Spyder computer virus? Probably not!

[Tom in NM]

It has popped up in a few postings here that people heard or saw on TV about a car that was infected by a computer virus and it was malfunctioning.

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=187150&postcount=24

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=187155&postcount=25

Of course, with the steering issues a few of us have had and given the Spyder is very much a computer controlled vehicle - it is easy to ask "is the steering issue caused by a virus?" or maybe a virus is behind Toyota's problems.

I agree with FireFly's reply, but also did some checking and it supports him. There was a question about this and it was tested - AND I think there was an important lesson to be learned.

What they found in a lab was that they could not transfer a virus to a cars computer - BUT, after working on this for a while, the car's dashboard started to "throw errors". :yikes: What they eventually discovered was that the car's battery was low and this triggered the messages.

Here is the link to the article: http://news.cnet.com/Car-virus-rumors-taken-out-for-a-spin/2100-7349_3-5702294.html

The bottomline message to me was, make sure your battery is fully charged and working. Other riders have had problems with electrical mods ( stereos, lights, etc. ) or loose fuses. I personally experienced a "DPS error" caused by a loose fuse, so I know it can happen.

I am not saying a bad or weak battery is causing the steering issue or that this is a fix for it, but, it may be a contributing factor and like the other critical systems on the Spyder ( or your car ), it is worth keeping an eye on it.

Tom

 

[Firefly]

Thanks for confirming what I suspected.... urban legend.

Good points on keeping the battery charged. Maybe the DPS is being starved for power and thus acting erratically?

I keep mine on a Battery Tender all the time.

 

[NancysToy]

Thanks for confirming what I suspected.... urban legend.

Good points on keeping the battery charged. Maybe the DPS is being starved for power and thus acting erratically?

I keep mine on a Battery Tender all the time.

The DPS is the largest single draw on the Spyder electrical system, with the possible exception of the starter motor. Theoretically, the combination of a worn out battery and low rpm operation could lead to such a scenario. I find it hard to believe, however, that a battery that would not pass a load test would not eventually be discovered. There have been a lot of techs, including some of the factory people, looking at these Spyders, and you would think one of them would have stumbled across this by now. Besides, a battery that low usually starts a bunch of cascading fault codes, which would be seen in BUDS, if not during operation. JMHO

 

[bikeguy]

I'm certainly not qualified as a computer technician, much less as a Spyder computer tech. But I do know that proper voltage levels are critical to the operation of any computer and they are also critical to communication between computer systems, sensor, etc. Like Scotty, I find it hard to believe that a battery that would not pass a load test would not be discovered. I wonder, though, if many technicians are aware of just how critical voltage levels actually are and I would not be surprised to find that a battery that would pass a load test could still be weak enough to cause a computer/communication/data transfer problem.

I have a Ford Excursion which I don't drive much so it tends to sit for long periods when the batteries can discharge. On several occasions the batteries (it has two) started it and it ran fine but the instrument panel went nuts because of low battery voltage. I have seen the same thing occur on a friend's Ford Expedition. After driving long enough to charge the batteries, the problem did not reoccur.

I'm not saying that the battery voltage level is the whole steering problem at all but I do wonder if it might not be at least a contributing factor.

Again, I'm not qualified as a Spyder tech and I don't even have a Spyder yet, so take all this with a grain of salt. Just some speculation.

Cotton

 

[bone crusher]

Thanks for confirming what I suspected.... urban legend.

Good points on keeping the battery charged. Maybe the DPS is being starved for power and thus acting erratically?

I keep mine on a Battery Tender all the time.

Urban legend....:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

I'm with you in regards to the battery tender...I leave mine on unless I'm riding every day or two...

 

[YPILOT]

The DPS is the largest single draw on the Spyder electrical system, with the possible exception of the starter motor. Theoretically, the combination of a worn out battery and low rpm operation could lead to such a scenario. I find it hard to believe, however, that a battery that would not pass a load test would not eventually be discovered. There have been a lot of techs, including some of the factory people, looking at these Spyders, and you would think one of them would have stumbled across this by now. Besides, a battery that low usually starts a bunch of cascading fault codes, which would be seen in BUDS, if not during operation. JMHO

If the DPS condition can be caused by low voltage is it possible that mods to the electrical system may be contributing to this problem? Please chime in if you know of this happening on Spyders that have mods to the electrical system as well as those that have stock electrical systems. Dennis

 

[ataDude]

If the DPS condition can be caused by low voltage is it possible that mods to the electrical system may be contributing to this problem? Please chime in if you know of this happening on Spyders that have mods to the electrical system as well as those that have stock electrical systems. Dennis

There have been DPS problems on pure stock Spyders as well as modded ones.

.

 

[NancysToy]

There have been DPS problems on pure stock Spyders as well as modded ones.

.

