ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: swiftsam on July 17, 2020, 08:46:15 PM
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In March I had just moved and hadn't figured out how to get my 2013 S plugged in. I commuted for 10 days and had gotten down to about 20% charge. Then COVID came and we left NYC for what I thought was a week but ended up being 2 months. When I came back, and got it plugged in, the bike was unresponsive. I think I killed the battery by letting it sit with low charge and not plugged in for 2+ months. Tragically, I had just gotten a brand new 14.4 battery a few months prior.
It's currently at the closest open dealership: Gold Coast Motorsports in New Hyde Park, NY. They've had no luck getting it to charge, and have concluded that it's totaled. I don't have much faith in their diagnostic skills and I think Zero has trouble helping remotely when the bike won't turn on at all.
The dealer has given up and suggests they I have it towed to a junk yard. That seems like a shame, but I also don't want to pay to tow it back to Brooklyn since I have no plan on what to do next. If you can make use of it for parts or want to see if you can resurrect it, it's yours for free. you'd just need to be able to pick it up somehow and probably pretty soon.
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In March I had just moved and hadn't figured out how to get my 2013 S plugged in. I commuted for 10 days and had gotten down to about 20% charge. Then COVID came and we left NYC for what I thought was a week but ended up being 2 months. When I came back, and got it plugged in, the bike was unresponsive. I think I killed the battery by letting it sit with low charge and not plugged in for 2+ months. Tragically, I had just gotten a brand new 14.4 battery a few months prior.
It's currently at the closest open dealership: Gold Coast Motorsports in New Hyde Park, NY. They've had no luck getting it to charge, and have concluded that it's totaled. I don't have much faith in their diagnostic skills and I think Zero has trouble helping remotely when the bike won't turn on at all.
The dealer has given up and suggests they I have it towed to a junk yard. That seems like a shame, but I also don't want to pay to tow it back to Brooklyn since I have no plan on what to do next. If you can make use of it for parts or want to see if you can resurrect it, it's yours for free. you'd just need to be able to pick it up somehow and probably pretty soon.
I will take it.
PM sent
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I can be at the dealer tomorrow morning at 10AM, when they open, to pick it up. Please let me know if you got the PM with my number.
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Just wow. That is really the only thing that kills the battery.
Did you buy the battery or was it swapped from the recall? I'd ship it to Zero and see what they can do or a competent dealer. But I guess you have more money than gumption.
For those reading, if you can't charge then don't ride.
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I would note that I am a Gold Coast customer and they've taken care of the two Zeros that I have purchased from them perfectly well (though I did have to call and nag them a lot with my 2016 bike). They have a new Service Manager now and I haven't had any issues with them since. Neither have my friends who've purchased ICE bikes from them (they've also kept my 1999 K1200LT running ever since my original dealership closed up shop over a decade ago).
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It might be the BMS. Any decent battery lab should be able to bring back. 2-3 months should not kill a good battery. Not all batteries are "good".
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I can be at the dealer tomorrow morning at 10AM, when they open, to pick it up. Please let me know if you got the PM with my number.
Since I posted this Zero said they would reach out and try to be more assertive with the folks at the dealership to see if we can be confident there's no fixing it. So I might have been slightly premature in saying it was free and available. Sorry about that. I do have your number and will let you know first if it plays out that way.
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Just wow. That is really the only thing that kills the battery.
Did you buy the battery or was it swapped from the recall? I'd ship it to Zero and see what they can do or a competent dealer. But I guess you have more money than gumption.
For those reading, if you can't charge then don't ride.
The new battery was installed by Zero as part of the recall. I'm not sure how my gumption would measure up to your standards, but too much money is definitely not my problem. It seems pretty risky to pay to have it shipped cross country to confirm that the battery is a loss. If so, I don't think I'd choose to buy a new one for the 7 year old bike. Happy to take any helpful advice on being cool enough to charge so that I can keep riding.
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I would note that I am a Gold Coast customer and they've taken care of the two Zeros that I have purchased from them perfectly well (though I did have to call and nag them a lot with my 2016 bike). They have a new Service Manager now and I haven't had any issues with them since. Neither have my friends who've purchased ICE bikes from them (they've also kept my 1999 K1200LT running ever since my original dealership closed up shop over a decade ago).
I had a positive experience with them last year in handling the recall (although it took forever and required lots of nagging). This time they've been super unmotivated on the problem solving especially considering the implication is that it's totaled. They also explicitly told me to buy a gas motorcycle from them instead.
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It might be the BMS. Any decent battery lab should be able to bring back. 2-3 months should not kill a good battery. Not all batteries are "good".
I would love if this was the solution and would be worth paying for the help. How does one find a "decent battery lab"? Any tips appreciated
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Good luck! Other than you and GaryArt1 I haven't met any other Zero riders on Long Island.
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I can be at the dealer tomorrow morning at 10AM, when they open, to pick it up. Please let me know if you got the PM with my number.
