BRAMMO ENERTIA Won't Go

[jjs180]

I have had my Enertia for a little over a year now with no problems until this morning.  Bike started, green light for go, but throttle would not work.  Has anyone experienced this problem before?  I am trying to troubleshoot this myself since I am in the middle of the Pacific with no tech support nearby.

[Brammofan]

Is there a fault code that showing up on the display?  If so, what is it? The fault codes are listed in the owner's manual (which is downloadable on the Brammo website, if you don't have your copy handy).

Also, you can call (or email) Brammo directly for service.

Bummer deal - I'm sure they'll get you sorted out, though.

[jjs180]

I did not see any error codes on the screen.  I will have to check again when I get home tonight.  Unfortunately, I had to drive my gas consuming SUV to work today.  Soon my Nissan LEAF will be delivered and no gasoline for me.  I did call BRAMMO tech support.  Waiting for them to call me back.

[HighlanderMWC]

I had a similar experience when my contactor died. Pay attention to the sounds during startup...do you hear the click of the contactor?

[brammoHKjames]

This does sound like a contactor problem.  Not a complicated fix, just a bit of a fiddle to swap it out.  Brammo will be able to tell you much more.

From my experience, this is the only significant fault to come up with the Enertia and the replacement Contactor won't fail for the same reason. 

[jjs180]

I spoke with Jennifer from BRAMMO yesterday.  She walked me through all the checks on the bike and it appears that it is probably the main contactor. 

[Brammofan]

Keep us updated, jjs.  Where are you located and how the heck did you get your bike into the "middle of the Pacific"?

[Gavin]

Keep us updated, jjs.  Where are you located and how the heck did you get your bike into the "middle of the Pacific"?

Ha, I'm assuming he is in Hawaii...gah, Hawaii is perfect for electric vehicles...lots of sun, short distance rides only.

I hope they can fed ex/UPS a contactor to you and that the replacement is easy....

Which raises the question of: Will the Plus get an updated, more reliable contactor?

Gavin

[jjs180]

Gavin got it, I am in Hawaii.  People out here go crazy over my bike.  People want them, but what I have found is that they will not make the jump unless there is a dealer that will support the motorcycle.  BRAMMO really needs to get a dealer out here.  Particularly since gas is in the high $3 range.  I worked through a Best Buy in Oregon to get the bike shipped out here.  It was a real pain to get the bike registered in Hawaii because no one knew what it was.  I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get it done.  Took about a month, but now the market is ready to go for the bike, and I am still the only owner in Hawaii.  Electric vehicles just make sense in Hawaii.  The only issue I have found is that the Enertia does not really do that well when it comes to getting mileage here.  I only average about 20 miles per charge with no highway driving.  Main issue is I live up a steep hill which is common in Hawaii.  The Nissan LEAF sold out in no time and all 300 targeted for Hawaii are gone.  Luckily, I am one of them and will take delivery in April.  I will have an electric motorcycle, electric car, and my house totally runs off of solar power.  While these are all viewed as "green" moves, I think it is just a wise move since I believe oil will continue to climb particularly as the world economic recovery continues. 

I have faith that BRAMMO will do whatever it takes to get my bike up and running.  They have been awesome.  A company that believes in customer service.  A welcome change these days.

[Vibetrippin]

What's this? Brammo needs a dealership in Hawaii? Okay guys, I'm willing to take one for the team. I'll step forward and allow Brammo to set me up with a shop in one of the most beautiful locations I've ever had the opportunity to vacation in.

[HighlanderMWC]

Keep us updated, jjs.  Where are you located and how the heck did you get your bike into the "middle of the Pacific"?

Ha, I'm assuming he is in Hawaii...gah, Hawaii is perfect for electric vehicles...lots of sun, short distance rides only.

I hope they can fed ex/UPS a contactor to you and that the replacement is easy....

Which raises the question of: Will the Plus get an updated, more reliable contactor?

Gavin

If it's still under warranty I suspect Brammo would want an actual tech doing the work. I'm sure Jenn would be willing to suffer through the trip. Apparently after my contactor went (corrosion) they changed the sealing process -- I'm certainly hoping not to repeat again since I'm now out of warranty. First contactor lasted about 3 months and I've had a year on this one.

[protomech]

Electric vehicles just make sense in Hawaii.

Alert: Tangent Train coming through!

I've always wondered how much sense EVs DO make in Hawaii. Hawaii gets almost all (90%) of its electrical power from plants that burn imported gas. Since electrical power is so fungible, a BEV in Hawaii is in a very real sense a gas-powered vehicle. Even if you offset it with grid-tied local alternative generation (solar, wind), that local generation could have otherwise lowered the overall grid usage Hawaii's gas import flow.

Do you know if anyone's done a study on that? I've done some napkin math that doesn't look extremely favorable when comparing the most efficient ICE vehicles (Prius) to the most efficient consumer BEV (Nissan Leaf) .. but napkin math is napkin math, I'd like to see some real numbers.

[Gavin]

Well Electric makes sense in that

A) Range is not an issue....at all.
B) Top speed (for a car) is not an issue. I don't think any road in Hawaii is anywhere near 75 mph like the landlogged states.

C) While yes the power plants are polluters, well panels on your roof aren't...and Yes, Hawaii isn't New Mexico or Arizona with endless sun and almost NO RAIN, but Hawaii does have sunshine most days, just also has some rain most days  Still you can power your home and your transportation in Hawaii with your roof if you have the funds. And solar is getting cheaper every year...and gas will keep going up.

So....if you have a home on Hawaii....get Electric Vehicles and solar panels.

If you live in an Apt and have somewhat lesser income...go Prius.
If you are really student poor...bike or scooter would be best...or public transportation...but I have no idea about public transport in Hawaii...I've only been to Kauai...though I might be going to a conference on the Big Island next year.

Gavin

[HighlanderMWC]

[tangent]
I think his argument is that every kW you put into the local grid reduces gas usage, regardless of whether you use it for an EV or not. I think that only holds true if the emissions/kW for electricity generation is greater than emissions/kW of running an ICE.

If you see EV's as the direction we need to move to in the future then you may be willing to take a step towards that. Every EV on the road is one step closer to driving infrastructure changes and when gas prices go stratospheric you'll be positioned to best take advantage of it.

I'm surprised Hawaii isn't doing any large scale electricity generation without burning hydrocarbons. It would seem to be a good place for something geothermal.
[/tangent]

[Gavin]

Mmmm, geothermal....

Well the Big Island is active. Maui I think is semi active. Kauai is dormant.

I don't think, other than the active volcano, that the island are especially geothermal. No hot springs and such. And the Islands are very "DEEP"...Lots of cool ocean around the island...you would have to either go very very deep to get the geo goodness, or find a way to tap the active volcano.

Of course I could just be rambling....

I think sun and tidal would be the way to go...and add some wind generation. Lots and Lots of solar would be my first path to clean energy on any of the Hawaiian Islands.

Gavin