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Author Topic: Resolved!! - 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move  (Read 1913 times)

Arun Kalavakolanu

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I purchased my 2014 S with power tank in May-2014. I have used it to commute to work and accumulated 5,700 miles in these past 5 months with no issues other than what has now unfortunately become the common complaint - "squeaky rear wheel/brakes at low speed". I did not make any special effort to get that addressed since my dealer is 100 miles away, figured, I would just grin and bear it since it was not hindering my commute.

2 weeks ago - on Mon 22nd Sept, as I was getting ready to leave to work on my trusted work horse, it just would not move forward! The battery was 100% charged, it booted up perfectly fine, the head lights, turn signal , horn - all electrical items worked fine,  everything worked great, except for the motor! When I rocked/moved the bike forward and backward, the motor would engage and would whirr as though it was energized and ready to go (normal behavior). And yes, the kick stand was up , the charge chord was not connected to the motorcycle and the kill switch was off. 
I figured, it may be related to some moisture that may have somehow worked its way into the system( we have had heavy rains almost daily and the motorcycle is parked outside with no protection) and decided to give it a few days in the sun to see it behaved better. A few days rest turned into 2 weeks of "drying" under the Florida sun and today, it still will not move!

I contacted the dealer who requested that I send them the logs using the mobile app which I just did. I am waiting to hear back from them.

So, while I wait, any advise on how to get this fixed without having to transport my motorcycle 100 miles to the dealership?  Any diagnostic next steps ?
« Last Edit: December 22, 2014, 02:05:34 AM by Arun Kalavakolanu »
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2014 Zero S with Power Tank

BSDThw

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2014, 01:25:48 AM »

OK the switches/ kick stand... are correct but you don't know if it work. If so the warning/display should gave a feedback (have no 2014 but you should know how your bike show when the kick stand is not ready)

Did I get it right - there is no warning, information...

I and lots more had a defect throttle (2012) didn't hear off it anymore but this would act as you mentioned.

The Sevcon has a LED that display an error sequence. I think you maybe can see it when the seat is off.

If you are a bit into subject matters and having a serial (3.3V TTL) to usb dongle you could read the start up procedure and maybe see an evidence.   

« Last Edit: October 06, 2014, 01:30:03 AM by BSDThw »
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Doug S

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2014, 08:22:45 PM »

I have this problem occasionally on my 2014 SR and it's the kickstand and/or a bootup issue...I think a little of both. Especially when the weather's warm, with the kickstand down, the red light flickers irregularly instead of flashing steadily. Then, when I put the kickstand up, the green and red lights both flicker, and the bike won't move. Clearly the controller isn't convinced that the kickstand is up.

Sometimes kicking the kickstand up more firmly solves the problem (seems like a flaky switch), sometimes I just have to turn the key off and on again (seems like a firmware issue), sometimes both, and as I said, it seems to happen more when the weather is warm. But it's never been a real problem; I've never taken me more than 30 seconds or so to get it going, and once it is going, it NEVER stops and loses power. Because there seem to be two interrelated failures, it's difficult to be sure what the fix would be, but it seems more like a glitch than a real problem, and I haven't spent the time and energy to address it.

If you do figure it out, let me know if it seems similar to my problem and what you did to fix it!
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Burton

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2014, 08:46:56 PM »

May or may not be related.

This friday I was on my way home and my bikes motor started to pulse erratically.  I pulled over and even with the "kill switch" on the pulsing continued. While it was doing this the warning light would flash in odd patterns with the kill switch on / off.

After ruling out water being the cause, as it was just raining, I turned the bike on to use my emergency flashers as I waited / consulted for help.  After an hour or so of talking to EC and my over worried mother I backed the bike up about 100' with the bike on.

After doing this the bike worked again.

Talking to EC it was an encoder issue in the motor and backing up is a temporary fix for the issue. As well I could have power cycled while moving and hammered the throttle to reset it; or so I have been informed by EC.

I am not sure if the 2014 has the same encoder but maybe try backing the bike up a bit ? When you move the bike does the motor make any noise?
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AndyB.

