D.P.S. fuses pulled

[Lamonster]

:thumbup::bowdown: what do you think since you are the spyder king :bowdown:

 

[Way2Fast]

I've been there too. I was on a ride with the mechanic from the dealership when I had DPS lock up. We pulled both fuses and hit the road. Sure enough, I still locked up with both fuses out. He then went a step further and disconnected the power source from the DPS motor, at the motor. Yup, it still locked. You do get a slight benefit without the power on. When you pop it out of the locked position it will not over correct as badly without the power steering pushing you. The dealer contacted BRP and they sent a guy down to test it. Sure enough they were able to recreate the problem and they did it with several defective DPS units. So use caution out there, removing the power source from the DPS unit WILL NOT guarantee you will not lock up. My new unit is working great so far, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and saying my prayers at night.

If this is the case, then the steering problems are more mechanical than electrical. Computers are dead in the water with no juice going to them. The DPS unit could be replaced 1,000 times and there still would be no guarantee that the problems will not re-appear again. Perhaps the entire front end needs to be re designed. Something is causing it to bind and lock up. Of course, like I suggested many times before, the steering may have little to do with the problems.....because the VSS is causing them !!

 

[q-brrr]

Thoughts??

Is it possible that the steering "lockup" or drift is being caused by the braking system? The bike can brake the wheels when it needs to to help with wheel lift. :dontknow:

 

[groundeffect]

Is it possible that the steering "lockup" or drift is being caused by the braking system? The bike can brake the wheels when it needs to to help with wheel lift. :dontknow:

Good question, but I do not think that is the case. While the Vehicle Stability System (VSS) has the ability to brake which ever wheel it deems in order to do its' best to keep all three wheels on the ground, the steering issues that I have been hearing about is to do with the turning on the steering handle bars and not the wheels themselves.

Hope that helps - others I'm sure, with more experience and thoughts will post.

Cheers and safe ryding.

 

[boborgera]

Is it possible that the steering "lockup" or drift is being caused by the braking system? The bike can brake the wheels when it needs to to help with wheel lift. :dontknow:

With my Spyder 3 things are going on
Steering lock.
Steering turning off.
And drifting.
I've ridden bikes for 40+ years hit just about any thing out there,4+4/rocks/dead animals/some were alive before i hit them.
So i can handle the steering [just me]
I'm sure the drift is one brake locking up.
I'll live with it until BRP comes up with a permanent fix.

 

[NancysToy]

With my Spyder 3 things are going on
Steering lock.
Steering turning off.
And drifting.
I've ridden bikes for 40+ years hit just about any thing out there,4+4/rocks/dead animals/some were alive before i hit them.
So i can handle the steering [just me]
I'm sure the drift is one brake locking up.
I'll live with it until BRP comes up with a permanent fix.

If one brake is hanging up or being activated, it is not likely that BRP is actually searching for a solution at this point. You should really notify your dealer. Is the drifting continuous? If so, most likely causes are a low tire or worn suspension parts (alignment). That should be checked. It could also be a brake that fails to retract properly. That should show up eventually in worn pads on one side, a blued rotor, and/or a hot rotor. Something else to check. If the problem is intermittent, it could be a VSS malfunction, but that would be very rare. It should also show a VSS light or throw a malfunction code, in most cases. In any case, it would be an additional problem to the steering, and should be addressed separately. Don't wait...they can't work on a solution for you until they know of your exact problem.

 

[boborgera]

If one brake is hanging up or being activated, it is not likely that BRP is actually searching for a solution at this point. You should really notify your dealer. Is the drifting continuous? If so, most likely causes are a low tire or worn suspension parts (alignment). That should be checked. It could also be a brake that fails to retract properly. That should show up eventually in worn pads on one side, a blued rotor, and/or a hot rotor. Something else to check. If the problem is intermittent, it could be a VSS malfunction, but that would be very rare. It should also show a VSS light or throw a malfunction code, in most cases. In any case, it would be an additional problem to the steering, and should be addressed separately. Don't wait...they can't work on a solution for you until they know of your exact problem.

The drifting is intermittent, 5/6 times in 10 thousand miles. Almost like sliding off the crown of the road on ice. [no ice] No VSS light/ pads OK/ no bluing/ air pressure OK. It's not a full lock more like one brake slightly engaging with out any input from me. Like i said before i can handle it. Besides if i took it to my dealer i don't think he can duplicate it, I ride every day I'm not going to leave it there for days/weeks??

 

[NancysToy]

The drifting is intermittent, 5/6 times in 10 thousand miles. Almost like sliding off the crown of the road on ice. [no ice] No VSS light/ pads OK/ no bluing/ air pressure OK. It's not a full lock more like one brake slightly engaging with out any input from me. Like i said before i can handle it. Besides if i took it to my dealer i don't think he can duplicate it, I ride every day I'm not going to leave it there for days/weeks??

