ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Zero Motorcycles Forum | 2013+ => Topic started by: Electronpusher on November 03, 2015, 07:29:40 AM
-
Anyone every have problems with popping the circuit breaker? My issue is i have a 2015 SR and i just plugged it in and it is popping the circuit bresker on 3 different circuit breakers a 240 50 amp service, a GFIC 20 AMP dedicated and 20 amp outlet with nothing else running on it. My thought is the on board chargers have failed. Any ideas? Any one with the same problem?
-
Or just the plug/cable is bad? At the end of last Winter I picked-up an electric snow blower off the curb where it was left for trash collection. The only thing wrong with it was a shorted plug... $6 at Home Depot later, and it cleaned my driveway ;-)
Not saying that's the case with your bike, but a continuity test if you can get to both ends of the charging cable and plug, might save you weeks at the dealership...
-
Gulp; the first sign of a blown charger is popping breakers. Exactly the same thing happened to me till I worked out the charger had failed. Simplest way to test/confirm is to use an off board charger and see if that works. FWIW (I've said it many times) I reckon every owner needs a spare charger on hand for both increased charging rates and also as back up. I share one with a buddy near by and it saved my bacon while i waited for the stock charger to be replaced.
-
I have a off board delta quick charger but used thought the onboard chargers had to powered up as well while using the delta quick.
-
Is it just me or do the 2015 bikes tend to blow chargers more than the 2013?
With the 2013 if you have issues you can just rewire it to bypass the bad set one and still charge at 500w in an emergency ;)
-
With the 2013 if you have issues you can just rewire it to bypass the bad set one and still charge at 500w in an emergency ;)
Could you spell that out a bit more? Maybe extend your wiring diagram to explain the charger structure...
-
Agree. If you have the time to create a simple how-to that might be a lifesaver for somebody who is desperately trying to charge their motor.
-
Simply put, the 2013 has four mean well hlg320h-54a power supplies (320watts each at 58v) and they run them 2 series 2 parallel , in the event of a single supply failure you can isolate the pair and still run two others for 600watts +/-
-
Does your charger work if plugged into a different circuit? Does anything else work in those circuits, such as a light or electric fan, or?
In my experience I have blown two onboard chargers on 2015 SR in 4 weeks. The first quit the first night home and the second 27 cycles later. This bike was a demonstrator with 230 miles at purchase. The APP logged 25 cycles. I haven't figured out yet if a 'cycle' is recorded when it reaches 100% or just any time it's plugged in. The first 25 covered 230 miles, the next 27 cycles covered 1,200 miles. The 2nd charger burned out after about 10 minutes of charging following a 30 mile ride. No problems in the house service box as the outlet was still live. Fortunately I have a dealer 15 miles away.
I don't wish to offer opinions, complaints or suggestions this early in the game other than of course it is "disappointing."
As most of you know, Zero advertises heavily on social media. The comments following one of their posts are often amusing, usually ignorant, but occasionally right on. One owner's advice was, "don't buy one of these unless you have local service...they are great when they work but could be a nightmare if you can't get authorized support locally." I think this applies to any expensive and complex product, but especially one like a Zero Electric since no one outside the 'network' really knows how they work or how to fix them.
-
Anyone every have problems with popping the circuit breaker? My issue is i have a 2015 SR and i just plugged it in and it is popping the circuit bresker on 3 different circuit breakers a 240 50 amp service, a GFIC 20 AMP dedicated and 20 amp outlet with nothing else running on it. My thought is the on board chargers have failed. Any ideas? Any one with the same problem?
I also own a 2015 Zero SR. I am on my fourth charger. The first charger that went bad popped breakers. The second and third wouldn't do a complete charge (stopping at 89% or whatever) and then just stopped working. The dealer stated that this last charger has been completely redesigned. I believe him because this latest charger has been flawless, charges to 100% each and every time.
-
Thanks for the replys i was hoping it was soething like that not a bigger problem. DoesAnyone know if there are still 4 seperate chargers on the bike or did they upgrade to one charger?
-
I believe after the 2013 model the Chargers were switched to green watt power evC-116-1200, not sure if the 2015 got the same
-
Thanks for the replys i was hoping it was soething like that not a bigger problem. DoesAnyone know if there are still 4 seperate chargers on the bike or did they upgrade to one charger?
Since it was all under warranty, I didn't bother to ask many questions. I just know I was told that it was a new design.
-
Dealer confirmed it was a blown charger they are replacing it sometime within the week. They also confirmed that there is one central charger on this bike in lieu of 4 seperate ones.
-
I'm glad I saw this thread.
I just got a 2015 SR Demo it has ~300 miles on it after 4 commutes and some rides.
There are 2 outlets in my garage that are 120V 15A and I have been alternating back and forth between them after the breaker popping on one, and the GFCI popping on the other one.
Last night I thing the breaker popped and I ended up riding to work with only a ~85% charge, which is not a problem since I only need ~40% to get to and from work, but it made me think.
What off board chargers are recommended? Cost?
I have a 99MPG "grid charger" for my Honda Insight, but I think its max current is 1 amp. Its really just for maintenance balance charging a 16 year old hybrid, but it is programmable.
-
My charger has been popping my circuit breaker as well, and it doesn't charge consistently. When looking at the time to full it fluctuates minute-by-minute from 0 (not charging) to 2hrs (charging normally). Getting it replaced ASAP with the new one.
-
My charger has been popping my circuit breaker as well, and it doesn't charge consistently. When looking at the time to full it fluctuates minute-by-minute from 0 (not charging) to 2hrs (charging normally). Getting it replaced ASAP with the new one.
