Do I Have a Spider Problem?

[richsp51]

UPDATE:

I called Yamaha customer relations to follow up on my harness install to make sure it was done according to the Yamaha Technical Bulletin M2011-003R.

Recall that what has been in question is whether new harness that was just installed on my 2007 (P/N 3P6-82590-11-00) that supersedes the original (P/N 3P6-82590-10-00 ) needs the "additional wire sub-lead" of the original 2011 recall or not.

The Yamaha customer relations agent who authorized the work called the dealer service manager and with input from Yamaha technicians confirmed that my install was done correctly and that the "additional wire sub-lead" is NOT required for the new latest version (P/N 3P6-82590-11-00) harness. Evidently the new revision P/N harness fixes the original issue.

 

[Queensland Ken]

the "additional wire sub-lead" is NOT required for the new latest version (P/N 3P6-82590-11-00) harness. Evidently the new revision P/N harness fixes the original issue.

The original recall fix, the S4 bypass lead, (if installed correctly, lol lol) was to fix all the problems ..................... NOPE it only addressed one particular fault, look at all the other different types of neutral connector faults, the S6, S7 and S8 and some other odd ball ones.

It's your bike, do you trust Yamaha ?

I'd know what I'd be doing.

What is the gauge of the wire used in the new wiring harness ?, work out what the actual fix is on the loom.

By the sounds of it you are never going to rest until it's all %100 anyhow, might as well fix the neutral connectors properly.

Trust me, I've been working in this field all my life.

 

[richsp51]

Thanks for the advice Ken, I'll take that into consideration.

At least at this point I'm confident(relatively) that the new harness has been installed correctly per Yamaha Technical Service Bulletin M2011-003R.

Regards

Rich

 

[Queensland Ken]

There was just a spate of Spider Bites recently on 2 forums due to the bypass harness not being installed correctly.

 

[richsp51]

Ken, I'll never know if when the original recall bypass harness was installed in 2011 if it was done correctly. I can only speculate that when the recall was performed that it was either not done correctly(bad cable? not installed correctly?) or that the connector already had damage that was either undetected or ignored. I wish that before if was towed away to the dealership that I would have inspected the other end of the recall harness to see if it was connected as suggested by Brodie...but I didn't.

Fred W pointed out in post #53 that perhaps even after the bypass harness is installed that there maybe "... still too much current for the connection to withstand long term."

I wonder if any of the bikes that have had the new full wiring harness installed (new P/N 3P6-82590-11-00 for 2006 and 2007) have failed?

Of course it's possible(likely?) that the new wiring harness "only addressed one particular fault" as you, Ken, point out in post #81 above.

It seems amazing that the Yamaha hasn't resolved this design flaw over the years.

In post #79 rbentnail strongly argues that all the spiders should be inspected and cleaned every year! While I appreciate his position and his advice, it just seems that for most folk it's a lot to ask . After all, it's an electrical system in a modern automotive product.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with my spider issue, your help is most appreciated.

 

[Queensland Ken]

It seems amazing that the Yamaha hasn't resolved this design flaw over the years.

Yep, I think there has been a number of official reports to the authorities to warrant a proper official recall on the whole wiring harness.

Or a lot of owners just haven't bothered.

And of course dealers will not report such events / faults.

In Australia we have only had a few Spider Bites, maybe 6 or so I'm aware of.

The bypass lead will reduce the current not a problem, I've measured anything between 8 and 16 amps through it.

I suppose it all depends what & where the high resistance is, and that's fairly high current through such small wires.

 

[rbentnail]

In post #79 rbentnail strongly argues that all the spiders should be inspected and cleaned every year! While I appreciate his position and his advice, it just seems that for most folk it's a lot to ask . After all, it's an electrical system in a modern automotive product.
Thanks to everyone who helped me with my spider issue, your help is most appreciated.

I respectfully disagree- it is NOT "a modern automotive " electrical system. I'm constantly amazed at the places I find grit and water. Ever looked down the holes where the coolant pipe attaches to the engine and wonder how the h3ll that crap got in there? I'm sorry, but if you think inspecting and gooping spiders and electrical connectors once per year is "for most folk...a lot to ask" I have suggestions:

a) be prepared to go through the same thing in a few years only this time it will be on your dime and thoroughly more aggravating; or

2) sell the bike now and save yourself the headaches and us the whining.

The electrical system on your bike needs a little lovin' too

. Just like when you should be doing the engine/final drive oil maintenance, spark plug maintenance, coolant maintenance, TBS maintenance, valve maintenance, pivot point lube maintenance, tire maintenance, light bulb maintenance, windshield drive maintenance, steering head maintenance, air filter maintenance, brake/clutch fluid maintenance, brake pad maintenance, battery maintenance, fork oil maintenance, drive spline/u-joint maintenance, throttle cable maintenance, etc., etc., ad nauseum. How long have you been riding? Do you not know that we (the collective "we") actually do this stuff to motorcycles?

 

[Harald]

richsp51 said:

I wonder if any of the bikes that have had the new full wiring harness installed (new P/N 3P6-82590-11-00 for 2006 and 2007) have failed? Of course it's possible(likely?) that the new wiring harness "only addressed one particular fault" as you, Ken, point out in post #81 above.

It seems amazing that the Yamaha hasn't resolved this design flaw over the years.

In post #79 rbentnail strongly argues that all the spiders should be inspected and cleaned every year! While I appreciate his position and his advice, it just seems that for most folk it's a lot to ask . After all, it's an electrical system in a modern automotive product.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with my spider issue, your help is most appreciated.

