Paddle shifter need help!

[stevencovert]

Thanks for the pics! Not a fun job.

I tried like you know what to get the top off, all I did was scratch the Crap out my plastic. Watched a YouTube video, had the same tool made. So I went the bloody knuckles route. I had no idea where the plug was, but spyderlovers.com came through with this thread. I pried apart the lower part of the plastic, the piece you see in the pic above tio make a gap big enough to get a long screw driver through to push on the tab. Finally rooted new cable through another way of course. Finally got the click. Now o gotta figure out how to get old cable out! It is stuck of course deep in the belly of the beast! Might just cut it and tuck it.

Really frustrated with myself getting the top off pushing on the two tabs should be easy! I top took apart the old unit and the parts are sealed perfectly. Now wondering if it wad just the connector being up front in the rain and damp like mentioned. But I have a shiny new paddle.

I'm having the same problems mentioned above, staying in gear, no codes most of the time. Really hoping the new paddle fixes it.

Anyone find a video other than the guy using a smashed nail on how tio get the top off?

 

[Dubliner]

My experience with WD goes back a long time and I found it’s not the best for electrics, isolating rather than insulating. But there again WD has changed its formula and doesn’t attract dust like it used to! But any port in a storm?
In Steve Saunders Gold Wing site, I read that if you have problems with connectors with vert de gris etc use CLR with a small brush or ear bud to paint the contacts. Leave a while and then rinse off with a damp cloth and then dry thoroughly. It works I’ve tried it and it returns bad contacts into almost new ones.

Thanks Mike, don't know with 100% certainty yet if this solved my Check Transmission problem or not but my ride last night tends to indicate it did. :clap:

I had a can of WD-40 on hand, but no can of electrical cleaner.... so I used what I had. I tend to use WD-40 on many different things from electrical issues to sticky hinges to my sticking parking brake pedal release (which I also cleaned yesterday with WD-40, and it's soooo much better now I didn't have to kick it to get it to release yesterday afternoon finally!).

Just remember that WD-40 is itself somewhat conductive so don't fill the connector up with it, blow any excess out before re-plugging it together!

Pics of the shift paddle harness connector are already posted higher up in this thread (see Post #11)... it's the connector found under the computer cover above the trunk area right below the headlights you cannot miss the thing. The other connector I decided to clean by "cycling" it (unplugging and re-plugging it) was the one right beside the transmission solenoids, just remove your engine access cover like you are going to check the oil and look at the 2 silver solenoids follow their leads to the connector strapped to a frame member just above them. You probably never noticed it but you can't miss it if you're looking for it!

I would suggest if you're having Check Transmission light and scrolling message and if you can pull the fault code(s) and find that P0826 code that it's worth taking 15 minutes to clean these 2 connector points. Especially if you're getting the light and scrolling message whether shifting up or down (since it is highly unlikely BOTH of the sealed micro-switches inside of the paddle shifter housing would go bad at the same time!).

Of course if you just take your Spyder to a dealership and leave it a few weeks and they put a new paddle shifter unit on, the effect would be the same since they had to unplug the connector above the trunk area to replace the shifter unit and if that connector was the actual problem then changing out the entire shifter unit is going to fix it clearly. But what a PITA, even if still covered under warranty you'll probably be going out of your way to drop it off at a dealership someone has to pick you up and take you back home you're without your Spyder for however long it takes the dealership to get a new paddle shifter unit for it and installed then someone has to take you back to the dealership to pick it up again and it may still cost you cash if you're under BEST Extended warranty or no warranty at all! :helpsmilie: This is what prompted me to give my idea a shot. :dontknow:

- Michael

 

[Richardv]

Just fyi that others have taken the shift housing apart and exposed the 2 switches inside of it and they are very well sealed switches. It is unlikely that anything sprayed into the shift paddle housing (that is what you're talking about right?) would be able to penetrate into the switches inside of it.

However, after my 2012 RS with over 17K miles on it started giving me the Check Transmission light and scrolling message in recent weeks (and after pulling the P0826 code indicating a shifter switch fault), today I decided to clean the wiring harness connectors (both the connector that leads up into the paddle shifter housing as well as the connector down near the shift solenoids). I unplugged each connector, spritzed with WD-40 then blew out any excess liquid and finally re-plugged everything. This has the effect of cleaning the connector pins which I suspect had begun to oxidize ever so slightly disrupting electrical conductivity enough for the Spyder brain to sense something was wrong.

I *was* randomly getting the Check Transmission light and scrolling message at least a few times *every* ride in recent weeks starting from the moment I put it into 1st or R it made no difference and was not specific to any particular gear... randomly when going up or down a gear I would get the message, occasionally it would refuse to shift also. Usually a subsequent shift would clear the message. Weird, right?

After cleaning the harness plugs this afternoon I took a 40 mile round trip stopped at 2 different stores and various stop lights and didn't get the light or scrolling message even once! So, this seems to me to be MUCH improved now!
:cheers:

Can't say it won't fault again, but this makes a lot more sense to me than the idea that both of the very well sealed switches inside that paddle shift housing failed at the same time. I have experienced similar issues with my 2000 GMC truck when the engine suddenly would not run and SECURITY light stayed on in the dash... the sensor in the steering column that detects the RF code in the key had a connector that had oxidized ever so slightly and made it not sense the key anymore shutting down my engine; once I got the column apart and was able to unplug and re-plug it a time or two, it went back to sensing my key and hasn't had a problem again for almost a year already! And that connector was inside the climate controlled cabin of the truck away from any possibility of rain or weather or anything getting to it! Time however was another matter I guess. :gaah:

Mechanically, the little switches in the paddle shifter are cleaning themselves every time they get clicked and they are apparently quite well sealed as someone posted pics of them in another forum on here... the harness plugs on the other hand are never being mechanically cleaned unless you pull them apart and plug them back together at some point (which is what I did to mine this afternoon, along with a little WD-40 spray for good measure)!

Hey it only took like 15 mins or so start to finish so it certainly doesn't hurt to give this a try if you're experiencing similar Check Transmission problems on your Spyder! :thumbup:

Regards!

- Michael

Thanks for the detailed info. I would like to add another contact to check, as I fixed my problem with that location. In the fuse box, there are relays, and the contact pins are white metal. As soon as I touched/pushed on thoses relays, no more message anymore. So, I pulled out each one an put a drop of contact oil on each pin of every relay. Message never reappeared, but it was the end of the season soon after. Final test will be next summer.

Richard