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[LeftieBiker]

   I don't agree with the Isolation errors being from moisture. I had *hoped* that they were, but here's what's wrong with that theory:

* The bike arrived in the rain, and I had to wash crud off of it a day or two later, but the first boot-up, and most of the first ride, were error-free. All of the bikes exposure to moisture happened before the first ride, and none of it after.

* The weather on both days I rode was mild and dry. On the second ride, it was actually warm and dry. Yet both errors happened after the rides, which should, along with me blowing warm air over the bike before the second ride, have dried the BMS, not gotten it wet, or even damp. The 0029 error occurred after I'd ridden the bike with no problems (after a BMS reset), parked it for 20 minutes, and then started charging. Charging seemed to trigger the 0029 error, plus the return of the other errors. I'll have to double-check that, but I believe that is the sequence of events. The other dealer I consulted says he rides an SR in the rain regularly, with no issues. So unless the shipper got the bike drenched, the timing of the errors is wrong. Also, most of the log entries occur before the bike was shipped to me, not after it arrived...

* The bike came from California. It may have been exposed to rain on the way here, but I have no evidence of that. It was shipped in an enclosed trailer. My garage has been mainly cool, but with only moderate humidity, not high.

[LeftieBiker]

   Here is what I wrote, in the General Charging Questions topic:

"I took the bike out for a ride, with fingers crossed. By about 9 miles out the 028 code was gone from the dash, leaving the 020 and 051 codes. The 020 became occasional instead of constant, so I stopped, let the bike sit a few minutes, and reset the BMS again. No flashing red BMS light, and after a minute of riding the dash also stopped showing errors. Greatly relieved, I rode another 25 miles or so. When I got home I let the bike sit for 15 minutes, plugged it in to charge...and got the 020 and 028 errors, now joined by 029, which is "BMS Isolation Danger". I unplugged the bike and left it in the garage."

   So what in the BMS log corresponds to that "Isolation Danger" 0029 code? Do you think the app terminated the "translation" before it appeared?

[Harlan]

I appreciate the curiosity and all the effort you've put into diagnosing the bike, but at this point you should take it to a dealer as its not going to fix itself and its not something you'll be able to properly diagnose/fix without all the dealer tools.

[LeftieBiker]

   As I told you, Harlan, there is no dealer near me. I'd like, primarily, to have the bike picked up and the sale reversed, since I was apparently sold it under false pretenses. Failing that, I will find a way to transport the bike to a dealership, but I need Zero to tell me which of the "local" dealerships is best for warranty work, and Zero hasn't told me anything whatsoever, just about a week after I sent the logs. I don't suppose that you'd like to weigh in on the BMS log?

[Harlan]

I'm not sure which dealer you bought the bike from or why you think they sold you the bike under false pretenses. You said yourself the bike was error free when you first took it for a spin. Lucky for you the bike comes with a great warranty but the longer you delay taking it to a dealer, the longer its going to take to get repaired.

As I said before, following my initial diagnosis after you emailed me the log, there's not much further diagnosis that can be done without having the bike in the shop.

[LeftieBiker]

I'm not sure which dealer you bought the bike from or why you think they sold you the bike under false pretenses. You said yourself the bike was error free when you first took it for a spin. Lucky for you the bike comes with a great warranty but the longer you delay taking it to a dealer, the longer its going to take to get repaired.

As I said before, following my initial diagnosis after you emailed me the log, there's not much further diagnosis that can be done without having the bike in the shop.

   You never saw the bike's BMS log (or if you did you didn't reply after I sent it) only the other, shorter log. The BMS log is, according to MostlyBonkers, twice as long as usual. It is also full of what appear to be error reports, along with what appear to be normal startup and run cycles. I told the dealer that I needed the bike to be in perfect running condition, and they said they never let a  bike out the door any other way. If the bike has been throwing error codes since last September, and this dealership doesn't know how to do anything other than reset the BMS to clear them, well that doesn't add up well.

   I'm not sure how many ways I can put this, but I'll try once more:

   I am waiting for Zero to respond, so I can find out *where to ship the bike* for service. I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars more that I can ill afford, just to find out the dealership it goes to also doesn't do anything more than add accessories and check belt and tire pressure.

[ultrarnr]

The logs that a dealer can download from a Zero are much more detailed than the logs you can send from your phone.  In some cases the cause of a problem will be obvious to Zero from the dealer logs as opposed the logs sent to them by a Zero owners phone. My dealer has a laptop with a software program on it that they plug into the bike to download the logs from. When I had my 2014 SR there were a few times it took several weeks to get a problem diagnosed and fixed. And yes, Zero sometimes took a long time to get back with my dealer on certain issues.

I don't think Zero needs to get into the business of dictating to owners which dealer they should go to. If you go onto Zero's web site you can see where the Zero dealers are located. Pretty simple to search for the dealers web site for an phone number you can call the dealer and talk to them. Maybe ask on this forum if anyone has experience with a dealer you are considering going to. For brands like H-D or Suzuki there are dealers everywhere and not always easy to know which one to go to. But it should always be the customers decision which one to go to and not the factory's.

[LeftieBiker]

"But it should always be the customers decision which one to go to and not the factory's."

