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[DonTom]

When I had the bike at the dealer's I told them I had seen posts online about charging at 240V, and asked how I could do it (playing a bit dumb). They told me it was a 120 volt system and that I shouldn't apply more voltage than recommended.

I've toyed with the idea of lopping off the (wall) connector on a charge cable and changing it to a dryer plug, so I could plug it into a 240 volt outlet. I assume that's what you're suggesting.

But given that there is clearly something wrong with the circuit, I tend to think that applying extra voltage could do damage, even if using a higher voltage on an undamaged charging circuit might be safe.

Do NOT waste your time with that dealer any more. 2016 S Zero models can run from 100 to 250 VAC. Check your manual to be 100% certain.  In fact, let me find it for you tight now . .  .

See here for the 2016 S specs

"Input:   Standard 110 V or 220 V"

They often call 120 & 240 by ten volts lower as that is how it started many years ago (kinda like a "2 x 4" doesn't measure 2" by 4" these days).

Not only that, I think the 2016 has the same charger as my bike and can really charge anywhere from 90 to 250 VAC. The sticker on the bottom of the charger will give the exact specs if there are doubts.

Yes, a drier outlet is fine, but you probably have to make your own adapter cable to mate with the bike.

I used drier outlets to charge all four of my EVs in the past. But now I used a Tesla Tap with a Tesla Wall Connector. I always charge with 240 VAC.

In fact, you can read the voltmeter here when I was the very first to check in at King's Beach, because of their very weird outlet.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[DonTom]

I haven't held the voltage reading for any length of time, but it seemed steady to me.

I assume you mean current. That is what you want to check, that 11.2 amps being rock steady.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Richard230]

I recently replaced the OBC on my bike that burned up while it was charging. See the attached photos of the replacement charger and note the inlet cable is attached to the charger box. To replace that you would need to cut off the cord from an old charger. I don't think it can be purchased as a separate part.

[DonTom]

I recently replaced the OBC on my bike that burned up while it was charging. See the attached photos of the replacement charger and note the inlet cable is attached to the charger box. To replace that you would need to cut off the cord from an old charger. I don't think it can be purchased as a separate part.

Thanks for that.

Just a little different than I expected.

I thought it was 90 to 250 VAC.

But now I see it's rated for 100 to 264 VAC on the input. So I was around 10 volts low.

Anyway, I wouldn't want to go to a Zero dealer who doesn't know we can use 240 VAC. Makes me wonder how little they know about the bike.

-Don-   Auburn, CA

[oldnoah]

I recently replaced the OBC on my bike that burned up while it was charging. See the attached photos of the replacement charger and note the inlet cable is attached to the charger box. To replace that you would need to cut off the cord from an old charger. I don't think it can be purchased as a separate part.

How much did that part cost?  And how hard was it to change?

I'm thinking it might be cheap insurance to change the whole charger, since I don't know if the heat has damaged anything.

[Richard230]

I recently replaced the OBC on my bike that burned up while it was charging. See the attached photos of the replacement charger and note the inlet cable is attached to the charger box. To replace that you would need to cut off the cord from an old charger. I don't think it can be purchased as a separate part.

How much did that part cost?  And how hard was it to change?

I'm thinking it might be cheap insurance to change the whole charger, since I don't know if the heat has damaged anything.

$800 sourced from AF1 Racing in Texas. No shipping and no tax to CA. It was relatively easy to install and took two hours to complete the job. A second set of hands helps. There is a thread on this site that shows how to do it. I think the post with photos is in in the "toasted charger" thread.

[oldnoah]

I recently replaced the OBC on my bike that burned up while it was charging. See the attached photos of the replacement charger and note the inlet cable is attached to the charger box. To replace that you would need to cut off the cord from an old charger. I don't think it can be purchased as a separate part.

Anyway, I wouldn't want to go to a Zero dealer who doesn't know we can use 240 VAC. Makes me wonder how little they know about the bike.

-Don-   Auburn, CA

I don't have a choice. The nearest dealer is 110 miles away. It's the only dealer I can reach. To be fair, though, they said that they are motorcycle mechanics, not electrical engineers. So "the best they can do is to call Zero and "be their hands" while Zero talks them through it."
I think the people at the dealer where I bought the bike were far more savvy, but for whatever reason, they aren't a dealership anymore, and Zero won't let them be an authorized service center.  That's what makes me the angriest at Zero.

