2016 F3-T SM6 with Codes C0063 and C006C - any suggestions?

[delkhouri]

I have a 2016 F3-T that I bought earlier this year. I have put a few hundred miles on it and started getting really comfortable with it. A few weeks ago, I had the pulley recall completed and then I bought and installed a sway bar and end links. This was an upgrade I had on my Ryker and I loved it. It was a pain to install because of the needed 24" in height but I was able to get it done. I rode it a few times after the recall and sway bar, and I put between 50-75 miles on it with no issues.

This past weekend I had an outing planned with friends to a cabin about three hours away. So I decided to ride and I got all of two miles from home and the traction control light came on, followed by the engine light and a beeping noise, and then Limp Home Mode Warning. So I turned around and went home. Got in my car and went on the trip. I got home today and started it up, and the warning lights were all still there. I checked the codes and they were C0063 and C006C, which are VSS and Yaw Warnings.

Here are a few things I have read in my search and checked:

- the Battery is older but was load tested about a month ago. It showed 13.5 amps at rest and 14.5 when the bike is started;​

- the Brake fluid is just under the max line, but the brakes have been a little squeaky lately;​

- the Oil is newer and at the right level;​

- the Coolant is at right level; and​

- I have plenty of experience on a Ryker and know not to rest my foot on the brake.​

My questions:

- I have read that the sway bar should have no impact on alignment but could it have possibly triggered the codes?​

- Maybe the dealer messed something up with the pulley, but if I need to take it to a dealer to get checked out, it will be the same dealer.​

- Because I had some luggage on the Spyder, I took the rear seat off and inflated the air suspension a little bit. I didn't add too much, but I thought it would help with the luggage and longer ride. This was the first time I had ever put air in it, so maybe that triggered something?​

Other than clearing the Codes myself and riding it to see what happens, I am not sure what else I could or should do, except to contact the dealer.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Peter Aawen]

You told us the battery "...showed 13.5 amps at rest and 14.5 when the bike is started", but a proper load test should tell you what the battery voltage is WHILE the Starter is actually cranking, and THAT is the important figure for a load test! Without that, the load test isn't really a 'Load' test, it's just a battery & charge system test! So we really need to know what the voltage under LOAD value was?!

On our extremely power hungry Spyders, if that 'while the starter is cranking' load value ever drops much below 12 volts, then it might cause codes like those you have and trigger Limp Home Mode (that 12 volts is fairly important for all the computers & EFI etc on our Spyder, your battery really NEEDS that capacity while it's actually cranking the starter and initialising all the computers & sensors etc at the same time, and NOT just the 10.7-11 volts that was normal for old school engines with points & carbys, ie. less power hungry vehicles!) But in this instance, I don't necessarily think it's that, I think it might be something you've done/not done when removing your pillion seat...

You mentioned that you removed the pillion seat - did you do anything to the plug/plunger under the pillion seat that is normally only pressed if the pillion seat is occupied? If you just disconnected it, then that may well have triggered those codes, as that switch & its position is an important sensor reading for the VSS & Yaw settings - simply disconnecting it can return an error message or failure on that circuit, potentially triggering those codes because your Spyder's 'Nanny' doesn't know if you have a pillion aboard or not!

Just guessin' tho!

 

[delkhouri]

I took the battery to a battery place about a month ago and he did a load test and said it was good. I don’t remember the numbers.

 

[Peter Aawen]

I took the battery to a battery place about a month ago and he did a load test and said it was good. I don’t remember the numbers.

And THAT's likely a problem!!

People who aren't specifically Spyder people, including auto electricians, generally don't realise exactly how power hungry our Spyders are, and most will accept 10.7 - 11 volts as 'Good' on a battery load test. That used to be the gold standard for battery tests, but has become increasingly inadequate for more and more modern vehicles with greater power demands - and our Spyders, especially those with the Semi Auto shifting gear added to the manual gearbox need more power than most!! So 10.7 - 11 volts, or what most who don't specifically know about Spyders might think is 'Good' for a load test, and which might even be OK for the vehicles they're used to, just is NOT 'good' for a Spyder!! If load testing shows anything much less than 12 volts on a Spyder battery under load is quite definitely just NOT 'good', it's likely to be at least contributing to, if not directly causing, slow or hesitant cranking; failures to start; dash display failures; vertical lines thru the dash; VSS errors/codes; Yaw sensor errors/codes; cascades of unrelated codes; Limp Home Mode; and maybe others/more...

So like I said above, you need to know what the voltage under LOAD value is, ie, while you're actually cranking the starter and trying to start all the computers and sensors, operate some fancy transmission solenoids, and more power hungry electrical things; so anyone just telling you it's 'Good' is not really helpful; cos if that voltage under LOAD value is anything less than 12 volts, then your battery is likely to be at least contributing to, if not directly causing, these codes & failures.

But that said (again), while this ^ is a very common issue with Spyders and load testing, simply because few people are truly familiar with all the electrical needs of a Spyder while they're cranking and trying to start everything all at the same time, in this instance, I reckon that the Pillion switch under the Pillion seat being either disconnected, incorrectly loaded/unloaded, or whatever it is that's not normal for it cos the Pillion seat was removed, may well be contributing to the problem - possibly 'as well' as an old and becoming increasingly feeble battery that can no longer provide 12 volts under starting load, or maybe even as the sole cause.

Just Sayin' (again)

 

[delkhouri]

I didn’t disconnect anything with the pillion seat switch. I think I saw the switch (looks like a hockey puck) but I didn't disconnect it. I don’t even know how to disconnect it.

The reason I took the seat off was to add some air to the airbag. I read that you shouldn’t overfill it and most people were putting about 50lb of air. I added about 25lb.