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[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

I haven't ridden my 2011 S for a few weeks. Today was nice and I took it out. Between 29 MPH and 35 MPH, the motorcycle coughs and sputters for a second, like it's having trouble getting gas, and then it loses all power. The throttle won't respond. There are no noises, so I know this is something electrical, not mechanical.
 As the speed drifts down to around 25 MPH, the throttle is able to respond again, and I can resume my trip. My Zero has never done this before.

 Sometimes, the dashboard light flashes a 1,3 error code and sometimes it doesn't flash at all.

Here's what I've done so far:
- The manual says that the 1,3 error is throttle-related. It says to "verify throttle action and/or check connection."
- With the wheels jacked off the ground, I'm able to run the motorcycle throttle up and down with no problem. The rear wheel spins freely and the speedometer quickly goes up to 68, with no coughing or sputtering at all. Throttle action is good.
- I checked the connection where the throttle wires plug into the other wires. It's tight. I unplugged and re-plugged them. Went for a test ride and still doing the same thing.
 I noticed that the male end of the connection (coming from the throttle grip) has two pins inside. But looking at the female end of the connection, there are four wires going off to someplace under the 'gas tank'. Is this normal? Why would two wires go into a connection, but four wires come out of it? What do the other two wires do?

 I'm stuck. What's causing this sputtering and loss of power? If it's not the throttle or its connection, what else should I look at? Since the problem only happens when I'm riding and not in my garage, could it be a loose wire somewhere, that is vibrating loose around 30 MPH? If so, where?

[Moto7575]

Maybe you can check the throttle resistance using a controller or a scope - with time it is possible that it is not working as it should...

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Maybe you can check the throttle resistance using a controller or a scope...

The throttle and everything else work great when I have the motorcycle lifted off the floor, in my garage. The tire spins fine and the speed goes up with no problem.
 The trouble only comes when I ride on it. With weight and wind resistance, the motorcycle only accelerates to 30 MPH or so before it shuts off. It's acting like it can't supply the amps needed to turn the motor under a heavy load. Again, it's never done this before and I don't know where to begin looking.
 If it gives the 1,3 throttle-unplugged error and the throttle is working fine, then where else can the problem be?

[togo]

If it works well when off the ground but not under load,
maybe you don't notice the lack of smoothness, maybe
the throttle doesn't get into the problematic zone.

IIRC throttles of that era were resistive, not hall effect,
and thus more subject to contamination problems.  Zero
sent me a new throttle for my 2011 S, years ago, when
I contacted them about it continuing to pull a bit when
fully stopped.  (I no longer have that bike)

[Richard230]

Zero also replaced the throttle assembly on my early-build 2012 S, when it started having stalling issues after coming to a stop for more than a minute.  Once the throttle was replaced with the new part, I never had another stalling problem.

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Guys,
  Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad other people have had similar problems with their Zeros, too. This morning I called Zero and told them about the problem I just started having and how it is too unsafe for me to ride on the roads. An hour later, an electrical engineer at Zero sent me this email:

"Unfortunately, official support of 2011 model motorcycles has ended, and I am unable to assist you in this issue... Many of the parts used in 2011 have been obsoleted by their manufacturers, and we are no longer able to get more inventory..."

 5,000 miles and it quits working, with no support from the clowns who made it? Looks like I'll be selling my Zero, never buying another one, and sticking to dependable Japanese motorcycle from now on.

[Richard230]

Guys,
  Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad other people have had similar problems with their Zeros, too. This morning I called Zero and told them about the problem I just started having and how it is too unsafe for me to ride on the roads. An hour later, an electrical engineer at Zero sent me this email:

"Unfortunately, official support of 2011 model motorcycles has ended, and I am unable to assist you in this issue... Many of the parts used in 2011 have been obsoleted by their manufacturers, and we are no longer able to get more inventory..."

 5,000 miles and it quits working, with no support from the clowns who made it? Looks like I'll be selling my Zero, never buying another one, and sticking to dependable Japanese motorcycle from now on.

With older electric motorcycles, like my first two Electric Motorsport GPR-S bikes (more dead ducks), it is sometimes the best plan to use the chassis and build your own power train from off the shelf-or-used components like they do at the DIY elmoto forum. Apparently used Leaf batteries are well regarded and most other components are available commercially to build or rebuild an electric motorcycle, if you have some basic knowledge or (like I did) a friend that is an electrical engineer, or the equivalent.

[togo]

https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Unofficial_Service_Manual#Magura_Throttle

https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Advanced_Modifications#Throttle_Upgrade

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Original poster again...
 I checked the resistance of the throttle. It's good.
 I also checked the motor controller. It seems good: solid green light at start-up, motor spins to 71MPH (in my garage, wheels off the floor), I logged into the controller via my laptop.

