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VSS DPS ABS Limp mode after hard braking

Thanks for the information.
I live in Newfoundland, so it is not usually humid and summer temps top-out at about 86F or so.



The maintenance chart was revised since then, and a new one issued as a service bulletin. If they wanted to change the interval, they could have done so then. If you worry a great deal about moisture, and live someplace humid, you may want to increase the interval, but I would not worry about it myself. All brake systems are vented, and are exposed to moisture to a small extent.
Thanks for sharing, Scotty.

So, guys two questions:
1) When is a good time to replace the bake fluid on the Spyder? And if before the regular scheduled BRP maintenance:
2) What are the indicates that you need to replace (not top-up) the brake fluid?

Thank you in advance.
 
Took it in today to Action Can-am in Bradenton. Mike jumped right on it and reproduced the issue. He then hooked it up and said it had a bunch of codes but it pointed to one of the brake sensors. He said he has seen this before. He also said that BRP would make him do all the tests so he was going to just do them before he calls. He was already working on it when I left!

Great first inpression with Action!
 
Took it in today to Action Can-am in Bradenton. Mike jumped right on it and reproduced the issue. He then hooked it up and said it had a bunch of codes but it pointed to one of the brake sensors. He said he has seen this before. He also said that BRP would make him do all the tests so he was going to just do them before he calls. He was already working on it when I left!

Great first inpression with Action!

Thanks for the update on this situation. Did you happen to check the brake fluid level before taking it to them? Just curious.
 
BRP had that type of diaphragm on the orginal cap.

Only problem was, as the fluid level dropped it was drawn down into the master cylinder reservoir and hit and pushed down on the fluid level float in the reservoir. As this happened it made the warning light for low brake fluid level come falsely. :gaah:

Our cuirrent cap gaskets is their 10 cent fix to an expensive problem (redesign the reservoir and pay warranty time to have it replaced and the systems bled out)

This new cap gasket has a "V" cut into it thereby allowing air and ALSO MOSTURE into the system as the fluid level drops due to normal brake pad wear.

Brake fluid is a natural desiccant and it will absorb moisture from the air. As the moisture level in the brake fluid rises, it's boiling point also lowers, and it's corrosiveness rises as well.

Too low a boiling point and the heat produced from braking can actually cause this water laden fluid to boil and induce "air" into the system, thereby causing a hoist of braking problems.

Hence the reason it now became our problem/expense to have to flush and change our brake fluid so much more often.

MM


EXACTLY !! Like MM says, once again BRP chose to take the el cheapo way out. If master cylinders were supposed to be "vented" by a slit cut in the rubber diaphram the rubber would not be made accordion style so that it could be pulled down as the brake fluid level drops.....actually, with the slit cut in the rubber, why even bother to have the diaphram at all ! All master cylinders are vented, usually by a pin hole in the plastic cap. The difference is that they are not vented directly to the atmosphere like BRP has done. They vented the rubber so that it will never pull down to equalize uneven pressure, but rather just allow moisture laden outside air in to contaminate the fluid. I'd bet that every Spyder made up to and including all the 2010 models have this slit in the diaphram making frequent fluid changes a fact of life for all Spyder owners !!!:cus:
 
I'd bet that every Spyder made up to and including all the 2010 models have this slit in the diaphram making frequent fluid changes a fact of life for all Spyder owners !!!

How often would you describe 'frequent'? Just curious.

Thanks
 
Got the call today from Action Yamaha Kawasaki Can-am in Bradenton.

Bike is ready! Already! Wooooho!
Just talked to the office girl so no report yet on what was wrong.
I will find out tomorrow when I pick it up.

If it's fixed I am very happy with the turn around time! I just took it in yesterday!
They said they stock a good number of parts so ....
 
Fluid level was fine.

Got the call today from Action Yamaha Kawasaki Can-am in Bradenton.

Bike is ready! Already! Wooooho!
Just talked to the office girl so no report yet on what was wrong.
I will find out tomorrow when I pick it up.

If it's fixed I am very happy with the turn around time! I just took it in yesterday!
They said they stock a good number of parts so ....

Thanks for the updates. That is great news and a very quick turn around. Let us know what the fix was when you find out. :thumbup:
 
Well, it was a blown tail light fuse. Since I have extra tail lights (even though they are LED) I was told this.
The only issue we could find was a blown F7 tail light fuse. We replaced the fuse, cleared the code. Did a 25 mile test ride (and they did) and all seems fine. If it happens again you will need to remove the extra tail lights.

I agree with all of the above answers.

I am going to take it a step further and wire my amp meter across that fuse and see what it is drawing. If it is above 5 amps but below 8-9 I am going to up the fuse from 10 to 15 amps and call it good.

If it is draw is below 5 amps (as I suspect) I am gong to write this one off to " I shorted something out while installing the tail rack and trunk" which is very possible as it happened on the test ride right after I had the rear section apart.

The only thing that amazes me is a tail light fuse causes limp mode.
This thing is really sensitive!

Anyway, all in all a great experience at Action Cycle in Bradenton!:2thumbs:

I would recomend them to anyone in the area that needs dealer services.
 
