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

[Wmoater]

This may or may not apply but I figured I’d throw it out there. I have a can am SXS. I plow with it, and we do go to WV- H&M in the winter occasionally with it if there’s no snow to ride sleds in the winter or spring. Its a 2019 and It has heated seats. On low heat settings it’s comfortable running at 3000-4000 rpm. On high setting it actually gets super hot and then kicks off for 3-5 minutes, gets hot again, kicks off for 3-5 minutes and does that again. My wife swears the 4th rotation and after it stays off longer. It definitely gets hot and cools on high. On low it seems to stay constant no pulsating. One thing to say is at idle if you turn it on and not sitting on it the seat doesn’t get hot. It only seems to get hot once it’s moving. The heat doesn’t disperse unless sitting on it. My sleds, wheeler and SXS have heated grips too, and they are constant and ridiculously hot on high. They never turn off or pulsate. The spyder grips don’t seem as hot. But again both my wife and I never run those on high either. We’re cold blooded and love the snow. So I’d say BRP put a thermostat in our seats for high on the SXS. I have Dave’s heated pads on my 17 comfort seat and they never pulsate on or off. Is it possible, and just throwing it out there that there is a safety heat thermostat before the relay so the relay doesn’t overheat if the grips and seats are on?

 

[JohnRuckus]

Mine does not work. Rider is fine, passenger doesn't get warm at all. Took it to the dealer in January. They finally got around to calling me back to come in last Tues to replace the seat because according to them, there aren't any available...Didn't think much of it, other than 9 months for a seat? Really? Anyway, I took their word for it and rode home.
As I got closer to home, I decided to turn on the passenger's heated seat. Made it home, touched the seat...not warm at all. So, I decided to sit on it for 20 minutes with the spyder running at about 850...still not heat.
Called dealer asked if they tested it. They couldn't confirm. Went back to the dealer this past Tues and heard every kind of excuse. from you have to be sitting on it to turn on to buds says it's working. Ok smart technician touch the driver seat, now touch the passenger seat. Do you feel the diff in temp. Response: The passenger seat doesn't warm past 86 degrees or some nonsense, but the rider's warms to 95+. Really? Does this seat feel like it's anywhere near 80 degrees, 70 degrees even? Stop blowing smoke.
So, after some back and forth, they try to hit me with the "we'll have to keep it here to figure it out". Ehhh...nah no thanks. It took you 9 months just to get a seat which they say isn't even the 1 they ordered from BRP as replacement. They had to source 1 from another dealer. So, no, you will not keep it for an indeterminate amount of time to provide no answer or resolution.
With that said, there was another customer there with a 20RTL(mine is the RT base with added heated limited seat) He said he never had an issue with his passenger seat and his wife loves it.
So, to answer your question, no, the dealer did not fix it. They haven't even identified the problem. I may go to a different shop and have them take a look. The temps are dipping a bit and I want whoever rides with me to be as comfortable as possible. If anyone finds a fix or workaround, please share. And yes, I switched back and forth between the low and high settings(still no warming for the passenger).

 

[eschmid2]

. So I’d say BRP put a thermostat in our seats for high on the SXS. I have Dave’s heated pads on my 17 comfort seat and they never pulsate on or off. Is it possible, and just throwing it out there that there is a safety heat thermostat before the relay so the relay doesn’t overheat if the grips and seats are on?

Please see above post from eschmid2 that references another post showing the seat schematic and YES there is a thermostat no question about it, it will need to cool before allowing heat to cycle on again and depending on what is surrounding the thermostat will dictate how fast it cools. Also the thermostat is in the seat so after the power relay. The grips are independent of the thermostat in the seats of course and there is no thermostat in the circuit for the grips (driver or passenger)

 

[Peter Aawen]

JohnRuckus, just a shot in the dark here, a not very hopeful one at that.... but does the Passenger Seat Sensor that's situated under the Passenger seat actually work?? Maybe it's not connected at all (dealers have been known to 'forget' to do that when assembling Spyders! :sour: ) or you (or someone else maybe??) might disabled the passenger seat sensor afterwards?? :dontknow:

A few, maybe even quite a few Spyder Owners have found that sensor never got plugged in when their Spyder was assembled; while probably just as many if not more have done various things to stop the 'passenger aboard' sensor from triggering whenever there's weight on the pillion seat, cos if that switch is triggered it turns the Nanny on to a higher state of alert to calm you down more when you have a pillion aboard - something that can be really annoying at times . Sooo, if there's any chance that's the case, then your seat heater might never actually realise there's any weight on that seat & so may not let the heater turn on at all?!? :dontknow:

Just a thoughty....

 

[JohnRuckus]

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.

 

[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.


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.
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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 :roflblack: 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 :dontknow:
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. :dontknow:
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. :dontknow:
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. :roflblack:
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 :chat: