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Overheating...

Spyder Tony

Spyder Tony

New member
My ST LTD has overheated before (had her about a month) and did so again last Sunday. All occurrences (5 times) have been on hot days (between 100 and 107 degrees) but I had not been excessively pushing the Spyder. Each time, I take a pic and send it via e-mail to the mechanic at the dealership. I get it in the shop within a few days and there is never a code thrown.

I have noticed that I seem to run cooler (no heating issues) when keeping the RPMs at 6,000. I don't redline (9,000 RPM's) but used to regularly run on the freeway in the 7,000 RPMs...which seemed to lead to engine overheating. Since I have been running at 6000 RPMs, I don't seem to be overheating. I know the Spyders are sensitive to heat, but I thought i'd be able to ride at freeway speeds on a hot day without getting the dreaded engine "overheating warning".

The dealer has verified that the fan kicks on when it is supposed to (based on coolant temperature) and said he can't find another cause of overheating. Forrest (the chief mechanic at Elk Grove Powersports) has opened a ticket with BRP for the overheating issues, but i'm not sure if it is due to the ambient temps in Sacramento, California as of late, or if I have a problem that requires dealer service. I plan to take some pretty long trips on the Spyder, so any info you could suggest would be appreciated.

I rarely (if ever) use 5th gear, but have been cruising in 4th at 75-80. Now I shift to 5th at 80 and keep at 6000 rpms instead of staying in 4th and maintaining the 7000 rpms I used to. Anybody else notice a "cooler engine temp" when maintaining llower RPM at speeds? The dealer said the Rotax "Could not be hurt by extremely high RPMs" and that 7,000 should be a safe amount. Again...this is just a theory, but I seem to overheat much less since backing off the RPMs a bit. I have attached a pic of the overheating light as well...Overheating.jpg
 
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When you "overheat"are you getting the P0127 or P0217 codes? There was a post last week from a BRP technician explaining the codes and "heat soak". It happens to me on my 2013 RT when the temperature shows 122 or higher. They obviously didn't build these for life in the desert.
 
If the dealer has checked the cooling system and it's working then you're probably getting one of the heat "warnings".

When the intake air temps exceed a certain level it'll let you know that it doesn't like it. But it won't stop you from riding and as soon as you start moving it'll go away.

If you get a true overheat code, you'll know. It will behave differently.

That said, the 2013 ST's *are* suffering from a design flaw that is causing many heat issues that mostly come from the fact it runs too lean and isn't properly compensating for conditions.

Keep on your dealer and have them keep asking BRP for advice. I was told that BRP *is* paying for things such as wrapping pipes, adding heat tape and other temporary solutions while they come up with a real fix for the problem. But your dealer needs to run point on that and file the claim.
 
Based on the shift points and gears you mentioned, IMO, you are overreving the :spyder2:. This could be leading to your heat issues.

There have been several threads with recommended shifting points and gears to use.

Recommended to shift 5000-5500. Keep the engine "happy" in the 5000 range--no matter what gear. Go to 5th at 60-65 mph or higher. Shift down a gear if you need extra power for hills or to pass.
 
Why not use 5th gear? I mean I understand the need to keep the RPMs up, but keep them above 5k and you should be fine.
 
The picture you post with 0 rpm and 0 mph and overheating indication. You can try idling for a few minute before engine off this will help the engine cools off.
 
From the picture, this appears to be a programming flaw. You should not get a warning indication when the water temp gauge remains in the normal range. At six bars your fan has just barely come on. You should not get a warning until at least 8 bars. Sounds like there are some undesireable bugs in the system. It will be interesting, given BRP's recent online defense and explanation, to see if they address this in a timely fashion. False warnings lead to ignored warnings...not a good thing. Perhaps they never read The Little Boy Who Cried "Wolf".
 
Sny said:
If the dealer has checked the cooling system and it's working then you're probably getting one of the heat "warnings".

When the intake air temps exceed a certain level it'll let you know that it doesn't like it. But it won't stop you from riding and as soon as you start moving it'll go away.

If you get a true overheat code, you'll know. It will behave differently.

That said, the 2013 ST's *are* suffering from a design flaw that is causing many heat issues that mostly come from the fact it runs too lean and isn't properly compensating for conditions.

Keep on your dealer and have them keep asking BRP for advice. I was told that BRP *is* paying for things such as wrapping pipes, adding heat tape and other temporary solutions while they come up with a real fix for the problem. But your dealer needs to run point on that and file the claim.
Click to expand...

WOW...that would explain the lack of codes being thrown. Only once has the dealer been able to retrieve a code. I don't know how to do so myself, although I have read somewhere on the forum how to do so. NancysToys seems to be saying the same thing. Each time it has done this, I have never gone into limp mode (As I have read others have done when they overheated) so i suspect it is as SNY said and I am geting a Warning light (as in the engine is getting pretty hot) because each time I am able to start the bike and resume. As a note, I stop and let the bike cool b4 continuing my ride as I don't want to do any permanent damage.

To explain the pic...it is taken when I stopped to gas up after coming off a 20 25 mile ride. gassed up (bike sat for 10-12 mins in shade) and the Warning was present as soon as the Can-Am screen came alive.

Thanks to you all for the comments thus far...It takes a village to ride and maintain a Spyder :bowdown:
 
Sitting off might make the problem worse.

Idling for a bit before turning it off seems to help in some cases. The cooling system continues to function rather than just the fan.

There's two temp warnings, one for engine/coolant temp and one for intake air temp. The intake air temp will definitely shoot up after you shut it off and kick that light on. Riding it fixes this.

If your coolant temp was high you'd see it on the left. It's not high. 8 is high as Scotty pointed out. I don't think you're having a cooling system related problem.

It might just be a sensor. Or it's a false positive. Might be worth having the dealer take a peek.

For what it's worth, Canadians have some very different philosophies than Americans. They're every bit as smart, but have some very different ways of looking at things which result in different choices. (Was that politically neutral enough? :joke: )
 
UPDATE: Overheating...

Sny said:
Sitting off might make the problem worse.

Idling for a bit before turning it off seems to help in some cases. The cooling system continues to function rather than just the fan.

There's two temp warnings, one for engine/coolant temp and one for intake air temp. The intake air temp will definitely shoot up after you shut it off and kick that light on. Riding it fixes this.

If your coolant temp was high you'd see it on the left. It's not high. 8 is high as Scotty pointed out. I don't think you're having a cooling system related problem.

It might just be a sensor. Or it's a false positive. Might be worth having the dealer take a peek.

For what it's worth, Canadians have some very different philosophies than Americans. They're every bit as smart, but have some very different ways of looking at things which result in different choices. (Was that politically neutral enough? :joke: )
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head with the false positive, Sny!!!
Just got off the phone with the dealership mechanic and as you mentioned...BRP noticed in the pic (sent a copy to the dealership repair dept, and they sent the pic to BRP) that the temp was NOT displaying as high on the left of the viewscreen so they told the dealer to replace the sensor. Forrest (mechanic at the dealer) ordered the part and will let me know when it arrives. Once it does, he will dispatch out a driver & trailer to drop off a loaner Spyder and take my Nikki back to the shop for the sensor swap.

Kudos all around...

...to the members of the forum who chimed in with information, to the dealership who got my e-mail & pic @ 11:30 and had BRP on the phone with the solution by 1:00 same day, to BRP for acting swiftly with the aforementioned solution.

I'll send update when she's back from the shop and i've had a chance to push her a bit to ensure she no longer throws the false positive.
 
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My water temp gauge has never gone higher than one minute above the halfway point. I get the codes all the time. BRP was aware of this and I was told it was not a problem. I'd put money on a new sensor not making a bit if difference
 
spyryder said:
We're talking about TWO codes here, one for the intake air temp PO127, and one for coolant temp PO217.
Click to expand...

That is correct, but the OP had no codes and just a water temp warning, according to his post and photo. The air intake gives a different display warning.
 
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