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[Tony_]

I always make sure my SR / F is well covered under a roof or rain proof cover when parked, but the other day I had no other option than to park over night outside without any cover, and that night it rained.

The next day the yellow "Check Engine Light" started to show, without any additional error codes. It went away for a day then now it is back again. I do not notice any problems, but will take it in for service to check what is wrong, as suggested in the owners manual.

Is it possible the Zero got damaged by the rain? It was still raining when I drove it the next morning, but the yellow warning light only appeared later that day.

[Crissa]

There have been some that have been damaged by rain intrusion, but the errors will clear up when it dries out.  It might be a warranty issue.

But also, many bikes left out in the rain - Zero or otherwise - would show problems given enough time or rain or just bad happenstance.

-Crissa

[petewarm]

I have to say that my dealer blames all the issues with my SR/F due to the fact that I ride in all weathers! see the thread on reliability of SR/Fs.

I now have the wiring totally rebuilt with more weatherproof connectors/seals - taken to Holland from UK to do this, and so far it seems fine ( but its summer...).  Im not the only one, I think Hans123 and others had the same issue.  Usually starts with error 41 isolation fault, followed by a string of other faults. Someone joked that it doesn't rain in California!

I would make sure you report all faults to your dealer and keep a log yourself.  This turned out to be very useful for me when I was able to negotiate a discount on a charge tank.

let us know how it goes.

[Hans2183]

Yes very much possible. Mine has been in for repair twice and I have done 10.500 km with it so far in all kind of weather conditions all year round. I started getting that check engine light (CEL) after rainy rides. Others have reported similar issues. See for example my topic https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?PHPSESSID=djvtbcm3qe19ftbkohail7kbh3&topic=9668.0

[Crissa]

Wel, it doesn't rain here in Santa Cruz fir six months but then we usually have three months of solid rain-always-foggy-wet.  So it does happen.  Just all at once.

While gas bikes can have isolation issues, electric bikes have so many more connectors.  And much of the coatings are invisible and applied at the component factory (As opposed to the assembly factory) so it's an easy problem to have for any electronic device.

-Crissa

[TireFryer426]

Mine is in for warranty repair right now because of water intrusion.
I've ridden in the rain a few times and not had problems.  But a few weeks ago I washed it (per the manual with a garden hose) and must have had some water intrusion.  Bike would run intermittently.  Had errors, and if I shut it off it needed at least 30 minutes before it would move again.
Dealer called me back and said Zero was sending a new BMS out.  He said on the earlier SR/Fs there was an issue with some pins on the BMS being too short.  Not sure what bearing that would have on water intrusion, but I guess thats what Zero told him.  I think based on posts here its a fairly common issue with the early VIN bikes. 

[Crissa]

Short pins wouldn't have as much contact space and be looser when plugged together.  If they were greased, there'd be more space for intrusion.  Sometimes that means there's gaps in the back of the plug they're in, too, because of the size mis-match.

There's just so many things that can go wrong with electronics.

-Crissa

[Apriliarsv]

crissa  -  There have been some that have been damaged by rain intrusion, but the errors will clear up when it dries out.  It might be a warranty issue.


It's not a warranty issue. It's a design fault.
Who designs a motorcycle and does not plan for it to get wet?

[jonblow]

When I first got my SRF last year I washed it with some water (as you do).
I blew it up completely! Wouldn't even turn on.
I won't be doing that again, well not around the seat area anyway :-)

[Crissa]

How is it a design issue?

As I said, component waterproofing is an invisible layer added at the component factory.  If they're the tiniest bit out of spec - and it's not possible to see what this is in most cases until the water intrusion happens - the part will malfunction due to water intrusion.

Add to that things like that it's easy to miss a part with grease, that pins are hidden when they go together.

It's not a design issue if they go 'hey, when inspected, these pins didn't go together' if they were designed to do so.

Nearly every motorcycle on the market has something that will fail if it gets wet or its waterproofing fails.  Honestly, I don't know any that won't fail if you add 'a component failed to stay sealed'.

-Crissa

[centra12]

My BMW c evolution has been standing regularly in the rain at my workplace for years without any problems!
But if a battery has already been set up like this, I can only shake my head

Zero is still in its infancy!!
 

[Crissa]

And my S sits out in the rain regularly, too.

What does this prove?  That there are nearly no c evolution riders?

-Crissa

[Tony_]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish I knew how sensitive the MC is to water earlier, then I would have taken more precautions. My previous Zero, the 2016 DSR, seemed a lot more water resistant. Never had any issues. Hopefully service will sort it out without wasting the entire rest of the season waiting for parts...

I did go through the error log on the console by the way, and there was a list of around ten various errors, including something about insulation. But for each item I read, it disappeared. In hindsight I should have written down each error. I hope the service department can take the entire log out by other means though.

[staples]

My previous Zero, the 2016 DSR, seemed a lot more water resistant. Never had any issues.

How deep of water did you ever take it through?

[Tony_]

My previous Zero, the 2016 DSR, seemed a lot more water resistant. Never had any issues.

How deep of water did you ever take it through?

Haha, well, I didnt take it swimming. I did do things like clean it with a water hose and drive it right after, let it stay parked in the rain, drive in heavy rain etc.