   Great, but it would be nice to be able to make an informed decision. If Zero decides it's too much trouble to tell me which NY or CT dealer 120+ miles away from me is best equipped to do substantial diagnostic and repair work for them, I will try asking the dealerships. Maybe they'll even give me an accurate answer, as opposed to 'Bring it in and we'll take a look.' I'm not betting either way.

   If anyone here knows which Zero dealer in the downstate NY / Connecticut area is best for this, I'd appreciate the info.

[rayivers]

There are two dealers I would recommend:


Rockwell Cycles   1005 Rt. 9W, Ft Montgomery, NY 10922    (845) 446-3834 

This is my nearest dealer now (near the Bear Mountain bridge) and they have treated me very well.  They have a real can-do attitude, with (ICE-bike) road-racing & mod experience few shops have these days.


Great Bay Cycles   90 Lafayette Rd, North Hampton, NH  03862    (603) 964-4450   

This is another excellent Zero dealer IMO - they replaced my motor under warranty.  Mike in particular has extensive Zero experience. I spoke to him for quite a while about Zeros, he really knows his stuff.


Zero took care of me when my bike had problems.  It didn't take place very quickly or in the way I thought it would, but it did happen and the bike's running great.

In my case, there was a definite sequence of events that had to be followed:

1) Take bike to dealer
2) Dealer & Zero diagnose problem
3) Warranty claim initiated by Zero
4) Parts ordering
5) Return to dealer for repairs after parts arrive

Ray

[Electric Terry]

Yes Leftie, take Harlan's advice, and Ray's recommendation and get it to the dealer to drop off for a while.  I was hoping the bike would dry out after you washed it, but that should have happened by now unless corrosion formed.  But it might be unrelated.  Only the dealer at this point can figure out how to fix it.  So I know it will be tempting to reply right away to this comment, but try to focus your efforts on renting a cheap trailer from U-Haul, and making arrangements to drop off the bike. 

Get the bike to the dealer, and just understand that things happen and things aren't always perfect and that's ok.  Reading your threads has reminded me recently again and again of my grandfather, who has now passed away, but because I said that, I'll share what I mean.

While he was working (till he was 74 years old) nothing ever bothered him, and he never complained about anything no matter how bad it was.  When he retired, little things stared to bother him.  I remember in particular, he seemed to make a federal case about how the newspaper man threw the newspaper into the grass and not onto the driveway sometimes missing it by a few feet.  He would wake up each day and go outside just to watch him throw it to make sure he did it right, and if he didn't he would be upset and talk about it all day. 

My grandfather was very successful while he was working and bore a lot of responsibility.  I think it was a shock to his system when he retired.  And things that were simple became a big deal.

I can sense from you when you bump a thread twice yourself without anyone else posting in a few hours, you must be perhaps in a similar situation, I don't know.  But the correlations to my grandpa have happened a lot recently reading your posts.  Getting him busy everyday helping in the community solved this complaining and anxiety for him.  I only say this as something bigger than your bike not working to think about.  Sure get the bike to the dealer to have them fix it, but as someone who has gone through their own issues recently, I can tell you sometimes it's more important to focus on fixing us, than it is our material possessions.  I know this is off topic but in this case I feel relevant and if you let it, perhaps one of the most helpful posts you will read.

[MostlyBonkers]

That's very kind and generous of you Terry. I'll take a few leaves out of that book myself. I've been known to fixate on issues when in the grand scheme of things they are insignificant.

I've also sensed some disgruntlement Leftie, which is understandable. It just reinforces how important a role the dealerships have to play. My dealership is 120 miles away and after two months of ownership my Zero has spent a quarter of it's time off the road. I have faith though. Zero and Streetbike will see me right. Please put your faith in Zero and their dealers too Leftie. You've had help and advice from some of the top people in the field. You are in good hands and I hope these last few posts make you feel better. I think it's just a case of working through the system. Once your bike is fixed the pleasure it will give you will make it all worthwhile. It's just a bump in the road.

[LeftieBiker]

   Thanks for the suggestion, Ray. Rockwell is probably closest to me anyway.

[grmarks]

Great Bay Cycles   90 Lafayette Rd, North Hampton, NH  03862    (603) 964-4450   

This is another excellent Zero dealer IMO - they replaced my motor under warranty.  Mike in particular has extensive Zero experience. I spoke to him for quite a while about Zeros, he really knows his stuff.

For what its worth, I would choose this dealer, as experience counts for a lot.
A "can do attitude" is great, but if they don't have much experience with zeros, it could take them a bit longer to find the issue. 

[LeftieBiker]

Great Bay Cycles   90 Lafayette Rd, North Hampton, NH  03862    (603) 964-4450   

This is another excellent Zero dealer IMO - they replaced my motor under warranty.  Mike in particular has extensive Zero experience. I spoke to him for quite a while about Zeros, he really knows his stuff.

For what its worth, I would choose this dealer, as experience counts for a lot.
A "can do attitude" is great, but if they don't have much experience with zeros, it could take them a bit longer to find the issue.

   Good point, and I will contact them, despite their being two states away.

EDIT:  They have gone out of business, as of 1/1/16.

[rayivers]

They have gone out of business, as of 1/1/16.

Wow, bummer - I was unaware.  That's a real loss.

Ray