2024 RT limited and I’m experiencing the main display going blank - any ideas to fix?

[Peter Aawen]

Yes, I did fully charge the lithium battery to the recommended 14.6 volts before installing. I did not bother checking the voltage drop at the battery while cranking - it cranked over significantly faster than the factory battery. My display failures have happened at random times - never at start.
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Thanks @Spyderrg. Sounds like I need to visit a different dealer and see if they have any better luck getting BRP to cover things.

I changed the battery as a troubleshooting exercise, just in case it is causing the display “issues”. Lithium will hold its voltage better than lead-acid. Lithium tends to hold “full power” until exhausted. You will need a different charger if your current charger does not have a “Lithium” option.

I might luck out with the battery, but it won’t surprise me if the display is the problem.

Another dealer looking at it shouldn't hurt, altho even 'brand new fully charged batteries' can fail &/or not be able to provide the necessary voltage all the time.

That 'Load test checking of the voltage while starting' thing can reveal quite a few things about a battery, even a brand new fully charged battery, especially if it's not quite up to par - and if they've just come off a charger, they may well still crank faster than the old/replaced battery, at least initially, then drop off later! So while I agree that it's beginning to sound a bit more like it's the display itself &/or the module connectors that are most likely your issue, a 'sub-par battery' issue will not necessarily show up ONLY on starting, it can show up at any time down track, even while riding and even if the alternator looks like it's doing the right thing otherwise!!

So your display dropping out at times other than starting still doesn't exclude your 'brand new fully charged battery' from being less capable than it really should be, but a load test/voltage result while cranking the starter that shows the battery's voltage never drops anything too much below 12 volts should exclude that - and it's usually a very cheap and easy way to check and make doubly sure that it's not the battery after all, especially if you do that test BEFORE you fork out any $$ to take your Spyder to a new dealer and get them to spend time troubleshooting it - again!

So why not just do that test now to make sure you can be sure to be sure?! What do you really have to lose by checking it like that?? Sure, maybe it'll take a little effort and at most, a few minutes; but then again, possibly it'll save you chasing your tail and spending your hard earned on starting the entire troubleshooting process again with another dealer &/or continuing to chase other things if doing that load test while cranking shows that this too turns out to be yet another 'less than ideal' new battery!! There's been a few of them that've already been reported here, including some brand new fully charged Lithium Ion batteries!

Just Sayin'... but it is your Spyder, your time, and your $$ (to possibly waste...)

 

[Bob from Florida]

@Peter Aawen - Appreciate you chiming in.

I can double check cranking voltage next time I open the battery compartment. I have a tender/accessory cable to install at some point, that will involve more covers off for proper routing.

Reading about other dealers not charging for warranty diagnostic work makes me wonder about the one I've been using. I need to reach out to Can Am and verify that they are unwilling to authorize warranty reimbursement if the dealer is unable to find the issue. An unscrupulous dealer could game the system by charging both the customer and BRP. Perhaps I am being overly suspicious....

 

[Monk/Bob]

I’m thinking right now that mine is fixed??

The dealer made contact with Can Am and got a ticket open with them, or at least that is my understanding. After doing several hours of diagnostic work they reported to me that they had no indication of what was causing the problem and ask me to report back if/when the problem continued.

A few weeks later it happened again, so I did a video with my phone showing the display blank while the bike was running, I turned it off and back on and watched the display come back up afterwards.

I reported that to the dealer and went on my way with no further diagnostics. A few weeks later I got a message that my new display had come in!!! I didn’t know they had ordered one!

That has been almost a thousand miles ago, I’ve had no further problems

BTW: The problem did not cost me anything!