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[gregoryjward]

I have recently noticed that after the regular, slow-blinking stage of active charging, my 2013 XU goes into a stage where the green charge light is neither steady nor blinking, but is mostly on with occasional, random moments where it flashes off.  Has anyone seen this behavior?  Does it mean anything, or is it possibly a sign of trouble?  The app says that the bike is still charging, albeit at a slower rate.  Eventually, I think the light will shift to a steady green, when the chargers are off and the BMS is doing cell balancing.  Is my bike the only one that acts this way?

Thanks.

[Richard230]

I believe that when the green charging light starts blinking faster and the power consumption drops that is an indication that the BMS is balancing the battery modules.  When the light turns steady, the power consumption drops to about 5 watts and the charger goes on standby.  What it does then I am not quite sure as when that happens I pull the plug, which is something that Zero is now recommending for about a year now.

[gregoryjward]

Thanks for your reply.  In my case, the light doesn't change blinking rates during charge.  It's either blinking steadily at the same (roughly 1 Hz) rate, or it is steadily on, or at least that was what I noticed in the past.  It seemed before that the top-off period was marked by the same steady blinking.

I only recently noticed this behavior where the light is "mostly steady" with erratic, intermittent off states.  It does not appear normal to me, which is why I'm asking what *is* normal.  I may try contacting Zero about it, but it would be great to hear more owners' experiences.

[ATM]

I only recall seeing steady blinking or full green.   
I’ll watch it closer next time I plug it in. 

[Richard230]

I only recall seeing steady blinking or full green.   
I’ll watch it closer next time I plug it in.

My 2014 Zero blinked slow when bulk charging and then fast when balancing.  However, I now notice that my 2018 Zero blinks slowly when both bulk charging and balancing.  When it shuts off the light becomes steady and power consumption drops to about 5 watts.  So Zero has made some changes since 2014.

[ATM]

I just plugged mine in, 91% charge and blinking green 2 seconds on and 2 seconds off. 

[gregoryjward]

Thanks for your input, everyone.

During charging, my light is normally on for about a second and off for about a second.  When it gets near fully charged (or is in cell balancing, I can't tell) it goes to steady green.  I have verified this behavior by videotaping the charge process twice, each time with just one battery installed in the front slot.

I have only seen the erratic charge light behavior with both batteries installed, so I'm wondering if it might be a connector issue on the back battery slot.  I should try charging one battery in the back slot to test that, though it's not the recommended configuration.

I will try charging both together again this weekend and record that to see if the behavior comes back.

[gregoryjward]

Well, I think I may have resolved the issue.  One of the two batteries needed to have its BMS reset.  (See https://zeromanual.com/index.php/Unofficial_Service_Manual#BMS_Reset.)  This seems to have restored normal charging behavior and indicators.

It's a shame that Zero tech support wouldn't offer me this hint, nor would either of the service centers I talked to.  I guess they have liability issues or something, but it's such a simple solution and probably a common problem as well.  You shouldn't have to take your bike in over something so trivial as pressing a reset button for a few seconds.  Sheesh!