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[ultrarnr]

Well it turns out the Power Tank was not the problem of the contactor error. My second Power Tank arrived yesterday and after installation and a test ride the problem remains.  This has been going on now for over a month. This sucks.

[kensiko]

I don't have the "limp mode" issue but I do have the contactor error, it appears almost every time after I hit the key ON, except just after being disconnected from wall.

Why do they have such contactor error? Isn't a contactor supposed to simply close once powered? Or they measure the resistance at the contact before applying the full voltage?

[ultrarnr]

kensiko,

Do you have a Power Tank installed? My SR was problem free until the Power Tank is installed. When my first Power Tank was installed my dealer spent about a week with Zero going over everything trying to figure out what was causing the problem. In the end it was determined the Power Tank was bad. So another Power Tank was shipped out and as of yesterday the problem remains. I guess it is possible that the second Power tank could also be bad but I would really like to think that Zero tested it before it was shipped.

[kensiko]

No it's a 2013

[BSDThw]

Isn't a contactor supposed to simply close once powered?

The Sevcon has a lot internal capacitors if the contactor just connect the battery to an "empty" Sevcon it produce an enormous current (it can damage the Sevcon).

The Sevcon has a precharge level setting and will only trigger the line conector when the level is reached. At the 2012 the Sevcon physically drove the Contactor coil. As much as I understand since 2013 every thing is handled through CAN communication. It will make timing much more complicated and the contactor is (maybe) driven from BMS or MBB.
I can see it with my 2013 FX - each battery has its own BMS (contactor) so it is really not easy to connect two powerful packs in parallel. Even when recharging it has to switch both pack on ( sometimes I can hear the relays clicking as they fight out which pack is more dominant 
When a 2013+ is connected to the grid the contactor is closed (and the Sevcon is powered on you will see if you move the bike the motor will try to find the encoder position)
This will be the exception in your case
It takes some seconds before the voltage of the Sevcon drops - If you disconnect and start it maybe has still a closed contactor and you have no problem. (actually I always take care to wait till the contactor has opened before I switch on the bike I feared it will not be good if it has an overlapping but I guess your bike prove me wrong  )

[kensiko]

Thanks BSD, that explains how this can happen. To prevent the issue, should I turn the key ON with the emergency switch at off, wait then switch to ON?

[ultrarnr]

There is some kind of resister that was installed to reduce the amount of electrical noise in the system. Dealer is test riding the bike right now to see if it fixes the problem.

[BSDThw]

To prevent the issue, should I turn the key ON with the emergency switch at off, wait then switch to ON?

I don't know for sure but I think the emergency switch will have no effect for the contactor. If your bike is on and you switch off the emergency switch - do you hear the contactor clicking?
For 2012 I know for sure the emergency switch, kickstand switch... are all read by the MBB and use one line to the Sevcon (Forward signal) to prevent the motor to move.

[ultrarnr]

The mystery of the Contactor Error continues. Just got a call from my dealer and the resistor did not solve the problem. So right now we are back to having no idea what is causing it. Think it is time for either Zero to send a team out here to work on the bike or maybe it is time to ship the bike back to Zero. Trying to remotely determine the cause of this problem isn't working.

[biolife]

That sucks, sorry to hear it's still giving you trouble! I guess that's the price we pay as early adopters...

Hopefully they're able to get it sorted out soon!

[kensiko]

I'm sure zero won't let ultranr down.

[Spires]

I have a new 2014 FX, came delivered with one bad battery (contactor error), after a fiasco I finally got a replacement battery. Then while waiting for rain to subside and my work schedule to return to normal, I get the 6000rpm recall. I performed the test on a stand and sent in my bike logs. My bike was gtg.. I still had 2 weeks of 6 day 12hr shifts to work. So get this, I get the bike out to ride and boom, my other, original battery fails with contactor error. So just sitting in the garage plugged in a battery goes belly up. Wtf!!??

I have only ridden my new 2014FX with both batteries and full power once since I owned it. My 2011DS never fails. But this new one has been messed up. I hope they discover the issues quickly, I really only ride in the dirt.

[ultrarnr]

Spires,

On my SR it doesn't seem to be the battery that is causing the contactor error. Without the Power Tank the bike was flawless. While it seemed obvious when the Power Tank was installed that it was the problem Zero shipped out another Power tank and the problem didn't go away. Right now Zero is sending a technician to my dealer to install a new controller and a few other bits. I should know either late today or tomorrow if this solves the problem. While obviously the SR and the FX use different controllers there may be similar components inside causing the problem.

[Richard230]

Knock on wood.....but my Zero S, with its power tank (which was replaced with a new one by the factory - no contactor error, just no power from that module), is still running perfectly and it also passed the magnet-hurling exam.

[kensiko]

FYI, I didn't have a contactor error after the firmware update, but had 1 "Key ON but no green light and no error code" event and 1 "Key ON and Temperature led ON".

The issue switched to another one. I will wait for future events. I don't mind if I can correct it by turning the key off and on. I hope Zero will be able to correct all those small issues. I bet there are only a few things that could cause this.