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[CessnaDriver]

Mostly I'm posting to vent. Who knows. Maybe others have experienced this and can offer insight. My 2017 SR has been diagnosed as having a defective motor controller. It started going into thermal protection when it was 40* outside. 1st stage thermal protection shouldn't kick in until the motor reaches 255*. I put my hand over the motor and it feels maybe 80*? Dealer took it in and like I said, they said I need to cough up $1826.25 for a new motor controller. I called Zero and they aren't willing to help on any of it. It's out of warranty and they won't cover it. I asked if they could at least meet me half way.  Nope. They aren't willing to budge one bit.  Welp, electric motorcycles were fun while they lasted, but I'm going back to internal combustion. I may part this one out unless someone has any other suggestions.

Thanks.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

That sucks, but parting it out will lose you way more money than paying for the controller.

They should be informing you better about this, since it's an expensive replacement, though.

[CessnaDriver]

I can't imagine the bike is worth much, especially with a bad controller. But even in top condition, maybe $9k? As is, $7k? I could probably get that out of the parts

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

You're going to lose more money no matter what you do by not replacing the controller versus by replacing the controller.

[Crilly]

 Not if the fix isn’t guaranteed.

[Crissa]

Is the sensor reading correctly?  That seems the most likely if the bike is otherwise running.

Of course, I don't know if the controller includes the sensor or not.

-Crissa

[CessnaDriver]

Sensor was my first suspect. Dealer says it only needs a motor controller, according to their conversation with Zero.

[SBK74]

So the controller still works, but goes into thermal protection. Aren't there small repair companies who can fix these controllers, know the common bugs? I believe these types of controllers are also used in industrial transportation.

[Crissa]

Repair microsoldering is generally a slow, tedious process which costs more than these parts are worth.

Even thousand-dollar parts. x-x

[DonTom]

So the controller still works, but goes into thermal protection. Aren't there small repair companies who can fix these controllers, know the common bugs? I believe these types of controllers are also used in industrial transportation.

I don't know who would fix Zero controllers. But there are several companies that do repair automotive modules. Here is one example. It will not hurt to give them a call. Perhaps they can direct you to somebody who can, if they cannot.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

This is a topic we will eventually have to grapple with as the bikes enter their second decade in the field, but right now it is also my understanding that it’s too expensive.

The company cited above only lists low voltage applications which will not be in the same tier as EV power switching components.

The shop that can perform these repairs must be equipped to retest them with safeguards against fires.

[CessnaDriver]

Any idea what it takes to replace this? Wondering if it's in the purview of DIY. The unofficial manual is silent on it.

[NEW2elec]

I don't know of many that needed to be changed.  The chargers, yes the DC-DC yes but not many controllers.
I know it sucks but best advise is replace it and ride it.  Put 30k-40k miles on it and make your money back in gas savings.
You will lose your butt and mind if you try to part this thing out.

[CessnaDriver]

Yeah, I guess I'll keep it. Still mad, but after having a chance to sleep on it, I came to the realization that after 27k miles and beating the p*** out of it (gunning it everytime a light turned green), I was just asking too much from it. God, it's a fun motorcycle. But, you can't expect them to hold up at top performance without something breaking eventually. Something had to give. Maybe I should have expected it, given the benefit of hindsight. Maybe someone can learn something from my expensive mistake. Take it easy with the right hand grip

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Any idea what it takes to replace this? Wondering if it's in the purview of DIY. The unofficial manual is silent on it.

I'm the maintainer of the unofficial manual, so I'm soliciting improvements here. And sometimes I don't write about something because I'm not sure how to.

The fact is, the component is available generically, but requires reprogramming for Zero's, mostly around the IPM design on 2016+ models.

I'm not sure what else to tell you, but the controller is a fire hazard if it's installed wrong, so I'm very careful about advice about it.