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[protomech]

Yeah. It's worth reiterating that I've ridden the bike in the rain maybe 3-5 times prior to the fault without incident, and after letting the bike dry out, I've ridden it another 100 miles without further issue.

I did however elect to not ride it this afternoon, when it was raining : P I think I will add a 4mm and 5mm hex wrench to my toolkit to keep on the bike.. if this ever happens again then maybe I can remove the front plate, wipe down the board, and get back on the road..

The new board should be here Wednesday. I'll take pictures and try to identify the changes.

I would be curious to hear if anyone else has a similar problem in the future. Could be that this is just a freak glitch *shrug*

[protomech]

Early morning ride today, mist and fog turned into light rain. No problem.

Rode to work. Late evening overcast, turns into mild to moderate rain. No problem.

Whatever caused the glitch is intermittent at best..

[ColoPaul]

Got my first rain ride on the Zero today.  I was a bit nervous, but, the only issue was the zero got all dirty and it took me 20 minutes or so cleaning it up after it dried out. 

[protomech]

Yep, rain makes the zero a dirty little bike. Ehm.

Got the box with the new BMS board yesterday, won't get time until saturday probably to work on it.

In the mean time, it's smooth and silent sailing for me : )

[Lipo423]

Please let us know the board differences (I'm really curious about it)

[protomech]

New BMS board:



Old BMS board:



Closeup of new board, temperature sensor connector:



Closeup of old board, temperature sensor connector:



You can see pretty clearly some corrosion or dirt between two adjacent pins on the temperature sensor connector. Presumably one of the pins is a sensor pin and one is ground, and when the board got damp the sensor shorted and caused the BMS to throw a fault.

The new board has a protective coating over the pins, though it's hard to see in the photo. The Galaxy Nexus's camera is not very good.

[Lipo423]

Thanks Protomech, good info to get handy...

Do you know by chance if this is something they have just changed or if there is a # serial brake number when they started to ship bikes with the new board?

Wouldn't like to get the same problem for something that is supposed to be waterproof/splash proof and it is not 

They should make a customer recall, shouldn't they?

[protomech]

I have been told there are no component or PCB changes, just more weather-protection for the pins on the connector. If a bike was not covered by warranty for some reason (say second-hand purchase of an un-updated early run bike in 2015), you could apply epoxy or liquid electrical tape on the pins to get similar protection.

I believe they are currently shipping bikes with the upgraded BMS board. I have bike #00096 (believe the S/DS and X/MX/XU lines are serialized independently). I'm not sure if you can see the thermistor connector without pulling off the front face plate.

Zero is aware of the problem and has corrected it in production. I don't know what their plans are for early-run owners - they may still be evaluating their options and trying to determine how common the defect is.

[ColoPaul]

OK, rode home today, about 15 miles total, though steady rain.  I got soaked, so did my Zero.  I got home and toweled it off - I saw the clear plastic window (to the BMS board) had alot of condensation on the inside.  Clearly that compartment is not waterproof and they are relying on the conformal coating of the PCB to protect the BMS board.
Happily, my Zero rode fine the whole way - I popped the rubber stopper (next to the plastic window) out for the night to help let the moisture out of the BMS compartment.
I have #47 SZF6.  Wonder where I stand with the protection protomech mentions?

[protomech]

On the day I triggered the fault, I rode it to work in the morning in the rain. The rain had stopped around noon and did not resume.  I rode from work to a restaurant that evening. It was only when leaving the restaurant that it registered the fault.

This fault can't be that common - we have a number of people that ride in the rain and I rode in the rain several times without problem before (and afterwards, after the fault but before installing the new board). Looking at the corrosion, I'm guessing that it was a combination of dirt and water spray leaking through the access port that eventually caused a short in the temp sensors.

[Electric Terry]

On a 200+ mile roadtrip from Orlando to Miami last week, I had the bike shut down on the freeway while i was riding.  I called Zero and they shipped me out a new BMS board.  The bike shut down while I was in the middle of a huge rain storm.  I received the new BMS board already but have not installed it yet.  I'll take pictures when i do.  Right now I'm posting mostly about the quick charge stations I'm using.  Can fully recharge in about 3 hours with the J1772 port at 2.885 kw.  More pics and info here:  http://www.facebook.com/llifeoffthegrid

[Lipo423]

Offthegrid,

Could you tell us your bike model & s/n?
It might be good to know if this is going to be a problem while riding in the rain for everyone...

[Electric Terry]

its a 2012 Zero S, had delivered end of April.  VIN ends in 000172.

[Richard230]

You are way after me. My VIN ends in 51. No issues yet, but then I avoid wet weather as I am retired and can pick and choose when to ride.   

[CliC]

After reading offthegrid's Facebook report of being temporarily stranded again in a rainstorm, due to his not having time to swap in his replacement BMS board prior to his epic ride, I'm thinking now I might need to take mine apart and seal those pins - if not the entire battery box.