:agree:

 

[Tom in NM]

The DPS is the largest single draw on the Spyder electrical system, with the possible exception of the starter motor. Theoretically, the combination of a worn out battery and low rpm operation could lead to such a scenario. I find it hard to believe, however, that a battery that would not pass a load test would not eventually be discovered. There have been a lot of techs, including some of the factory people, looking at these Spyders, and you would think one of them would have stumbled across this by now. Besides, a battery that low usually starts a bunch of cascading fault codes, which would be seen in BUDS, if not during operation. JMHO

:agree: Especially since I never experienced my steering issue UNDER 55 mph and it occurred on some long rides - after a half hour at expressway speeds.

But, it is still a good idea to make sure your battery is charged and that you have firm & clean connections - especially for you folks who have not ridden much this Winter.

Tom

 

[LittleJohn]

:agree: Especially since I never experienced my steering issue UNDER 55 mph and it occurred on some long rides - after a half hour at expressway speeds.

But, it is still a good idea to make sure your battery is charged and that you have firm & clean connections - especially for you folks who have not ridden much this Winter.

Tom

Tom, my conditions were very similar to what you claim. What was the final fix (if any) on yours? Im thinking the DPS must have broken down or whatever its doing after about an hour and a half or so of operation each time on mine when I got the failure. Im hoping the new DPS will cure my woes.

 

[Tom in NM]

Tom, my conditions were very similar to what you claim. What was the final fix (if any) on yours? Im thinking the DPS must have broken down or whatever its doing after about an hour and a half or so of operation each time on mine when I got the failure. Im hoping the new DPS will cure my woes.

They replaced my DPS and everything has been fine since then. They did the software update first ( around Thanksgiving ), but it came back just before Christmas.

Here are a couple of links where I discussed my experiences:

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=167499&postcount=36

and

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=168421&postcount=40

I hope you get yours fixed soon - if not, maybe you could "borrow" 3wheeldemon's Spyder. He is probably out on his boat. I am sure he wouldn't mind.

Tom

 

[SpyderWolf]

Good discussion so far.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a computer virus has to be written for a certain operating system in order for it to cause any problems. That is why a virus that infects a Windows PC will not have any impact on a Mac. The hackers that write the virus go after the largest audience in an attempt to do the most damage as quickly as possible. That is why 85% or so of all the viruses in the wild are written against Windows.

In order for someone to write a virus against the ECM on the Spyder, they would first have to have access to the programming itself, and then decide it was worth their time to cause problems for that number of ryders. This scenario is extremely unlikely, as it would not give them any benefits in return for their actions.

As for the battery charge, I need to look at my wife's battery and possibly put it on a tender. There have been a couple of times when she has started it the VSS light comes on and then Check DPS scrolls across the dash. Turn it off for a minute and start it back up and everything is fine. I believe Tatt2r reported this happening on Dee's Spyder as well when it was really cold outside.

 

[Firefly]

Good discussion so far.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a computer virus has to be written for a certain operating system in order for it to cause any problems. That is why a virus that infects a Windows PC will not have any impact on a Mac. The hackers that write the virus go after the largest audience in an attempt to do the most damage as quickly as possible. That is why 85% or so of all the viruses in the wild are written against Windows.

In order for someone to write a virus against the ECM on the Spyder, they would first have to have access to the programming itself, and then decide it was worth their time to cause problems for that number of ryders. This scenario is extremely unlikely, as it would not give them any benefits in return for their actions.

As for the battery charge, I need to look at my wife's battery and possibly put it on a tender. There have been a couple of times when she has started it the VSS light comes on and then Check DPS scrolls across the dash. Turn it off for a minute and start it back up and everything is fine. I believe Tatt2r reported this happening on Dee's Spyder as well when it was really cold outside.

You don't need to 'possibly' put a tender on it--- just spend the $40 and do it. I personally think they should come as standard items on bikes.

 

[SpyderGirl]

I would also tend to agree that low voltage from the battery could lead to fault codes. I have experienced this myself first hand on my Spyder. The battery had about 10.5 to 11 volts but it was enough to keep it from starting and it was throwing codes like crazy, including the infamous DPS Fault code. Once the battery was replaced the Spyder was happy again.

BRP and the dealer both told me that a low battery would result in error codes like the ones I experienced.

Does anyone know if a battery load test is part of the scheduled maintenance?

Also, battery tenders are a great thing to have. :2thumbs:

 

[NancysToy]

I would also tend to agree that low voltage from the battery could lead to fault codes. I have experienced this myself first hand on my Spyder. The battery had about 10.5 to 11 volts but it was enough to keep it from starting and it was throwing codes like crazy, including the infamous DPS Fault code. Once the battery was replaced the Spyder was happy again.

BRP and the dealer both told me that a low battery would result in error codes like the ones I experienced.

Does anyone know if a battery load test is part of the scheduled maintenance?

Also, battery tenders are a great thing to have. :2thumbs:

I don't think so. If you are having problems, the tech may check it, but don't count on it unless you ask.

 

[SpyderWolf]

You don't need to 'possibly' put a tender on it--- just spend the $40 and do it. I personally think they should come as standard items on bikes.

Good point, I just haven't bothered as ours usually get ridden at least 1 day a week throughout the entire year down here. However, $40 is chump change for a good piece of mind so that will most likely be one of my next purchases.