That is a real difficulty with a lot of these incidents. It certainly makes the dealers job (and BRP's) harder when it can't be duplicated and throws no codes. I would suggest that you at least report it separately to the NHTSA. It is different enough that it should be tracked separately. Sooner or later, the dealer will need to get his hands on it, if it is ever going to be addressed at all. Sound a lot more like an individual caliper or pad/pin failure than a system failure, BTW. I've known disc brakes to do this when they were dirty, or the pins needed lubrication, or the pads cocked and hung...just one caliper, and not enough to even get hot, just irritate you.

 

[Way2Fast]

As I see it, there are at least two distinct problems that are causing some Spyders to have what has been termed "steering issues". One is where the steering locks...at any speed from a dead stand still to highway speeds. When the handle bars are forced they release and the vehicle may over react and dart in the opposite direction. The second problem may be less common. It is what I experienced. The vehicle can be going straight on a level road and suddenly veer to the left ( or possibly to the right?). It can be brought back into line but doing it requires a moderate "fight" with the bars. I experienced this malfunction and I'm almost convinced that the VSS is making one of the front wheel brakes drag...just enough to make the vehicle pull and causing a swerve to take place. The most un-nerving thing is that it happens so suddenly and without any warning that preventive measures are impossible to take. Before you can blink an eye, the vehicle might jump lanes, wind up in a ditch or worse. Very scary indeed !

 

[boborgera]

As I see it, there are at least two distinct problems that are causing some Spyders to have what has been termed "steering issues". One is where the steering locks...at any speed from a dead stand still to highway speeds. When the handle bars are forced they release and the vehicle may over react and dart in the opposite direction. The second problem may be less common. It is what I experienced. The vehicle can be going straight on a level road and suddenly veer to the left ( or possibly to the right?). It can be brought back into line but doing it requires a moderate "fight" with the bars. I experienced this malfunction and brakes to take place. !

drI'm almost convinced that the VSS is making one of the frwheel gont ...just enough to make the vehicle pull and causing a swerve


:agree::agree:

 

[NancysToy]

As I see it, there are at least two distinct problems that are causing some Spyders to have what has been termed "steering issues". One is where the steering locks...at any speed from a dead stand still to highway speeds. When the handle bars are forced they release and the vehicle may over react and dart in the opposite direction. The second problem may be less common. It is what I experienced. The vehicle can be going straight on a level road and suddenly veer to the left ( or possibly to the right?). It can be brought back into line but doing it requires a moderate "fight" with the bars. I experienced this malfunction and I'm almost convinced that the VSS is making one of the front wheel brakes drag...just enough to make the vehicle pull and causing a swerve to take place. The most unnerving thing is that it happens so suddenly and without any warning that preventive measures are impossible to take. Before you can blink an eye, the vehicle might jump lanes, wind up in a ditch or worse. Very scary indeed !

As I said when you first reported this, I think it is entirely possible. It would indeed be unnerving, and depending on how hard it came on, could be devastating. As I recall, you reported yours to the NHTSA. If others are having what they perceive as the same problem, I think they should report it too. I would suggest reporting it as other than a steering issue, or explaining carefully that you felt it was a another system that caused something similar to a steering issue. I think we have to fully separate these two types of problems, both at the NHTSA and at BRP, both to help isolate the other type(s) of steering issues, and to get this one to the forefront.

I have had two excursions that were of this nature. Both were very sudden. One was quite severe. I believe mine were caused by circumstance, a combination of an off-camber, uphill turn and a variable radius turn. I think this fooled the sensors into thinking I was lifting a wheel, and that my turning line was off. Mine was probably an artifact, but improperly calibrated sensors that fought each other, a bad sensor, noise on the CANBus system, or low battery voltage could have caused much the same. I urge anyone with this specific variation of the problem to report it and lean on the dealer for a solution. I believe it can be cured, if it is a malfunction and not just the cause of circumstances.

 

[Way2Fast]

As I said when you first reported this, I think it is entirely possible. It would indeed be unnerving, and depending on how hard it came on, could be devastating. As I recall, you reported yours to the NHTSA. If others are having what they perceive as the same problem, I think they should report it too. I would suggest reporting it as other than a steering issue, or explaining carefully that you felt it was a another system that caused something similar to a steering issue. I think we have to fully separate these two types of problems, both at the NHTSA and at BRP, both to help isolate the other type(s) of steering issues, and to get this one to the forefront.

I have had two excursions that were of this nature. Both were very sudden. One was quite severe. I believe mine were caused by circumstance, a combination of an off-camber, uphill turn and a variable radius turn. I think this fooled the sensors into thinking I was lifting a wheel, and that my turning line was off. Mine was probably an artifact, but improperly calibrated sensors that fought each other, a bad sensor, noise on the CANBus system, or low battery voltage could have caused much the same. I urge anyone with this specific variation of the problem to report it and lean on the dealer for a solution. I believe it can be cured, if it is a malfunction and not just the cause of circumstances.

Good advice, Scotty. I hope the others who have had similiar issues also report it.