D.E.S.S. / "Bad Key"

[SpyderGirl]

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

 

[Firefly]

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

:gaah: I would be none to happy.

Anyone come up with a way to bypass the DESS yet? I could care less if my Spyder even requires the key to start it or not.

 

[NancysToy]

There have been a couple of other DESS failures reported. Not common, but anything can happen with electronics.

 

[groundeffect]

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

Are the DESS module and ignition unit available, ie: no back orders?

Good luck. Hope you get it fixed soon!

 

[Bob Denman]

"Bad Key"... maybe "Bad D.E.S.S." should have poppped up on the screen. Electronics are great until they fail... without warning in the worst place that you can be.... :shocked::gaah:
...or your key needs to be taught to behave better?? :roflblack:

 

[NancysToy]

"Bad Key"... maybe "Bad D.E.S.S." should have poppped up on the screen. Electronics are great until they fail... without warning in the worst place that you can be.... :shocked::gaah:
...or your key needs to be taught to behave better?? :roflblack:

Could be either the key or the module. The Spyder doesn't know. It doesn't have an onboard BUDS system (pity!). The warning merely means that the DESS module failed to communicate properly with the key. Whether that means the wiring to the DESS has failed, the DESS itself failed, the wrong key was used, or that particular key is bad, remains to be seen. It takes some further troubleshooting to find the cause...much like the "Check Engine" warning.

 

[Bob Denman]

...but if your spare key won't light the fire??? At that point does the D.E.S.S. get the blame?

 

[groundeffect]

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

Guessing that it was determined the DESS module failed... but curious if you guys tried the other key?

Cheers.

 

[NancysToy]

...but if your spare key won't light the fire??? At that point does the D.E.S.S. get the blame?

That is likely, but it could just be a bad wire or connection.

 

[SpyderGirl]

Yes, we did try both keys and got the same result with both.

It was determined by the technician that the DESS module failed and both the DESS and ignition would have to be repaced. Cost? $270 + 2 hours labor at $110 an hour.

The parts are not on back-order and were rumored to be in sometime yesterday. I should be hearing from them today to let me know it's ready to be picked up.

The plan is a Spyder convoy Saturday morning to go pick her up for the shop.

Any thoughts on why, if they determed the DESS module was bad, why the ignition would also need to be replaced? Just wondering.

 

[SpyderGirl]

That is likely, but it could just be a bad wire or connection.

My initial thought was a bad connection. The first time we got "bad key" failure was in September 2009 in Tennessee on our way home from Spyders in the Smokies. We managed to make it home without it coming up again, and it stayed away for a long time. It seemed to only be a problem with the steering turned completely one way or the other, from the lock position. Once the handlebars were turned straight it was fine.

The night it failed completely, just 1 hour earlier we had a similar problem, but more persistent. Eventually we were able to start it and go down to the restaurant down the street where it eventually was left stranded.

 

[SpyderGirl]

Yes, we did try both keys and got the same result with both.

It was determined by the technician that the DESS module failed and both the DESS and ignition would have to be repaced. Cost? $270 + 2 hours labor at $110 an hour.

The parts are not on back-order and were rumored to be in sometime yesterday. I should be hearing from them today to let me know it's ready to be picked up.

The plan is a Spyder convoy Saturday morning to go pick her up for the shop.

Any thoughts on why, if they determed the DESS module was bad, why the ignition would also need to be replaced? Just wondering.

Looks like it's time to go back into the shop for the same thing, this time the key broke off in the ignition and no spare key. I have a good ignition, just will need to pony up the dough for a new DESS and labor to install both. Any chance I won't be able to use the old ignition with a new DESS?

Thoughts about using the old ignition with the current DESS that's in it?

 

[Spyder_Ed]

D.E.S.S fuse

Does anyone know why after pulling out fuse 7 (that controls D.E.S.S. and outside lights) I can still start my Spyder normally. I did this as experiment, and I actually expected "BAD KEY" message instead of start, but only outside lights went out (as expected). I have 2012 RS SM5.

 

[msember]

Bad Key Fixed, very simple

I have a 2015 Spyder F3 and was stranded by this failure. I'm an electrical engineer that has experience with RF systems, like the key system on the Spyder. While it's possible that your module failed, it's very unlikely. The dealer will have no clue that there's a marginal design condition on the system and simply start replacing everything, or worse yet, disable the system, which I don't really think is a good solution.

Here's what I did and it works EVERY TIME. Watch both videos, very simple.

Enjoy.

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

RF FIX - DESS ISSUE

:welcome:, I've been investigating the DESS module issue since DAY #1 ..... I'm not familiar with the F-3 ( the physical construction of this particular model ) ..... From memory ( I had a DESS failure ) I don't think the " Bad Key " screen is the same as the " DESS failure screen " other than they are both orange ..... BRP had extremely FEW module failures prior to It's re-design in 2014 .... ( by some engineer who had too little to do :gaah: apparently ) .... If your hypothesis is correct , why would re-placing the Module ( and ONLY the Module - and I watched them do it ) fix the DESS fail occurrence ???? ............. I'm glad to have someone else thinking about the DESS fix , because when it fails it can be Catastrophic ........ Mike :thumbup:

 

[Deanna777]

My Spyder is currently in the shop getting a new DESS module. On Tuesday night we got stranded in Oakland. The display said "Bad Key" no matter what we did. Turns out the DESS module failed and will have to be replaced along with the ignition.

Has anyone else had this problem?

My Spyder has almost 30K miles and will be three years old in February.

I have had the D.E.S.S Module replaced twice( first time on July 14, 2015, and the 2nd time on Aug. 28th , 2015,and the Switch replaced on Aug. 28th, 2015) I also started a "Thread D.E.S.S. KEY CODE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 years ago. It has a lot of excellent information. Deanna