[DonTom]

I think the people at the dealer where I bought the bike were far more savvy, but for whatever reason, they aren't a dealership anymore, and Zero won't let them be an authorized service center.  That's what makes me the angriest at Zero.

The real problem is most likely that they cannot find anybody who knows how EVs work who doesn't already have a much higher paying job.

Zero cannot let them be an authorized dealer if they don't have anybody to do the work.

Reno had the same problem at the old Indian motorcycle shop, called Cycles and Gear.  They used to sell Zero and that is where I purchased my Zero DS in 2017.  I believe Shadow (moderator here in this forum) can tell you more about that story, about why they are no longer authorized to sell Zero.

But many months later, Eurocyles  in Reno became the authorized Zero dealer. I hear that shop is backed by BIG money, perhaps they can pay enough to keep their employees who know how Zeros work.

-Don-   Auburn, CA

[Curt]

The charger won't have been damaged internally by what's happening at the connectors and cables.

It's regrettable that the charger must be replaced to change the inlet, although someone qualified could replace the inlet separately.

Either way, the first step is to remove any oxidation and carbonization from the blades in the receptacle, by a concerted effort as described above. That should fix it and provide another 4 years of service.

If you do use 240 V, that will lower the power dissipated in the connectors and cable by a factor of 4.

[Crissa]

Curt is correct.

-Crissa

[Richard230]

BTW, the photos below show the AC power cord. It is the one at the bottom of the first photo with the black box on the cord. My recollection is that it is not a simple plug-in to the charger, but is attached is a secure manner and is not easy to remove from the charger box components.

[Starpower]

The plug ends (bike and cord) as mentioned, are marginal in power handling capabilities. We all note them getting warm to hot. More than once I've been concerned and considered replacing both with 30A rated M/F connectors. You might try this cheaper and much easier approach before taking a deeper plunge.

[oldnoah]

Zero cannot let them be an authorized dealer if they don't have anybody to do the work.

-Don-   Auburn, CA

First, the place I bought the bike at still has the same crew of employees. I don't know why they stopped being a dealer, but they were told by Zero that they couldn't be a service center because that privilege is reserved only for Zero dealers, and they wouldn't allow them to remain a service center unless they continued being a dealership. And Zero told me the same thing. From what I saw when I brought the bike there for a firmware upgrade, they had several people who were way more savvy than the anyone at the dealer I've been trailering it to.

Second: The dealer I've been trailering it to doesn't have anyone qualified to do the work. They literally said they aren't qualified, and can only do what Zero tells them to do over the phone. But they're still selling bikes.

Third, I worked at an authorized Jaguar service center. I wasn't a factory trained Jaguar mechanic, but the fact that we were certified to do work on Jaguars was enough to allow me to do work on Jaguars. If I ran into something Jaguar specific that required training, I either asked the Jaguar mechanics on site, or I called Jaguar directly for help. No one ever told me that they wouldn't take my call because I wasn't a factory trained Jaguar mechanic.

Zero is imposing this restriction on their own. They can choose to authorize a non-dealership to be a service center if they wish.

[oldnoah]

Noah,

There are a few things in your saga that raise alarm bells.

You stated the battery was losing power, especially when it was below 20% state of charge, and couldn't accelerate to faster than about 45 mph. In fact, that's normal behavior. It's not the battery that is losing power. It's the well-known "limp mode" where the computer limits power delivery to protect the battery and operate the motor safely as the battery voltage sags.

<snip>

No, the battery was shot. They wouldn't have given me a brand new battery if it wasn't. But to your point about limp mode, that's not the behavior the bike had before the battery went dead, and it's not the behavior of the bike with a new battery.

After you got the bike back the second time, you didn't describe the reason the dealer needs to see it again. Is it still melting plugs, or is it tripping the GFCI? The latter problem has happened with other bikes, so you could research on this forum. I think many GFCI circuits are too sensitive and the solution is to plug it into a non-GFCI circuit.

It's still melting plugs. I think I mentioned in the original post that they sold me an official "Zero(tm) charging cable" and it burned on the first try.

[ESokoloff]

Look here.....
https://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=10514.0