Suspension Preload Adjustment Error

[Saddle Tramp]

I have not been riding my new Trophy as much as I would have liked, due to Family commitments, but the Mrs. and I elected to take a short ride yesterday afternoon, for a bit of a break. The Trophy fired up instantly, and once idling, I adjusted the suspension load from one to two helmets. Almost immediately, an “adjustment error- check manual” warning illuminated, and the suspension icon illuminated on the dash. At this point, the menu would not allow access to the Suspension Loading menu. I shut the bike down, and re-started without success a couple times. Ironically this same problem occurred the last time I tried to adjust the suspension back to one helmet from two after the last time we rode together. On that occasion, I rode over to the local Triumph Dealer to see if they could quickly diagnose the problem. They said they were to busy at the moment, so I had to schedule an appointment. When I put the key back in the ignition and started the bike, the suspension adjusted itself immediately, and the fault went away. Problem solved.

With that episode in mind, I removed the key from the ignition, counted to ten, and re-inserted it and started the Trophy. The suspension adjusted itself, and the fault again went away. This Phantom Black thing might be getting out of hand. 

Any ideas?

[earthman]

What sort of mileage do you have on the clock? Has the rear suspension linkage been apart and had it's bearings lubricated?

My guess is that either some moving part of the suspension is binding up/causing the motor to struggle/then throwing up the code or maybe you have a partly corroded electrical connection, that would explain why it works fine sometimes.

Personally I wish that my bike didn't have this fancy electric adjustable shock, if/when the motor wears out, it's going to be very costly to replace I'm sure. Fingers crossed that the motor/shock itself isn't the fault.   

[Wilko]

Earthman, I understand what your saying about the cost, nothing is cheap to replace / repair on our machines, but I just love the suspension on the SE, sod all the faffing about setting up the preload.

[Novocastrian]

I get exactly the same problem

[Coconut]

Hi Saddle Tramp,

In addition to the suggestions already made,
here's a couple of things to check that may not be obvious at first :

Members have previously reported a similar problem which turned out to be due to
a failing Main Battery - one such example here : Can't start bike.

As you have a US Export Trophy Model, with the XM Satellite Radio system,
if you haven't done so already please check the Audio Software version -
the first version ( 1.04A ) had a Bug that ( intermittently ) prevented the Audio Module
from shutting down when the Ignition was switched off, causing the Main Battery to drain.

Software Update 1.04E was released to fix this problem.
( The "Bug" ONLY affected the US / Canadian export Trophy Models with XM Satellite radio ).

It's easy to check the Version you have, and have it displayed on the Instrument Panel :

The radio should be OFF when the Ignition is turned ON ( but don't start the engine ).
If the Radio is ON, turn it OFF ( Volume all the way down to Minimum, Mute and then OFF ),
then turn the Ignition OFF and back ON again.
Press and hold the "P" button until the "DIAGNOSTICS" menu is displayed.
Scroll to the S/W VERSION item, and press the handlebar Select ( "i" ) button.

You must have Version 1.04E -
If it's 1.04A this is the previous version that must be updated !
The Dealer should carry out this update if needed, at no cost.

Even if you have the latest Software, have the Main Battery professionally tested.

It's also worth checking if there are any Diagnostic Trouble Codes ( DTC's ) that have been stored.

See here for details of how to check for these :

Servicing Data, Reference Info. & DTC ( Fault ) Codes - Scroll down to Reply #8,
at the end of which is a Document you can download to explain what any DTC's mean,
and other useful information.

Cheers 

[Saddle Tramp]

Thanks for all the suggestions to date.
I bought my NOS 2015 Trophy at the end of October, and have (only) accumulated 2,100 miles since then. The bike sat on display at the Dealership since the end of 2015, as it was Manufactured mid year. The Dealer assured me that a new battery was installed at time of purchase, as they do not keep batteries in the showroom bikes. Just to be safe, I keep all my batteries on smart chargers, and have not seen a low battery warning displayed since I purchased my Trophy. My software is the latest version. I can understand the hypothesis that the suspension is “frozen” due to how long the bike sat on the showroom floor, but the fact that it adjusts properly once I remove and reinsert the key tends to eliminate that possibility.

Seems to me that either the computer is not properly communicating with the suspension, or the suspension needs to reset itself before executing the instruction.
If the condition persists, another visit to the Dealer seems to be in order. On the bright side, my current location in Phoenix allows me a short 20 minute ride to the Dealer, as opposed to the 3.5 hour trip back home...

[Novocastrian]

The old battery theory may be correct. My battery was 6 years old and a message to the effect of low battery voltage occasionally came up. I fitted a new battery lat week so I'll see if the suspension error message disappears.

[1675]

Electronic suspension Ehh?
My 2013 "standard" has 75k on and I have never adjusted the knurled knob. Same with my 120k Pan European before it. Sometimes, less is more, despite what the marketing guys and dealer tell you!