Since I posted this Zero said they would reach out and try to be more assertive with the folks at the dealership to see if we can be confident there's no fixing it. So I might have been slightly premature in saying it was free and available. Sorry about that. I do have your number and will let you know first if it plays out that way.
Good luck, I hope that they will be able to fix it for you.
But those mechanics have no knowledge or will to troubleshoot electrical problems on Zero motorcycles.
I recently had a Zeto dealer telling me that "his mechanic won't touch a Zero with problems". The funny thing is that I wasn't even surprised.
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Sorry man but posting a "free bike" because a dealer (who wants to sell you a gas bike) says it isn't worth fixing = 0% gumption by any standard.
I am trying to help you (maybe by shaking you up a little) and it looks like Zero is too by telling you that this isn't a lost cause and don't throw away at the very least a few thousand worth of bike parts for free even if they were to say the battery was a complete loss and all due to your actions (which I say they won't).
For future reference when the battery voltage gets too low the BMS won't allow the battery to charge but there are videos of batteries being, lets say, directly charged back up to a voltage that will allow the BMS and the charger to work from there.
Good luck.
Also this is a good time and reason to once again post the need for an east coast parts and tech center that works the same hours as east coast bike shops. These service centers are trying to all call in at the start of Zero's day and at the end of theirs and frustration ensues.
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haha, OK fair fair, thanks to everyone for giving me a gumption boost. Hopefully I won't be shopping for a new bike anytime soon
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Ata Boy.
You gotta fight for your right to bike and party.
Beasty Boys sort of.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Oh and pick up one of these so you can charge at any j1772 charging station. Still at the slow 1.3kw but you can get it some juice.
https://www.evseadapters.com/products/j1772-to-c-13-adapter-for-electric-motorcycle-scooter/
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My 2013 S had also a dead battery,this was because of a bad DC-DC converter .The 12V came on with contact off,by the time I found it, it was to late. It was during the lockdown, and i thought nothing could happen ,the bike was warm and the battery was charged .A month later it was dead.I opened the battery and tried to recharge very slowly,it took days,but in every brick ,the last cell was finally gone.
I even opened one brick to check if there was any way to replace one cell. No way, the cells are all in a block of epoxy (or some other resin )and the bad ones where completely swollen.
Conclusion :you can t repair a zero battery that has one or more completely dead cells.
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True on the bad cell point.
I hadn't heard of a DC=DC converter just coming on. That's interesting.
I want to say Electric Terry and I think all the Police models had a switch on the DC power out line from the converter which could turn off all of the 12volt functions but either allow the bike to charge with after market chargers in Terry's case or running speed check points without having their lights on as a warning on the Police bikes.
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another known defect.
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I know someone else who had this problem. The converter doesn t need the engage signal ,if it has the input voltage ,it makes 12V.
I have both converters in my garage, who knows I can use them some day for some project.
Maybe for longterm storage ,it is better to remove the low power fuse, just in case.
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Just curious, came across this thread and I’m interested in picking this up. Is there any advantage/disadvantage other than price that you know of to go with this adapter over the OEM Zero one?
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Just curious, came across this thread and I’m interested in picking this up. Is there any advantage/disadvantage other than price that you know of to go with this adapter over the OEM Zero one?
Also Tucson EV $81 with free shipping , just scroll to "J1772 To Zero adapter" : https://tucsonev.com/index.html
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Just curious, came across this thread and I’m interested in picking this up. Is there any advantage/disadvantage other than price that you know of to go with this adapter over the OEM Zero one?
I'm not 100% sure what your asking.
The adapter I linked to is a J1772 to C13 setup which is what is needed to use a charging station, either home or public, and the lower on-board charger.
Note: not the SRF or SRS or bikes with a charge tank which has a built in female J1772 plug for charging stations.
The OP made it sound like they didn't have a (115 volt) wall outlet to use to charge where he parked. This is why the battery got so low.
If you meant is this plug setup better than the computer style cord that comes with the Zero to plug the bike into the wall then no it's not better just has a different use.
If you talking about the same plug setup that Zero used to sell vs the one I linked to I doubt Zero made them just sold them. They may have commissioned them to be made since I don't know what else used that C13 setup.
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After Zero consulted remotely with the shop at Gold Coast, everyone agreed that the battery voltage was so low that it was not recoverable. Definitely bummed to have lost it and from a preventable error, but we worried about different things in NYC in March. I was happy to find someone here who has the resources and interest to see what can be made of it. TEV will have to tell the rest of the story. This has been a great community for the length of the 8 years I've been riding Zero!
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After Zero consulted remotely with the shop at Gold Coast, everyone agreed that the battery voltage was so low that it was not recoverable. Definitely bummed to have lost it and from a preventable error, but we worried about different things in NYC in March. I was happy to find someone here who has the resources and interest to see what can be made of it. TEV will have to tell the rest of the story. This has been a great community for the length of the 8 years I've been riding Zero!
Perfect timing, I just measure it, and the battery voltage is 4.9V, so the battery is indeed dead.
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Damn shame, but certainly a cautionary tale for the rest of us.