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2014, 08:55:31 AM »

I had a similar issue on my 2014 S. It had about 3900 miles on it at the time. My problem occurred over the course of my commute home. Every time I would release the throttle and then opened it back up, it would take longer in the throttle travel for thr motor to engage. By time I got home, the throttle wasnt engaging until the last tiny portion of the throttle travel. The next day with the battery fully charged, twisting the throttle had no result. When I moved the bike manually, the motor would make the same noise you described. There were no error codes indicate by the red triangle light either.

Anyway, long story short, a rep from zero picked it up and took it back to the factory. (I live like 2 hours away from Scotts Valley). They ran the history and discovered 18 throttle failure codes. The first two were on the day I bought it. So it appeared to be a defect from the get go. The techs at zero were cool enough to send me the bike logs - which are very descriptive. There is a time stamp next to the error codes.

From what I have read, the throttle assembly for the 2014 isn't so good. Fortunately, I have read that the 2015 models come with a more robust throttle assembly.
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AustinSZF8.5

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2014, 02:47:25 AM »

hm.. Now I'm worried that my 2014 S has a surprise waiting for me. I have a short commute so have only amassed 1800 miles or so. I wonder if the 2015 throttle assembly can be retrofit on the 2014 bikes...? Someone mentioned a couple weeks ago that there may be a more permanent fix for problems such as these, I wonder if this is it?
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Jeff - Austin, TX
14 Zero S ZF 8.5
08 Kawasaki Versys
09 Honda CRF230L

97 Honda Magna - sold 2015
03 Triumph 955i Sprint ST - RIP 2013
87 Honda VFR 700 F2 - sold 2008
92 Yamaha Seca II - sold 2004

Richard230

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2014, 03:13:51 AM »

My thought is "don't worry, be happy".  My daughter's 2012 S's throttle is still working fine after almost 10K miles and I believe that the 2013/14 throttles are even better than the ones installed on the earlier models.  Hopefully, the 2015 throttle assembly will be able to be retrofitted should a problem occur, but in the meantime it is best not to worry about a problem that doesn't exist on your bike.  Just keep riding and smiling.  ;)
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Richard's motorcycle collection:  2018 16.6 kWh Zero S, 2020 KTM 390 Duke, 2002 Yamaha FZ1 (FZS1000N) and a 1978 Honda Kick 'N Go Senior.

AustinSZF8.5

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2014, 03:41:47 AM »

Just keep riding and smiling.  ;)

Oh, I'll do that for sure! ;) Daily even! But should the issue arise on my machine, I'm wondering if this is a fix I should push for.
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Jeff - Austin, TX
14 Zero S ZF 8.5
08 Kawasaki Versys
09 Honda CRF230L

97 Honda Magna - sold 2015
03 Triumph 955i Sprint ST - RIP 2013
87 Honda VFR 700 F2 - sold 2008
92 Yamaha Seca II - sold 2004

SoundMusic

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2014, 05:43:18 AM »

I had this happen to me about 4 weeks ago with 5k miles on my 2014S.
I had a full charge. I ended up staying overnight where I was.
In the morning it ran fine.
I did plug it in over night even though it had a full charge.
I emailed the logs and Zero said yes ther was an issue as noted in the logs.
I brought it to the factory.
The said it had to do with one of the BMS systems as I also have a power tank.
They upgraded the bike to the lastest SW.
I have not had any issues since.
Their support was excellent. Great support staff!
I highly recommend you check and make sure you alwys have the lasets release of SW.
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Arun Kalavakolanu

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Re: 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2014, 10:47:57 AM »

The issue with the motorcycle was resolved by a new dealership(North Miami Motorsports) that opened up close to me and saved me towing the motorcycle to a dealership 100 miles away.

It required a few software updates and a full replacement of the throttle assembly to finally get the motorcycle working. So, yes, the root cause certainly appears to be a broken/bad throttle assembly as experienced by some of the others on this forum.

It was with the dealership for about 3 weeks, but they kept me updated as they went back-and-forth with zero. Its been up and running fine without issues for a few weeks now, I just hadn't gotten around to posting this update.

If anything, this incident has reinforced the importance of having a solid support network in close proximity!
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2014 Zero S with Power Tank

benswing

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Resolved!! - 2014 Zero S with power tank - Boots up but will not move
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2014, 09:15:47 PM »

Good to hear both that your bike is fixed and there is a new dealership in Miami! 

Would you update the title of this thread to "Resolved".

THANKS!!!
« Last Edit: December 22, 2014, 07:19:46 AM by benswing »
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