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Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ / FX killed by firmware?
« on: July 02, 2015, 10:20:47 PM »
I just bought a '14 FX that had been a floor model at the dealer. It had 50 miles when I brought it home.
On my second ride it died, the throttle just stopped having any effect. I cycled power & it flashed a 2-1 code (contactor error) and would not run. Unfortunately the push home was a mile up a steep hill (cycling the power every time I stopped to rest, still 2-1). The next day it seemed OK, though I sent log files to Zero. They talked me through trying batteries one at a time & we decided one was bad. Zero also said the bike has firmware version 40 & 44 is current, so it should go back to the dealer for an update. It ran, but flashed a 2-0 code (indicator always on), so I took it back to the dealer to check out.
Long story short, after over a week at the dealer I'm told that they updated firmware & now its fixed. No battery was changed, no hardware worked on, no parts touched, just bytes. That sounds crazy to me, so I called Zero. I was told that the bike's self-check writes log files to memory and the memory filled up. Apparently the bike was programmed to stop running when that happens. (I'm glad Zero isn't in aviation.) Has anyone else experienced this? Why would a bike with 50 miles have enough error logs to fill the available memory, and why should running out of space kill the bike?
This really shakes my confidence in the bike and company; I don't know if I should keep it. I really hope this is fixed & hope to love this bike but I'm not sure I trust it any further than I'm willing to push it. Has anyone else had problems like this? As an owner how do I know when I need to return the bike to a dealer for a firmware update? If I die on a motorcycle I don't want it to be because I was trying to push it off a highway because of weak computer science.
On my second ride it died, the throttle just stopped having any effect. I cycled power & it flashed a 2-1 code (contactor error) and would not run. Unfortunately the push home was a mile up a steep hill (cycling the power every time I stopped to rest, still 2-1). The next day it seemed OK, though I sent log files to Zero. They talked me through trying batteries one at a time & we decided one was bad. Zero also said the bike has firmware version 40 & 44 is current, so it should go back to the dealer for an update. It ran, but flashed a 2-0 code (indicator always on), so I took it back to the dealer to check out.
Long story short, after over a week at the dealer I'm told that they updated firmware & now its fixed. No battery was changed, no hardware worked on, no parts touched, just bytes. That sounds crazy to me, so I called Zero. I was told that the bike's self-check writes log files to memory and the memory filled up. Apparently the bike was programmed to stop running when that happens. (I'm glad Zero isn't in aviation.) Has anyone else experienced this? Why would a bike with 50 miles have enough error logs to fill the available memory, and why should running out of space kill the bike?
This really shakes my confidence in the bike and company; I don't know if I should keep it. I really hope this is fixed & hope to love this bike but I'm not sure I trust it any further than I'm willing to push it. Has anyone else had problems like this? As an owner how do I know when I need to return the bike to a dealer for a firmware update? If I die on a motorcycle I don't want it to be because I was trying to push it off a highway because of weak computer science.