Enertia is DEAD. Won't turn on for charge or run.

[ColoBrammo]

It's warm in Colorado this week and I'm bringing my Enertia out of storage.

I just charged it up about six weeks ago; it's been in my garage during this entire very mild winter.

Pressing and holding the tank button will not get it into charge mode or run mode.

The low voltage fuses are all good.

Anyone seen this problem before?  I didn't see anything on the forum, but perhaps my search skills aren't that good either.

Thanks much, Best, Steve

[ColoBrammo]

By the way, when I mean DEAD, I mean to console is BLANK and nothing comes up.

Thanks, Steve

[Brammofan]

This sounds vaguely familiar. However, you should contact your Brammo tech or contact Brammo directly. Sounds to me like your battery drained enough that there is no way to get the pre-charge high enough to initialize the system.

[Phantom]

Did you have the handlebars in the locked position? Is the key rotated all the way to charge mode?

I had a similar scare before, but it was something like I mentioned above.

I just took my Enertia out of winter storage today.

[Brammofan]

Hey Steve - I hope you follow up and let us know how it's working for you.  I just got this from BrammoJen (after I contacted her and mentioned this post to her):

Hey Harry, I wanted to let you know I contacted Steve about this and he had already done what I would have told him.  Got the bike charging and let it balance for a good 24 hours. 

[ColoBrammo]

My original post was Saturday.  I futzed around for an hour trying to get the bike to turn on, checked fuses, etc... before posting here.

Sunday AM I decided I would contact Brammo support so they could reply when they got to the office on Monday.

Well, the good folks there replied Sunday, and asked that I pull the USB stick and send log files.

I went out the the garage the pull the USB when I noticed the console LED was blinking (it wasn't before).

I went ahead and hit the tank button and it powered up, briefly threw a "Recharge Required" code, though state of charge indicated 99%.  Obviously, some cells must have been out of balance.

Soooo... I've left it charging for the last few days- the weather is supposed to be in the upper 70s here by the end of the week and I'll get it out then.

J. Rafiner also told me (thanks for looping her in BTW) that when storing the bike it is best to not leave it plugged in- I have no idea why not, but indeed the bike was plugged into AC (but not charging) while in storage.    I suggest Brammo consider this use case in their future designs so perhaps they can avoid service calls- at any rate, I'll make sure to unplug it when not charging in the future.  Every product has it's idiosyncrasies- I suppose this might be one for Enertia.

Long story short, I have no idea why the bike was dead.  I have no idea what made it come around.  I do know that I was very paranoid that I damaged the bike unwittingly somehow, and that was rather unpleasant.

Thanks everyone for the help.  Best, Steve

[Brammofan]

Thanks so much for responding with the "rest of the story."  Sounds like your bike basically, fixed itself.  I'm a little confused, as you are, about the "don't leave it plugged in" suggestion.  I'm definitely an outlier, but even when I'm not able to ride for a few weeks, I still occasionally power it up and also charge it up.  Yes, the state of charge is always around 99%, but if you do the long-press trick with the tank button (in charging mode, holding the tank button for about 8 seconds) the detailed screen pops up and shows that the cells need to be topped off and balanced.  The high cell is usually around 3.40 (amps? volts?) and, if you leave it charging for awhile, it will usually come up to about 3.7. 

Anyway, glad to hear you're back on track.  Hope you get some riding weather soon.

[Phantom]

I do not keep my Enertia plugged in during extended storage (e.g. 3 months).

When I read the owner's manual, it says to store the bike when it is fully charged. When it is time for the Enertia to come out of storage, fully charge the bike again. I would agree and amend the owner's manual to state "do not leave your bike plugged in during storage" for more clarity.

During my first year, I checked about a month into it to see how much the batteries discharged on their own, and it was very little. This last time, I left it unplugged for the three months and I was only down to a reported 95%. I recharged it quickly and I was good to go.

[ColoBrammo]

For those interested, here's a photo of the console just after it powered up on Sunday.  It took a minute or two for me to get my camera out:

[Gavin]

well the batteries weren't fully charged...but the balance wasn't off...

fully charged and balanced, for me, is at 3.72 on the High pack and 3.65 on the low pack...give or take a bit....

Gavin

[EmpulseRider]

Not leaving it plugged in while in storage actually seems like a bad idea to me... these are lithium batteries so they will discharge over time just sitting there (like any other battery tech)... if Li-ion discharge to 0 they could "brick" though (actually a safety measure). I would think that a fully charged Enertia could be stored without being plugged in for at least a full year though. Perhaps someone from Brammo could enlighten us all.

[protomech]

Not leaving it plugged in while in storage actually seems like a bad idea to me... these are lithium batteries so they will discharge over time just sitting there (like any other battery tech)... if Li-ion discharge to 0 they could "brick" though (actually a safety measure). I would think that a fully charged Enertia could be stored without being plugged in for at least a full year though. Perhaps someone from Brammo could enlighten us all.

Here's what the 2010 Enertia Owner's Manual says (p.69):

Preparation for Storage
1. Wash and dry your Enertia. Wax all painted surfaces (except matte surfaces).
2. Lubricate the drive chain (page 65).
3. Inflate the tires to their recommended pressures (page 60).
4. Fully charge the bike (page 39).
5. Store your Enertia in an unheated area, free of dampness, away from sunlight, with a minimum of daily temperature variation.
6. Place your Enertia on blocks to lift both tires off the floor.
7. Cover your Enertia with a porous material. Avoid using plastic or similar non-breathing materials that restrict air flow and allow heat and moisture to accumulate.
If possible, fully charge the bike at least once every (3) three months during storage.

Emphasis added.

Agree that they could have been more explicit with instructions. "If possible" doesn't have quite the same ring as "If you allow the battery pack to self-discharge past 0% SOC, it will be permanently damaged after six weeks" or whatever.

Zero recommends leaving their bikes plugged in at all times, FWIW. 2012 Zero S/DS Owner's Manual:

When not in use, the power pack should be left on the charger even if fully charged. Failure to do so could damage the power pack and therefore void your power pack warranty.

...

Keep you [sic] power pack connected to the charger when your motorcycle is sitting in storage or if it will be sitting unused for more than 7 days. The power pack must be charged within 24 hours if fully discharged, and charged within 60 days if stored fully charged. Zero recommends you plug in your Zero motorcycle after 7 days, even if fully charged. Please leave your Zero motorcycle plugged in whenever possible.

Obviously the different manufacturers will have different instructions for their bikes.

Glad you're back online, ColoBrammo. Hope you have some nice riding weather now that your bike is tip-top : )

[ColoBrammo]

I guess if I could have it my way, I would prefer to leave it plugged in and have the charge controller periodically run the cell balancing, but not the bulk charge.  

I store my bike for many months at a time and it would be one less thing to worry about if I could leave it plugged in and it could maintain itself.

Of course, I can turn it on a leave it charge mode all the time but that just seems silly.  
It just needs to cell balance every few weeks.

[Gavin]

Great points...


as for this weekend (I'm 450ish miles south of you), looks to be beautiful....

go get some miles in



I know I hope to throw 100 miles on the E over Sat and Sun if I can.

Gavin

[protomech]

I know I hope to throw 100 miles on the E over Sat and Sun if I can.

Gavin

You'd better!

Have had the Zero for about a week, ~250 miles on it at this point. Just standard commuting and some trips around town. And maybe trips over the mountain to go visit a friend..

Goal this year is 10k miles. Pretty ambitious considering I've averaged ~2.5k/year on the gas bike. I happen to like the Zero a lot more though