vaskeet
Active member
I am picking up a 2010 FJR and my question is how common of a problem is the ground issue on the 2010? I see that 2009 and before had a recall but not the 2010 model
ground problem (spider bite) questions
- Thread starter vaskeet
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RossKean
Well-known member
Not very common for later Gen II bikes. No issues (so far) on my 2011 with just under 100,000 miles.
vaskeet
Active member
Thanks for letting me know the one I made the deal on is a well maintained (friend) 2010 with 70,000 miles for $2000.00
BigOgre
Well-known member
Sounds like you've got a good friend.
vaskeet
Active member
Yes we were in the navy together. Our daughters were always together His daughter went on vacations with us. When he retired and had to move out of base housing they moved in with us until the found their house (just a few miles from us) his skill set is mechanical and mine is electrical so we can call the other for advise/help. He went to the dark side and bought a new Goldwing
RossKean
Well-known member
Even if you do run into a problem, it really isn't a big deal to fix if you are comfortable with electric stuff. Simple fix is to cut off the "spider" and solder all the wires together. If you want extra security, add a wire to the bundle and run it to a secure ground somewhere or to the battery neg.
Edit: There is one other connector that has been an issue (non-spider). (happened on my '07)
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/itsy-bitsy-spider.158418/
With luck, you won't encounter any.
Love the color on the 2010 (and my 2011). You got a great deal on it.
Edit: There is one other connector that has been an issue (non-spider). (happened on my '07)
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/itsy-bitsy-spider.158418/
With luck, you won't encounter any.
Love the color on the 2010 (and my 2011). You got a great deal on it.
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rbentnail
Economic Plankton
I haven't heard of many problems for a couple of years now. I chose not to have the recall done on my '07 but every spring, without fail, I disassembled all 8 spiders, inspected and lubed with 'electrically conductive corrosion inhibiting compound'. I used a brand available locally called NOALOX. Note- NOT dielectric grease, that's an insulator. Worked fine for 10 yrs but I did eventually have to cut out and solder S4 and I did S6 while I was there. I used Dropbox to copy my thread detailing repair. Links below if you want to see the worst of what can happen. Somewhere I have pics of each individual spider location if you need them.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y31ev4sb9kpoekt/Ground Spider Thread FJRFORUM pg 1.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ev1xqxcgppri362/Ground Spider Thread pg 2.pdf?dl=0
Good friend indeed! Navy man here too, about a lifetime ago. Nuke MM1/SS, '78-'84. Nearly 4 yrs on a boomer.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y31ev4sb9kpoekt/Ground Spider Thread FJRFORUM pg 1.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ev1xqxcgppri362/Ground Spider Thread pg 2.pdf?dl=0
Good friend indeed! Navy man here too, about a lifetime ago. Nuke MM1/SS, '78-'84. Nearly 4 yrs on a boomer.
rbentnail
Economic Plankton
I found my original thread too -> https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/my-spider-bite-story.170085/. Don't know if everyone can see the pics there. I used Photobucket at the time.
RossKean
Well-known member
I can see the photos but with a Photobucket watermark overlay.
I've owned my 2010 for nine years now and it has 36K on it. I've done the spider repair three times. I suspect ambient heat to be a contributing factor to the failures. Lots of really hot weather here in the north Texas area. With each repair, I became more skilled at cutting, splicing and soldering. A couple of the connectors are tricky to access but with patience it can be done by anyone with minimal experience. The info on this forum was invaluable. Couldn't have done it without the help of the experts who contribute so selflessly of their time and knowledge. I don't think I'll experience another failure because I think my repairs have been solid.
Best of luck to you and Happy Trails!
Best of luck to you and Happy Trails!
RossKean
Well-known member
It is suffering from not being ridden enough (just kidding).
I haven't heard of multiple failures in a 2010 (or newer Gen II). Can you provide information on which "spiders" failed?
Bike stored indoors? It is either unusual or people aren't reporting failures.
On my '07, I had the S4 recall performed (it had not failed) and I fixed the S6. In addition, I had one other non-spider multi-pin connector failure (ground wire) - as described in the link I provided in my post #6, above. Nothing else on my '07 in the 185,000 miles I owned it and nothing at all on my current 2011 at just shy of 100,000 miles.
This is Queensland Ken's (RIP) roadmap for early Gen II bikes. Not entirely sure it was exactly the same for later Gen II?
Edit to add a thread on grounding problems for 2010 and later bikes - I forgot about this one!