I noticed wild fluctuations in Amps and time to charge and just thought it was either the app or just the nature of the system. Can someone confirm that this behavior means a bad charger?
Last night periodically I checked the charging to see if it would pop a breaker. Everything was fine for a couple hours. I woke up and the breaker was popped. I checked the charge and it was at 100%. I plugged it in to charge and multiple times it popped.
-
Oh, man... I just bought a 2015 SR Demo bike, with 740+ miles on it, and had hoped that the bad charger issue was an out of the box type thing. Now I have to worry about the onboard charger failing at any point in time??? To make matters worse, there is no dealer near me - just two of them four hours or so away. Assuming the thing works when I get it, I may have to put it up for sale in the Spring. Sh*t! How difficult is DIY replacement of the charger?
-
Leftie was that the demo from GA?
-
Leftie was that the demo from GA?
No, this one was from Elk Grove Ca. The Georgia bike interested me, but they were playing games - listing it on Ebay, then saying it was sold, then it showed up again on their own site, plus that dealer has a very mixed reputation.
So what do I do? I'm in poor health, and while I can replace a module on a good day, I can't tear the bike down and put it back together to replace the charger if they buried it. It's hard to stay committed to electric bikes when the quality just isn't there, and this bike cost me most of what I had in the bank. Anyway, someone asked if the external charger will work when the onboard one has failed, and I didn't see an answer posted to that...
-
So what do I do? I'm in poor health, and while I can replace a module on a good day, I can't tear the bike down and put it back together to replace the charger if they buried it.
Separate from the other concerns, the onboard charger is accessible under the belly pan. So, thankfully, it's not buried. Hopefully someone has time to chime in with replacement experience.
-
This is the manufacturer's website.
http://www.greenwattpower.com/
Click on the catalogue link and you'll get a pdf that gives a little more detail of the offending article. If I get round to it I might send them an email asking for more info about the issue and what they're doing about it. Apart from continuing to supply Zero with faulty chargers, that is.
-
Thanks for the info. If this is a bolt-in unit under the belly pan, with just a couple of connections, I should be able to handle it. Still...
I see in one of these several topics on this issue that there is speculation that arcing of the power connection when chargers are plugged in may be part of the problem. I tend to agree. The J-1772 connection used in EV cars goes to great lengths to avoid this, and not just to protect people. I was planning on using a surge protector with the bike's charger. I will also, as I do with my EZIP bicycles, use the switch on the surge protector strip to turn the charger on and off, leaving the cord plugged in, if I can find a second charge cord to carry on the bike. I'll also see if I can find a surge protector that advertises a "no arc" switch.
-
"The J-1772 connection used in EV cars goes to great lengths to avoid this, "
Indeed, the design of the J-1772 (and associated Type 2) is really good and quite simple, the main power pins are far longer than the comms pin, so before the comms pin can tell the EVSE to start providing power all the power pins are pretty much engaged.
Arcing is bad, and can over time melt the IEC "kettle lead" socket, which can cause its pins to come lose.
-
I reckon that's what happened to Ben on one of his adventures. I could do with an extension cord in my back garden so I'll get one like Leftie describes.
-
Hi all,
now after a great day filming and riding with the largest Zero gathering in Sydney so far my onboard charger seems to have packed in. popping the circuit breaker .... the external deltaQ works fine from the same outlet. not great as I was planning to go touring and "fast" charge with onboard + 2x DQs.... Guess now it is to get the replacement onboard installed ASAP.
what is your experience on Zero providing the replacement charger? how quick can we get it?
-
my friends 2015 Demo S just had it's charger go bad today. kinda bummed...less than 3500 miles. :(
-
So out of the blue the Zero is now triggering the GFCI that it was plugged into. Tried two more outside outlets and have the same issue. Plugged into a non-GFCI outlet and it charges fine. Hopefully not a sign of something bad to come.
-
To prevent popped beakers, I always charge with a cheater plug.
Has that been covered yet?
(http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1232570/width/350/height/700/flags/LL)
-
Has anyone bothered to have an electrician check out the outlets you're using? We discovered none of the three-prong outlets in our garage were grounded and that would be a DEFINITE issue. I had him properly ground the existing outlets and run a dedicated 20 amp line to the garage which is where I plug my bike in now.
-
Has anyone bothered to have an electrician check out the outlets you're using?
I bought my house a year ago and had the electrical replaced top to bottom with new wiring, outlets, and fuse box. The service was also upgraded. I also have extensive amount of computer equipment in the house. The Zero is the first issue I've run into.
-
Has anyone bothered to have an electrician check out the outlets you're using? We discovered none of the three-prong outlets in our garage were grounded and that would be a DEFINITE issue. I had him properly ground the existing outlets and run a dedicated 20 amp line to the garage which is where I plug my bike in now.
i installed the 2 - 20 amp circuits myself in his house so he could buy his bike. nothing wrong with the wiring, less than 1 ft' of total run. installed the outlet next to the main box. both blow when hooked up, plus all other circuits he has tried.
laters,
laramie ;)
-
My 2013S did not have any charging issues until my Monolith Battery was replaced. Then the GFCI outlet started to trip and then I found the tip of the kettle cord melted where plugs into the bike. I replaced the cord now the GFCI outlet dose not trip but the new cord looked fine for a few days but now looks like the kettle cord might be melted a little bit. I was thinking that it my have been a close lighting strike when the plug was still hot from charging that caused the melting but now that the new kettle plug shows signs of melting a little bit I am not so sure. Plus when I first got the bike back from the dealer I did not have any charging issues until the Landlord replaced the garage door but a bad storm came through around the same time.