 While I was looking around at the controller, I thought the 3 flat pins on the back were slightly corroded, so I used an emery board to shine them up. Plugged everything up tight and went for a test ride. Finally!! I was able to accelerate beyond 35 MPH, just like in the old days!

  However, at 45MPH, the entire motorcycle died. No response from the throttle at all; dashboard was completely blacked out. It felt like somebody had suddenly disconnected the battery. I coasted to a stop on the side of the road, turned off the key, and immediately turned it right back on. Everything booted up normally, as if nothing had happened. I drove the motorcycle home with no problems, although I kept it below 20 MPH to be safe.

 New problem. What would make the whole motorcycle shut off like that? It has never done that to me before. Has anybody else had this problem? If so, what was the solution? I can't find anything in the user manual about this. This vehicle is unsafe and Zero refuses to take any kind of ownership for their construction.

[2x0]

I'm guessing that your battery is worn out and the voltage sags as your speed increases.  One of the components then shuts down the system. 

You could test this theory by hooking up a voltage display to see what the battery is doing when you accelerate

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

You could test this theory by hooking up a voltage display to see what the battery is doing...

How? Where?


 I think this fixed one of the problems, but not exactly sure which one: On the port side of the motorcycle, I can see what looks like a square-shaped donut. One of the cables that connects the motor controller to the motor runs though that donut. Attached to the donut, there is a little plug with 2 wires. The plug does not snap or click into place; it just slides into place. I tugged it and it slide right off. Maybe when I'm riding the motorcycle, that little plug vibrates loose and the motorcycle dies. So I zip-tied it all over the place, to keep it in there tight. The motorcycle hasn't died since then.
 HOWEVER...
 today today the motorcycle started acting up again. It accelerates smoothly until about 40 MPH, and then it dies and the throttle stops responding. The little red light flashes 1,3. I have to let off the throttle, wait for a few seconds while the motorcycle slows down and cars honk, and then the throttle will work again. I just now re-tested the throttle's resistance and I get a range of 0 to 5.58K ohms.
Questions:
1) Has anybody besides me ever gotten the 1,3 code (which, according the the manual, is related to throttle)? If so, was there any way to fix it?
2) If so, how was it fixed?
3) I know the throttle should be 0 to 5K ohms, but is it a problem that my throttle goes up to 5.58K ohms?

 Grrrrrr! For a motorcycle that uses "maintenance-free" as a selling point, I sure to spend a lot of time doing maintenance on it. Guess the clowns at Zero have never heard of a 1980s Honda; that's maintenance-free.

[togo]

> > You could test this theory by hooking up a voltage display to see what the battery is doing...

> How? Where?

Well, there are levels.  Cell balance would be good. 

But as a starting point, a DC voltmeter would be good.  Not the handheld probe kind, but the panel kind, so they are visble while riding.  I've got voltmeter by my display, powered from battery power under the seat (with 1/4 amp fuses on both +B and -B).  There's also battery power at the DC-DC, but it's always-on power, which would make your display a "vampire drain" when bike is off.

After that, if that doesn't give you enough info, noncontact DC ammeter would be my next step.

Hope that helps.

[Alan. Yes THAT Alan]

Am I the only sucker who ever made the mistake of buying a Zero? I have seen one Zero motorcycle in my life, and it's the one that I own.
 I'd like to hear from somebody else who has a 2011 Zero, especially if they've ever gotten that 1,3 code on the dashboard.
What does it mean (I know what the manual says, but what's REALLY broken here?) Did you fix the problem? How? Is it a problem that my throttle goes up to 5.58K ohms?

[Curt]

Am I the only sucker who ever made the mistake of buying a Zero? I have seen one Zero motorcycle in my life, and it's the one that I own.
 I'd like to hear from somebody else who has a 2011 Zero, especially if they've ever gotten that 1,3 code on the dashboard.
What does it mean (I know what the manual says, but what's REALLY broken here?) Did you fix the problem? How? Is it a problem that my throttle goes up to 5.58K ohms?

If you didn't recognize the inherent risk in adopting bleeding edge technology, if you expected a bike (electric or otherwise) to stay trouble-free indefinitely, if you believe the sum total of all your experiences with the electric bike experience were not worth the investment, then yes you made a mistake. Or maybe the mistake was in not upgrading for 7 years?

Sorry, I can sympathize with the current 35MPH problem, but you can fix it if you want to spend the time/money. My KTM made it 4 years before the engine blew and I paid to fix it. My BMW 540i made it 75,000 miles before incurring more maintenance cost than it's worth, but I'm in the middle of fixing that too.

[2x0]

Buy this, install it and see if it makes a difference. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Magura-Twist-Grip-Throttle-0-5k-ohms/273407351484?hash=item3fa8591abc:g:3jkAAMXQ-KRRgOfF:rk:3:pf:0

while you wait for shipping etc, see if you can duplicate the issue with the bike on the stand by adding load to the motor with the rear brake.  You might have to disconnect (or jumper) the brake switch to fool the software