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/fj...wire-failures-2010-and-later-research.161335/
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S7, S6 and S4. Bike is stored indoors.
How many days per year does the mercury stay over 90 way up there in Canuckland?
How many days per year does the mercury stay over 90 way up there in Canuckland?
RossKean
Well-known member
Maybe a dozen days per year where I live in Atlantic Canada so we don't get the high temperatures you get for sustained periods of time. One issue related to the heat is that the fans run a lot more - especially in stop and go traffic. (I also don't live in a busy urban area.) The fans draw a lot of current and are probably enough to push it over the top. A spider leg (or a pin in a connector) gets hot with high current draw and you get some surface oxidation/tarnish. This creates a point of higher resistance causing more heat etc.
Might be time to dig into the 2011 and see how things look...
vaskeet
Active member
I wonder how much running a dedicated ground (2 ) for the Fans would help also mine does not have the grip warmers
RossKean
Well-known member
I think a better solution would have the fan circuit power a relay to power the fans with a separate circuit which will remove all of the load. Same can be done with headlights to reduce that load. Seems to me that someone nade a "kit" to do that... Roadrunner, maybe...
Wouldn't be difficult if you wanted to do that. Brodie made a grounding harness that gave a new, robust path to ground for all of the high current spiders.
Guess you have to evaluate risk vs reward. I have elected to hope for the best and am reasonably confident in my ability to fix it if shit happens. Just hope it doesn't happen on the road 1000 miles from home.
Grip warmers are a low current draw compared to fans and headlights.
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My experience the same. S4 ok, S6 bad. Stored in doors but ridden in rain on trips couple times a year.It is suffering from not being ridden enough (just kidding).
I haven't heard of multiple failures in a 2010 (or newer Gen II). Can you provide information on which "spiders" failed?
Bike stored indoors? It is either unusual or people aren't reporting failures.
On my '07, I had the S4 recall performed (it had not failed) and I fixed the S6. In addition, I had one other non-spider multi-pin connector failure (ground wire) - as described in the link I provided in my post #6, above. Nothing else on my '07 in the 185,000 miles I owned it and nothing at all on my current 2011 at just shy of 100,000 miles.
This is Queensland Ken's (RIP) roadmap for early Gen II bikes. Not entirely sure it was exactly the same for later Gen II?
Edit to add a thread on grounding problems for 2010 and later bikes - I forgot about this one!
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/fj...wire-failures-2010-and-later-research.161335/
And the above info and schematic were very helpful as I diagnosed and repaired.
thefix
Well-known member
Before i had any issues , I went and found 2 of the “group connectors” which all connect to a common input- ground, i guess these are spiders because of the 6 legs. I work on electronics . And ultimately did a cut and solder together. But only one group was to true electrical ground and i supplied an additional ground to battery and frame. The other group could not add a ground because it would screw up the engine’s running. It was a smart ground for ECM . I just grouped them . All done with solder. I used black permatex ultra on all connections. It has high fuel. resistance. The attachment posted sort of helps determine where the spiders are. I did , found 2 on far left , not far from t-bodies and frame. Not sure which ones they are designated ?
rbentnail
Economic Plankton
The 2 together under tank, aft, left are S2 & S3. Looking at the diagram above upper left corner you can see a special note in the box about S2 & S5 (under tank, right end of the coolant pipe).
I'm reading this thread and thanking every one of you for all the info and advice. I just ran into this issue (for the second time 
) and needed a refresher on what exactly is going on and maybe a way to fix it in a more permanent fashion. On my way home this evening, I hit the on ramp and all the sudden my headlight went out and my dash lights came on. I rode the whole way home (about 30 miles) without a headlight in the dark... anyways, my 2010 has 135k miles on it and has seen A LOT of rainy weather so I imagine it's either of the more common grounds, S4 or S6, but I'll be going through most of them abd soldering them like previously mentioned here.
Just wanted to say thank you for the great write up!
Hope everyone has a great week and ride safe!
-M
) and needed a refresher on what exactly is going on and maybe a way to fix it in a more permanent fashion. On my way home this evening, I hit the on ramp and all the sudden my headlight went out and my dash lights came on. I rode the whole way home (about 30 miles) without a headlight in the dark... anyways, my 2010 has 135k miles on it and has seen A LOT of rainy weather so I imagine it's either of the more common grounds, S4 or S6, but I'll be going through most of them abd soldering them like previously mentioned here. Just wanted to say thank you for the great write up!
Hope everyone has a great week and ride safe!
-M
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