Minimal to no Throttle no PAS on Rad Rover V5 - Cannot get ahold of RAD

[bcare003]

Hi there,

I have a rad rover V5 and when I engage the throttle I get very little power at the start and goes dead soon after (dead as in not throttle response). At the beginning the watts go up and when it dies they go down to zero while throttle is still engaged. I've checked all connections and all is good on that end. The batter holds power and charges and the lights on the bike work as well. There is no error code as well.

It started this weekend when I was riding and throttle power suddenly went dead. Upon examination I had blown the 40 amp fuse in the battery, I replaced it (with another new 40 amp) and hasn't worked since.

I've also tried reaching out to rad via their help desk/support emails and even called but have not gotten a response in 4 days. I've had several issue with this bike (computer went bad and broken front fork) and they responded fairly quick. Not sure what's going on now?

Has anyone had this problem? Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

[handlebar]

Did the replacement fuse blow?

[bcare003]

No, still good. Also changed the 5 Amp fuse just in case and nothing. I went though the break connections as well as stated in a few other threads in the forum and nothing.

[handlebar]

Does anything light up to show that the controller is on?

Did you check the fuse with an ohmmeter? Sometimes I've found open fuses that weren't visibly blown.

[bcare003]

Yes, there's a small red light under the controller next to the sprocket that lights up I'm assuming it for the PAS. When I first activate the throttle it gives the bike a small push and you see the wattage go up as well then back down when power dies so its getting power back there just not consistently. 

I bought a 5 pack of fuses and went through each one just in case, nothing.

Update, I was looking at the cable terminals and the one that goes from the battery to the controller looks a little burnt and frayed on the end. Hard to tell as is has a cover. Wiggled it some and made sure it was making contact, didn't work.

Also, going on day 5 with no response from RAD, starting to think they closed or something. Anyone here anything?

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again for the responses.

[handlebar]

High resistance where the wire is frayed would explain it very well: milliamps for the light, but trying to pull amps for the motor drops the voltage. There must be a way to fix it with solder and wire. (That's easy for me to say, not having seen the situation.)

[handlebar]

Also, going on day 5 with no response from RAD, starting to think they closed or something. Anyone here anything?

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks again for the responses.

My thoughts on Radpower aren't nice. A couple of years ago I emailed them to say I'd discovered two broken spokes. I depended on that bike for transportation, and if a third spoke broke, experts said I'd need to stop riding because the rest wouldn't last long. I asked where to get spokes.

With no answer, I ordered some. The only ones of the right length that I could find had to be shipped from China. I started walking instead of riding so that the failing bike would still be available in an emergency. Weeks later, Radpower answered to say they now had spokes for sale. By then I'd replaced my spokes.

[bcare003]

Yeah, Just with I had something to do some trial and error with before I start splicing wires. And I'm sorry to hear about your dealing with RAD. I've had a few issues with my bike so far and each time they've been fairly quick responding, they even picked up the phone. Unfortunately that's not the case this time, will let you know what the say if and when they come around.

Thanks,

[handlebar]

If you can contact terminals at both ends of the wire with a multimeter, and you can't get zero ohms
(or close to zero, there may be a fraction of an ohm in the meter)
or you can get zero but it doesn't stay at zero when you move the wire
that must be the problem.

If I can't get to contacts at both ends of a suspect wire, I may stick a pin or sewing needle through the insulation to contact the wire.

https://support.radpowerbikes.com/Maintenance_and_troubleshooting/Connectors_and_cables/RadRover_wiring_harness_replacement_guide

One approach is to replace the whole harness. I wonder how much one costs.

[inoxa]

I am currently have the same issue with throttle and PAS.  My issue is the battery was difficult to take off
the bike.  Then I looked at the connections to the battery and cradle and they showed melting of the plastic. 
Aera 13 confirmed that I need to replace those connections or the problems will continue.  I have their controller
with over 5000 miles on the controller.  CHANGE:  the CRADLE Wire just has little insulation on it.  It is probably AWG12 and the battery is AWG10 with thicker wire insulation.  The the high continuous current was the issue that burned the connectors.

THIS connector change out did SOLVE my no power Throttle and PAS issue.   

This is the part that was melted that I ordered. 

https://amzn.to/3QKvkUs

Hopefully this will solve my problem and maybe yours as well.

[bcare003]

Thanks for the feedback. I finally figured it out, my motor is bad. Any idea on where to purchase a new 750 W rear hub motor for that bike?

Thanks,

[inoxa]

Yes in stock at Area13.  A true 750 watt but will require a controller upgrade. They might have the 500 watt that RAD calls a 750 watt.