Stream of fault codes, power cut...help!!!

[electricflyer]

Early last spring, my Empulse R starting leaking fluid from the left side of the motor. Early summer, I put the bike on a stand to disassemble. No obvious source, and parts are barely available anyway, so I cleaned up and reassembled, though haven’t gotten to ride over the last few months.

This week, I pulled the bike out to give it a test and start commuting with it again. While driving, I initially got a fault code B62, which isn’t listed in the manual (forum posts indicate a battery heater fault, though temperatures are hardly chilly right now in Florida). Shortly after that, the bike cut motor power with fault code B40, BMS back in idle mode. After pulling over, turning off and on cleared this code and I could move again. However, the same code and cut out happened accelerating through 20 mph. I then attempted to limp home at 10 mph, which worked for a couple miles, until it popped fault code A6, AIM module not communicating. This code continues with power cycling, and the bike isn’t rideable.

I’m afraid that these issues are unrecoverable. Is it possible that I have a failing battery module? Any ideas on how to diagnose and fix? No one in my area is familiar with these bikes, so I’m on my own.

Thanks!

[siai47]

Leak in the motor?  Only two fluids in the drive system, transmission oil and motor coolant.  If the left side of the motor, most likely coolant.  The motor housing is an aluminum extrusion with cooling passages as part of the extrusion.  That means that the ends of the motor which in the old days were called end bells, seal the coolant in the motor with "O" rings.  I would assume one of those failed and that's where your leak is coming from.  In the left end of the motor is the encoder.  This is a timing plate that tells the controller the position of the rotor so the motor can rotate with proper rotation and commutation.  These things are really picky---things like light dirt or even dust can upset them.  Also, as there are the circuits that go back to the controller located in the left end of the motor, filling it with coolant might not be the best thing for it.  That might be part or all of your problem.  There is only one liter of coolant in the entire system and if you lost the coolant that could be another cause of your problem.  Take the radiator cap off and check the level.  If down a lot, you have a big leak that should be easy to find.  Motor has to be purged of air when refilled with either an Allen plug located on the end of the motor (Parker) or on the top of the motor housing (IET). 

If you can find a dealer with the diagnostic software, he should be able to spot all of the problems.  If you have to remove the end cover of the motor to replace the seals, you will need the services of the dealer anyway as he will have to re-time the encoder after you reassemble the motor--they are that fussy.  I am hoping your leak is external and not internal as there might be more motor damage.  If you have the Parker motor, someone on the internet is selling new ones (Victory style end cover) for a reasonable price.  You might even be able to make him an offer as I don't think he has some hot moving merchandise.

It's pain in the A** to remove the motor as the complete motor and transmission assembly needs to be removed  from the bike to get the clutch cover off and access the motor attachment bolts.  Once on a bench, the motor is fairly easy to disassemble.  I also don't know why you are getting BMS errors.  Does the bike charge OK and are the cell balances close?  The leak, which needs to be fixed anyway, might be just another problem not completely related to your driveability problem.   

[electricflyer]

My apologies for radio silence; had a family trip and busy days at work over the past couple weeks.

Prior to the stream of errors, charging was going fine. I need to re-check it now. Battery was topped off, so I’ve been hesitant to plug it back in. I’ll also go through your other suggestions and see what happens.

Thanks so much for the reply. Hopefully this thing will work again...it’s a rather large and expensive brick otherwise.

[electricflyer]

Disaster abounds. The bike will not charge, very similar to http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=3484.0. The bike will not drive (see earlier stream of faults). When I seek out parts from Victory (such as a replacement radiator cap), what they send has nothing to do with the bike (way too big, as if for a car).

Sorry to say, I’m pretty much done with this thing. Very expensive mistake. No dealership will service the bike locally (or regionally, as far as I can tell), and if I can’t get parts (especially electrical components that are now rare and prohibitively expensive), then I can’t continue.

Zero is looking like a promising alternative. Heck, maybe Harley will finally get around to producing the Livewire.

In the meantime, if anyone on the forum is interested in a parts bike, please let me know. I’m located in northwest Florida. The bike only has about 3k miles on it. Physical components are all in nice condition. Ultimately I just need this out of the garage....too painful to look at anymore.

[siai47]

Sorry to hear about your problems and/or lack of support.  It's a problem all of us are facing.  It would seem that one of the few Brammo dealers in the state might still be in business and have the diagnostic software to at least scan the bike and clear the codes if you could get it to them.  I seem to recall that there is a HD dealer near Tampa that sold Brammo's a couple of years ago--maybe they could help.  Beyond that, if there are hard codes set, they need to be cleared.  I don't know how it is done but there are memory circuits (at least in many automobiles) that can be cleared by disconnecting the 12 volt battery.  In the Empulse, there is no 12 volt battery but some circuits are powered at all times by the high voltage battery.  Possibly opening the high voltage service connector and letting the residual voltage drain down overnight could clear some of the codes.  Not likely, but worth a try.

As to the radiator cap, at least on the Victory Empulse, it is an automotive style full sized cap mounted right under the steering head.  I have never seen the Brammo radiator cap which may be different.  The strangest thing about the radiator cap you got from Polaris is that you actually got a part from Polaris.  I have never received anything that I ordered from them for my Empulse so at least you have something going for you