I started a tracking thread for bikes with the new harness and so far I haven't seen any S4 failures with the new harness. But there's more and more failures of other spiders on bikes with the new harness, just as we had predicted when the recall came out.

Which leads us to the spider maintenance discussion. Back when my S7 failed, I went through all the spiders and other connectors to inspect, clean and grease them with dielectric grease. I don't have the mileage and date on hand, but it's probably been 6 years and 80,000 miles since I greased the spiders and I have not touched them since then and there's been no failures. Maybe I'm tempting fate by waiting this long, but I believe that the dielectric grease is very water resistant and should last a long time unless you have direct water spray onto the affected connector. I will eventually go back and reinspect all those spiders, but life has been too busy to schedule that in.

 

[richsp51]

In post #79 rbentnail strongly argues that all the spiders should be inspected and cleaned every year! While I appreciate his position and his advice, it just seems that for most folk it's a lot to ask . After all, it's an electrical system in a modern automotive product.
Thanks to everyone who helped me with my spider issue, your help is most appreciated.

I respectfully disagree- it is NOT "a modern automotive " electrical system. I'm constantly amazed at the places I find grit and water. Ever looked down the holes where the coolant pipe attaches to the engine and wonder how the h3ll that crap got in there? I'm sorry, but if you think inspecting and gooping spiders and electrical connectors once per year is "for most folk...a lot to ask" I have suggestions:

a) be prepared to go through the same thing in a few years only this time it will be on your dime and thoroughly more aggravating; or

2) sell the bike now and save yourself the headaches and us the whining.

The electrical system on your bike needs a little lovin' too

. Just like when you should be doing the engine/final drive oil maintenance, spark plug maintenance, coolant maintenance, TBS maintenance, valve maintenance, pivot point lube maintenance, tire maintenance, light bulb maintenance, windshield drive maintenance, steering head maintenance, air filter maintenance, brake/clutch fluid maintenance, brake pad maintenance, battery maintenance, fork oil maintenance, drive spline/u-joint maintenance, throttle cable maintenance, etc., etc., ad nauseum. How long have you been riding? Do you not know that we (the collective "we") actually do this stuff to motorcycles?

Jeez, rbentnail, I take issue with your inference that I've been "whining"! Sarcasm really isn't necessary either.

 

[rbentnail]

In post #79 rbentnail strongly argues that all the spiders should be inspected and cleaned every year! While I appreciate his position and his advice, it just seems that for most folk it's a lot to ask . After all, it's an electrical system in a modern automotive product.
Thanks to everyone who helped me with my spider issue, your help is most appreciated.

I respectfully disagree- it is NOT "a modern automotive " electrical system. I'm constantly amazed at the places I find grit and water. Ever looked down the holes where the coolant pipe attaches to the engine and wonder how the h3ll that crap got in there? I'm sorry, but if you think inspecting and gooping spiders and electrical connectors once per year is "for most folk...a lot to ask" I have suggestions:

a) be prepared to go through the same thing in a few years only this time it will be on your dime and thoroughly more aggravating; or

2) sell the bike now and save yourself the headaches and us the whining.

The electrical system on your bike needs a little lovin' too

. Just like when you should be doing the engine/final drive oil maintenance, spark plug maintenance, coolant maintenance, TBS maintenance, valve maintenance, pivot point lube maintenance, tire maintenance, light bulb maintenance, windshield drive maintenance, steering head maintenance, air filter maintenance, brake/clutch fluid maintenance, brake pad maintenance, battery maintenance, fork oil maintenance, drive spline/u-joint maintenance, throttle cable maintenance, etc., etc., ad nauseum. How long have you been riding? Do you not know that we (the collective "we") actually do this stuff to motorcycles?

Jeez, rbentnail, I take issue with your inference that I've been "whining"! Sarcasm really isn't necessary either.

Issue noted, perhaps I should have said "future whining"

. Look, as I go back and read this thread from the beginning I keep seeing you ask for suggestions. And you kept getting advice. And you kept ignoring it. And you depended on your Yamaha dealer to: a) treat you right; 2) know WTF he's talking about; and c) permanently fix your bike. STEE-RIKE THREE!!!

Newsflash!! What was done to your bike is NOT a permanent fix. And again you seem to be ignoring the advice saying (whining?) that it's too hard or it's too much to ask of you.

Do me a favor and skip the first suggestion in my previous post altogether. IMHO if you're not going to properly maintain it you should at least not neglect it. Sell it now, save us from the future whining and save yourself from the bad juju from machinery gods for neglecting if not outright abusing one of their beloved creations.

And for the record, there was absolutely NO sarcasm intended in my previous post. Sorry you took it that way.

 

[richsp51]

Look rbentnail, I don't want to turn this into some kind of feud. The sarcasm came from the " How long have you been riding? Do you not know that we (the collective "we") actually do this stuff to motorcycles?" That actually has nothing to do with the subject of this thread. This forum is open to all levels of FJR riders and with varying levels of expertise and experience, not just those with thousands of posts.

Yes, I did ask for opinions and suggestions and I appreciate all of them. You better go back and re-read the entire thread if you thing that ".. you kept getting advice. And you kept ignoring it". Your absolutely wrong about that, but I guess that you don't see it that way.

How about we agree just drop the subject at this point and move on? Truce?

 

[rbentnail]

Truce. Let's get some coffee......

 

[richsp51]

Thank you sir! I'd like that.

Best regards,

Rich