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« on: January 08, 2020, 12:29:41 AM »
After a long holiday break since I got my bike, I was excited to ride it only to be disappointed by a failed charge cable.
Not sure how common this is but I'm finding it hard to find anything on internet.
So, here it goes...
I got my bike about 20 days ago. It was a ex-demo with 1500 miles on clock. I did a couple of fun trips and a trial run to work on Sunday preparing for Monday. After I got home on Sunday, I struggled a bit to charge but I finally manage to put the bike to charge to 100% and it went well.
Yesterday, I plugged it in to charge and the blue light on the SR/F charge cable would not come up despite of numerous different tries. The manual was useless to explain what to expect. After several searches, I figured out that it is Metron charger but only rated for 10 Amps. I didn't notice this until I was having problems but when I was charging the bike, it was going above 10. I definitely saw a 13 Amp charge on Sunday evening. Anyway, I tried everything on their manual for PC03 with RCD pressing the only button on the charge gun but no success. BTW, the version rebranded for Zero is not PC03 as PC03 goes up until 16 Amps.
I thought I will visit a local charge station to charge this morning. This was the first time I visited a charge station ever. I didn't know what to expect. So, I expected the worst and it didn't disappoint. I was hoping that they have a tethered cable. Now, the hunt for cables has begun but I didn't want to spend too much before knowing the fault. So, I went to a Hyundai showroom who has a charge point in their parking space to see if they have a Type 2 charge cable... No luck! I was even ready to buy one at that point, not just lend but surprisingly, a EV (ioniq) seller does not sell spare charge cables.
Next stop a local Euro Parts store... they did not even understand the cable I needed. They initially thought I needed a jump start cable or something.
Next stop Screwfix. They do sell a UK 3-pin to type-2 portable charger but there were not any in stock and also, a search on Amazon previous night showed me a IP65 rated charger. So, I was slightly hesitant to buy Screwfix one just to calm my anxiety.
Next try... all the EV sellers in like 15-20 mile radius. I can't believe no one stocks a single charge cable!!! Jaguar - No, Nissan - No.
I was exhausted at this point and headed home and stopped at a neighbor's house who has a wall charge point installed. He was very welcoming and said yes to my test. He actually thought I wanted to charge, bless him. So, I quickly ran the test and voila, it is still functional, the on board charger. So, it has to be the cable. I now rand my dealer and told him the problem. He is contacting the supplier to get a warranty replacement but until that arrives, I won't be able to ride. This is not a good enough end. So, I decided to buy the charger off Amazon for next day delivery.
I thought I will give the charger another try and suddenly, it went blue. At this point, it was not connected to the bike, just to mains. So, I plugged it into the bike and it turned on and immediately, the RCD on it tripped. I thought it could be the wall socket. So, I decided to move to another socket but the result was same. I even tried the method on Metron manual to reduce the draw to lowest but it didn't help. I guess it is shorting at the gun somewhere. At least the charge cable is turning on now.
Has anyone else had any similar experiences with the portable charge cable? What would cause the RDC to trip?
Has anyone tried Tesla portable charger on the bike on a 13 amp circuit? I'm planning to get that at some point or even the Tesla wall charger if possible.
Lastly, I hate that OLEV grant for installation of EV chargers is not available for Motorbikes... Stupid UK govt and Zero for not applying for one.
