see where they all come together. There should be some kind of connector at that point. True service manuals will describe where that connector is located. Most likely, the open occurs at that connector.

I don't have a service manual for your model Spyder so I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.

[UtahPete]

Hey AA. So, when you turn on the key, you get the lights that come on directly from the key as usual - tail, running, plate, etc - but nothing else, correct?

If you've double checked all of your workmanship on the riser, and determine that it wasn't due to that, then that sounds reasonable. If all of the components that don't work share a common ground, then they probably share a common power supply, such as the Main Relay or Load Shedding Relay. Those relays have been known to fail and also have been known to come loose in the box, and simply need re-seated. Don't forget to check battery connections for tightness.

And as we've learned over the years, you can't judge a fuse just by looking at at. You need to remove it and test it or just replace it with a known good one. The fuse box arrangement of fuses and relays is all there at the bottom of the wiring diagram. Don't forget to check the bigger, square fuses, also.

You have the service manual. There are diagrams for wiring harness connections and grounds in there. But I think you'll find the problem on the power supply end - fuses, relays or battery terminals. That's just more common. Good Luck.

I agree.

[RollonAA]

hey aa. So, when you turn on the key, you get the lights that come on directly from the key as usual - tail, running, plate, etc - but nothing else, correct? Yes, that's exactly what happens.

If you've double checked all of your workmanship on the riser, and determine that it wasn't due to that, then that sounds reasonable. If all of the components that don't work share a common ground, then they probably share a common power supply, such as the main relay or load shedding relay. Those relays have been known to fail and also have been known to come loose in the box, and simply need re-seated. Don't forget to check battery connections for tightness. Excellent process you have listed, that's what i did after double checking the riser for any ground wires and watching the lamonster installation video..

And as we've learned over the years, you can't judge a fuse just by looking at at. You need to remove it and test it or just replace it with a known good one. The fuse box arrangement of fuses and relays is all there at the bottom of the wiring diagram. Don't forget to check the bigger, square fuses, also. That's for sure, i pulled all the fuses and checked them, then reinstalled. The square units 1, 2 and 3 in the left fuse box are relays i believe after looking at the service manual. I need to review the procedure for checking those since you have to apply power to them in order to have them change state.

You have the service manual. There are diagrams for wiring harness connections and grounds in there. But i think you'll find the problem on the power supply end - fuses, relays or battery terminals. That's just more common. Good luck.

thanks much for your input, it is very well done!

[UtahPete]

I just got a PM from RollonAA. He said he's discovered wiring harness damage, probably from a rodent. So, that's the cause of the electrical issues, apparently.

[RollonAA]

2 of the wires in the harness have been chewed apart by a rat, a big FAT RAT! 2 big rat traps baited and ready for the sucker tonight!!!! Fortunately, there's about 3 inches of wire left on the bottom of the ignition switch. The ground and hot line for the starter have about 3-4 inches removed. By removing the console (heater switches in the plastic cover) you can access the wiring harness. Lucky for me, my brother ( an electronic tech) is in town and he can make the repair!!! Yahoo! PTL

[RollonAA]

JOb complete! Took me almost as long to put the tupperware back on as it took to repair the wiring!! I took the 1st piece, the long one from the front to under the tank, off many times trying to properly align it for the 2nd piece to fit correctly! Anyone know of a good video for putting the tupperware back on and lining everything up? I found a great on for removing everything.

Thanks for your help guys!

[Peteoz]

Thanks for the update, Rollon. It’s amazing how often something like this catches us out. Mind you, it’s possible that the wires were just hanging on by a thread (see what I did there), and the installation of the risers unknowingly caused a separation.
Good to hear you found the issue and can fix it

Pete