Well, it was a blown tail light fuse. Since I have extra tail lights (even though they are LED) I was told this.
The only issue we could find was a blown F7 tail light fuse. We replaced the fuse, cleared the code. Did a 25 mile test ride (and they did) and all seems fine. If it happens again you will need to remove the extra tail lights.

I agree with all of the above answers.

I am going to take it a step further and wire my amp meter across that fuse and see what it is drawing. If it is above 5 amps but below 8-9 I am going to up the fuse from 10 to 15 amps and call it good.

If it is draw is below 5 amps (as I suspect) I am gong to write this one off to " I shorted something out while installing the tail rack and trunk" which is very possible as it happened on the test ride right after I had the rear section apart.

The only thing that amazes me is a tail light fuse causes limp mode.
This thing is really sensitive!

Anyway, all in all a great experience at Action Cycle in Bradenton!:2thumbs:

I would recomend them to anyone in the area that needs dealer services.

:2thumbs:

Thanks for posting this Randy, as it now makes perfect sense to me.

You see, I had the same exact problem on Saturday. Here is what happened with mine though. We were about 5 miles into our ryde to the Suzuki dealer, an hour and a half away, for my father in law's oil change. I looked down and noticed that my LED Mud Flap lights were not on. I checked the fender tip lights, and they were also off. My front turn signals worked, but I could not see if my headlights were working while running down the road. When we got to a stop light, I got off the Spyder and checked the rest of my lights. My taillights were also inoperative. I told them we had to stop so I could check it out and try to fix it. I found the blown fuse, replaced it, and it immediately blew again. At that point they had me take the lead and give hand signals for braking as we went to the dealership.

Just before we got to the dealership, I had to get on the brakes pretty hard as the SUV in front of me locked theirs up. The VSS light came on, ABS failure scrolled across the dash, Check Engine light was on, and then Limp Home Mode kicked in. It spitted and sputtered the 100 yards into the dealers parking lot.

Once there I tore my rear fender apart and found that one of the metal "click" wire connectors had come loose and was very close to the metal part of the rear fender. I reclicked the connections together, covered them in a good layer of electrical tape that I got from the dealer, tested to be sure my lights worked, and put everything back together again.

I rode it home without any problems whatsoever, but was planning on taking it to a dealer to have them check out the braking system to see what was wrong with it. Now, I don't need to worry about that. :D
 
:2thumbs::2thumbs: thanks for sharing!!
Well, it was a blown tail light fuse. Since I have extra tail lights (even though they are LED) I was told this.
The only issue we could find was a blown F7 tail light fuse. We replaced the fuse, cleared the code. Did a 25 mile test ride (and they did) and all seems fine. If it happens again you will need to remove the extra tail lights.

I agree with all of the above answers.

I am going to take it a step further and wire my amp meter across that fuse and see what it is drawing. If it is above 5 amps but below 8-9 I am going to up the fuse from 10 to 15 amps and call it good.

If it is draw is below 5 amps (as I suspect) I am gong to write this one off to " I shorted something out while installing the tail rack and trunk" which is very possible as it happened on the test ride right after I had the rear section apart.

The only thing that amazes me is a tail light fuse causes limp mode.
This thing is really sensitive!

Anyway, all in all a great experience at Action Cycle in Bradenton!:2thumbs:

I would recomend them to anyone in the area that needs dealer services.
 
Not a good idea to....

increase the fuse to a larger size. The fuse is sized to the wiring the manufacturer installed on that circuit. A larger fuse could over heat the wire and cause a fire.

You may want to consider using a small fuse block with relay. Connect the fuse block direct to the battery and the relay control to one of the keyed fuses for your additional lights.

I've installed additional lights on two of our spyders with no problems. But having said that all my additional lights are LEDs which draw very little current. Usually less than a 1/2 watt. I also changed my rear signal lights to NMN LED pucks to lessen the electrical load on the system. Today when I talk with them I'm also going to change my 20 plus watt brake/tail light bulbs to LEDs. I would bet those bulbs are less than 3 watts each. Small reductions in power draw makes a big difference in maintaining the battery and electrical system.

JCWhitney.com has some real bright strip flex tape LED Strips from two to 12 inches. I custom made a brake/license plate/running light to replace that eye sore that came with it. Picture attached. Got the initial fixture with 4 LEDs for running lights from PEP boys.To this fixture I added two additional 6 LED tape lights internally for the brake lights, 6 above the running and 6 below the running. When the brakes come on you have 16 LEDs in the one fixture. Brakes "off" you have 4 for running. Since this fixture did not have a white light for the license plate... I used a 2 inch LED tape White light to light the plate up. Total power draw on this one fixture is less than one watt .vs. the 10 watt draw of the factory unit. Total cost of the fixture I made was 43 and change. Makes the back area look good. /Ken
 
Those lights pretty cool Ken. I am hoping that Magic Man is in the early development stage for a new license plate light, after talking to him in Daytona when mine fell apart. ;)
 
brake fluid

brake fluid in all vehicles must be replaced every 2 years regardless of mileage. even with technology advances and dot 4 fluid, it naturally absorbs moisture and not replacing it will cause corrosion and lower boiling point.
 
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