Zero Electric Motorcycle Battery Problems

What goes wrong with Zero electric motorcycle batteries?

Zero electric motorcycle battery

Loose Connectors

We thought we would take an Early Zero electric motorcycle battery suffered failures to bits to find out what the problem was. First of all we found that on the rows of cells some spade connectors were not making proper connection. This was because they were not crimped down tight enough. The Battery Management System could not recognise the cells because of this so they were not subsequently charged or balanced. Copious amounts of hot glue was the only thing holding the connectors together.

If a bank of cells goes uncharged for a time it may be beyond reclaiming. We have been able to fit complete new banks of cells to redress the problem. This has restored the battery pack to a workable level without needing to purchase a whole new battery.

 

Cells removed from a Zero electric motorcycle battery

Cells removed from a Zero battery

WARNING! DO NOT OPEN THIS UP UNLESS YOU ARE ELECTRICALLY QUALIFIED BECAUSE THIS BATTERY SUPPLIES 300 AMPS.

  •  Opening the end of the Zero electric motorcycle battery pack gives access to the connectors.
  • You do need a special square profile security socket to take the screws out.
  •  So you also must remove the stickers covering the screws on the sides.
  • The + and – terminals are only an inch apart in places.
  • Any metal tool bridging this gap will be vaporised.
  • A sustained short circuit could cause thermal runaway and lead to a fire.

We are working on replacement battery pack for the Zero Electric Motorcycle X and MX models which uses the EIG battery cell.

Latest news, the prototype battery has been successful and is available now on an exchange basis for £2000.

 

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