2016 Victory Empulse TT - with code B40 - Free.. if I can't fix it.

[bobpuckette]

Well, my battery is 2 months out of warrantee and I get code B40. Looks dismal to fix this. 7K miles. Was fun. Free to anyone who wants to pick it up.

[KaFr]

Hi, I am always very sad to hear that another beautiful Victory Empulse TT has died due to a battery module failure
Where is the bike located?

[bobpuckette]

I'm in the Vancouver WA area. It's #199.

[KaFr]

I would like to bring your Victory back to life
Do you mind if I bring it to Europe where I live?
I imported my Victory from Canada two years ago.

[bobpuckette]

I would like to bring your Victory back to life
Do you mind if I bring it to Europe where I live?
I imported my Victory from Canada two years ago.

I'd be happy to see the bike get some use. I have a lot of contacts inside Polaris. As the battery wasn't their design, they have no clue about fixing or diagnosing the battery pack. I could send you the last few logs if that would help you decide anything.

[KaFr]

The battery modules were designed by Brammo, which unfortunately no longer exists.
Please send me the data so I can verify what errors happened inside the module.
Thank you.

[bobpuckette]

Here are the complete logs of the bike. This whole situation is maddening. I just can't get enough information to make a reasonable attempt to fix the bike.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o4GS6ydTOPd1C9RKNxIEnscXK7XSy4TB/view?usp=sharing

[KaFr]

Unfortunately, your bike suffered the same battery failure that HadesOmega had:

http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=4041.0

Too high relative humidity inside the battery pack caused the temperature sensor to fail (B8). As a result, some modules overheated when charging the battery, so the control unit set the battery pack to blocked mode to avoid damaging the battery (B40).

[EV promise]

Hi, in the charging file I looked in( 54E8B89C.CHG) SYSTEM FAULT B9 : Humidity Sensor Failure (>30% error) was the fault showing. This was due to module 7 having a high relative humidity as previously said by KaFr. 92% which is very high, the others show 50-65%. Cells looked ok to me though.
On a Brammo Empulse the module could be changed but not on the Victory version as their battery cases are different though I imagine the boards inside are the same as the Brammo ones. A definite weakness for water ingress. HadesOmega was lucky his bike was in warranty.
What solutions are there? I have some thoughts but wouldn't say they were easy or practical. I feel your pain!

 

[KaFr]

Hi, in the charging file I looked in( 54E8B89C.CHG) SYSTEM FAULT B9 : Humidity Sensor Failure (>30% error) was the fault showing. This was due to module 7 having a high relative humidity as previously said by KaFr. 92% which is very high, the others show 50-65%. Cells looked ok to me though.
On a Brammo Empulse the module could be changed but not on the Victory version as their battery cases are different though I imagine the boards inside are the same as the Brammo ones. A definite weakness for water ingress. HadesOmega was lucky his bike was in warranty.
What solutions are there? I have some thoughts but wouldn't say they were easy or practical. I feel your pain!

 

Where can you see the B9 error? I don't see it in the data. What data analysis tool did you use?

[bobpuckette]

Well if module 7 is showing the fault, then perhaps I disassemble the bottom pack and give it a good going over. Not an easy job, though.

[EV promise]

Hi, I use the 'Victory EV Diagnosis V2.20' software I picked from a link on this site. It works on my WinXP laptop and on my Win10 64bit laptop. ps I had to load some  drivers from IXXAT. As it's not connected to a bike only some of it works. You can watch your rides and charging plus save the file.
The software produces 3 files:- complete.CSV, summary.CSV and firmware.TXT with the VIN no., date and time of the event.
I've saved the first few rows of the complete file as an excel file to keep the formatting. Columns GP-GV show the relative humidity.
Sadly bobpuckette it is unlikely a repair can be done. IMHO the battery pack needs removing, the top has to come off. A new PCB board will be required for module 7 and we've just not seen this level of repair. I would love to see it though. Let KaFr make use of it.
Any comments/thoughts?

[KaFr]

Well if module 7 is showing the fault, then perhaps I disassemble the bottom pack and give it a good going over. Not an easy job, though.

Module 7 has the highest humidity of all, but the temperature sensor PCBA is faulty in module 5. Both are located in the lower battery pack. So it will be necessary to remove this package from the frame of the motorcycle, open it and find out what happened inside.

If you manage to fix it, please document it with photos or video and start a new thread here on the forum. We will be happy to help you with our advice and ideas, as it will be very useful for other Victory Empulse TT owners as well.

[KaFr]

Hi, I use the 'Victory EV Diagnosis V2.20' software I picked from a link on this site. It works on my WinXP laptop and on my Win10 64bit laptop. ps I had to load some  drivers from IXXAT. As it's not connected to a bike only some of it works. You can watch your rides and charging plus save the file.
The software produces 3 files:- complete.CSV, summary.CSV and firmware.TXT with the VIN no., date and time of the event.
I've saved the first few rows of the complete file as an excel file to keep the formatting. Columns GP-GV show the relative humidity.
Sadly bobpuckette it is unlikely a repair can be done. IMHO the battery pack needs removing, the top has to come off. A new PCB board will be required for module 7 and we've just not seen this level of repair. I would love to see it though. Let KaFr make use of it.
Any comments/thoughts?

Good job! You have a better diagnostic tool than I do. I only used the converter from MiBa which shows most of the errors but unfortunately the B9 doesn't.

I have the same idea that it is necessary to open the bottom battery pack and check what is going on inside. I don't think the whole PCB board will be damaged, I think it will be enough to replace the temperature sensor.

I still thought about how to possibly get rid of the B40 error:
Let the battery charge decrease from 100% (for example by turning on the light for several hours) to perhaps 90% to get out of the danger status (fully charged battery and non-functional temperature sensor). Maybe then the B40 error will disappear. What do you think?

[EV promise]

Hi KaFr, I have the MiBa converter and it does a great job.  I've attached another file, this time a full file less a few rows to make it under the 500k, from a ride on 7th July'22(54E7B5C3.DRV). Not seeing the PCB temperature error you mention. Which files did you look at please?
We share the same thoughts. It would be great to repair a bike from the B40 setback, which at the moment always seems terminal. I do believe that if the lower pack was removed and carefully opened and the moisture removed to reduce the humidity level the system would reset itself if the PCB/sensor is ok. What does the sensor look like on a board?
I think all Victory Empulse owners should remove the mini USB stick and check the latest riding and charging files for humidity levels in the modules, not ride in the rain, put waterproof grease around the power and data posts etc.
Off topic i know but just replaced my speed sensor with one i bought from Mouser, works great. Plywood adaptor as I don't have a 3d printer.