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[josh w]

My DC DC converter broke again, but now my
2015 DS has no power when key is turned on.
- dash does not cycle 111,222,333
- There is no sound of contactor clicking on.
- plugging in the AC power to the bike makes a tiny tick sound, not a loud contractor sound.

Battery lights show that battery BMS is good.

There is 108v at the DC DC converter connector.

I live over 1000 km from a dealer in Australia.
Diy is my only affordable option.

The pin 1 voltage changes from 108 to 0 at the DC DC converter when I switch the key off, as it should

I tried resetting BMS, it seemed to reset fine.

I tried removing the low power b+ fuse and replacing.

I swapped the MBB (I have two for this bike).

I suspect the contactor has failed. But don't see how to confirm that.

How do I test the contactor on the bike ?

Do I have to drop the battery to open the doghouse, to replace it?

Is this tiny tick sound like a broken contactor?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/488hbSN2kYfKrwdb7

Thank you for helping!

[DerKrawallkeks]

I think the doghouse should be accessible without dropping the battery, but I'm not sure.
It seemed very exposed when I unmounted the fearings

[rgutt]

The contactor should be a 12-volt relay, so once you have the doghouse open, I would think you could just put 12-volts across it and verify that the contacts pull in. I would isolate the coil and contacts from the rest of the bike before you do though. You don't want to short something on the coil side, and just as important, pulling in the contacts without the motor controller's completing its precharge step could instantly turn your $1k+ motor controller into a paperweight.

Something I am not clear on based on the syntax of your post, had your bike previously been working with the dead DC-DC converter? The dash's not coming on when you cycle the key is indicative that the DC converter is dead -- or at least that the dash isn't getting power from it. I don't know if Zero gets power for the contactor from the pack itself or the DC-DC conveter.

[josh w]

I appreciate the reply and yeah I am very worried about ruining the controller - I've heard horror stories. 

Can the doghouse be removed without dropping the battery? I can't see how.

Yes, the bike, including the contactor and dash (not the backlight, but the LCD display) has worked fine without a dc-dc converter.

The trouble started when the original DC DC converter died.
I bought another one and it died in 3 weeks.

I wired in a 12v battery and charged it manually, and the bike worked fine.

I replaced the converter with an aftermarket one. It made a pop sound and died (I bench tested it before and after installing) and so did my bike. I may have wired it wrong (pack voltage to 12v).

Now I'm stuck.

I am super grateful for your ideas on what else to swap or replace.

I talked to a indepe5 zero mechanic and he said...

... Contactor gets power from pack.

... BMS supplies 12vdc to dash...

... it might be a bad dashboard, since they have logic in them that can make a bike not work if it fails.

 So I've ordered one and will try that in 4 to 6 weeks when it arrives.  In the meantime, I am not sure what to do next.

Could it be a....
... stuck contactor?
... Bad BMS?

Any suggestions welcome!!

[rgutt]

I am really curious what you are seeing that you think you have to drop the battery to open up the doghouse. Zero even cut access holes in the frame to reach the only bolts that wouldn't otherwise be accessible to remove the cover. I'm assuming you realize that you need only remove the cover to gain access to the contactor.

[MVetter]

In case you didn't already have it, here's the service manual for your bike: http://zero-legacy-service-manual-site.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/2015-SDS/2015%20Zero%20DS%20Service%20Manual.htm

[josh w]

Omg thank you!!