I have a battery that looks like it won?t charge anymore. Got the bike just 2 months ago.
Rode last night and pulled the batter to charge it. Got up this morning and the battery level had not changed. Charger light is green.
Threw it on my wife?s charger and it has the same issue - charger shows green but the battery has only 6 bars.
The battery will power up the bike and run.
I?ve always used the correct plug in sequence (battery to charger, then charger to outlet) when charging.
Any ideas on what gives? Sounds like the internal fuse went but I have no idea how that could have happened.
My case is similar; pending decision from Rad about replacing my battery.
Quote from: Dukem on July 15, 2022, 10:35:46 AM
My case is similar; pending decision from Rad about replacing my battery.
I'm in the same boat waiting on the warranty response. Weird issue - looks like there are 4 or so different threads on here this week about fried batteries in relatively new bikes. Not a good sign for Rad.
similar issue....I thought the charging port was the place to unlock it when trying to unlock the battery the first time and apparently shorted the fuse after briefly touching the port with the key. RAD will not replace my battery so I must spend $600 on a new one. I admit this is partly my fault but this is a very common mistake I'm seeing and a horrible design flaw of the battery that you can't easily change the fuse...and the response to RAD by not replacing (or offering to repair it) is very upsetting since I've only used this thing for one charge. This was a birthday present for my son and he's upset, I'm upset....ready to take this to the dump I'm so pissed.
Quote from: jlawrence on July 17, 2022, 11:39:48 AM
similar issue....I thought the charging port was the place to unlock it when trying to unlock the battery the first time and apparently shorted the fuse after briefly touching the port with the key. RAD will not replace my battery so I must spend $600 on a new one. I admit this is partly my fault but this is a very common mistake I'm seeing and a horrible design flaw of the battery that you can't easily change the fuse...and the response to RAD by not replacing (or offering to repair it) is very upsetting since I've only used this thing for one charge. This was a birthday present for my son and he's upset, I'm upset....ready to take this to the dump I'm so pissed.
If you can't fix it yourself, perhaps you know someone who'd be willing to do it for you.
You can ship these batteries via the Post Office. I'll fix for free if you pay shipping.
Got the word that Rad ok'd the warranty claim on my battery that won't charge. Now I get to tear into it and see which fuse version I have. . .
That's really a shame on yours jlawrence. I understand your pain. Don't dump the bike yet!
I did the same thing, absentmindedly touched the key to the charging port and POP. Rad customer support (after 2 hours on hold) said ?too bad, so sad, oh well, bye bye.? So now I have a useless bike unless I want to spend $600 on a new battery. Seems like this might be a faulty design issue if you can?t replace the fuse without hacking it, and the placement of the charging port is clearly problematic.
I appreciate all of the time folks have put into describing the fuse hack though. Might be my best chance at getting back out there. Thanks for the tips and photos!
Rad has had problems recently, I want another Radbike, BUT, They seem to be in transition, Will hold off buying another Radbike till they figure out their situation, In the meantime, There are some better purchases out there, I will be looking into that venue for an additional fat tire Ebike. So bummed out about not buying another Radbike, BUT, They have problems.
Paul
Quote from: Adams on July 14, 2022, 05:26:06 AM
I have a battery that looks like it won?t charge anymore. Got the bike just 2 months ago.
Rode last night and pulled the batter to charge it. Got up this morning and the battery level had not changed. Charger light is green.
Threw it on my wife?s charger and it has the same issue - charger shows green but the battery has only 6 bars.
The battery will power up the bike and run.
I?ve always used the correct plug in sequence (battery to charger, then charger to outlet) when charging.
Any ideas on what gives? Sounds like the internal fuse went but I have no idea how that could have happened.
I'm having the same problem with my brand new 5. My battery won't charge. I have not got to ride the brand new bike yet
because the battery stays at 4 bars while the charger gives the green light.
I contacted Customer Service. After several days they got back to me and requested several pictures and a video
which I sent to them but I have not heard back from them. Sucks to have a brand new bike that I still haven't
been able to ride and they are dragging their feet.
If they don't replace the battery this bike is useless and I will have to return it along with the $600 worth
of accessories I bought.
Quote from: santacruzpaul on July 18, 2022, 06:44:43 PM
Rad has had problems recently, I want another Radbike, BUT, They seem to be in transition, Will hold off buying another Radbike till they figure out their situation, In the meantime, There are some better purchases out there, I will be looking into that venue for an additional fat tire Ebike. So bummed out about not buying another Radbike, BUT, They have problems.
Paul
I am an old fat guy, And the Riva Cheetah is looking better all the time, The only reason I have not pulled the trigger is that I am holding out for front suspension to be featured soon, The thing is a Cruiser beast, And touted to be A Very comfortable ride.
Paul
UPDATE: Issue still unresolved. I have not been able to ride my brand new Rad 5.
Customer Service is dragging their feet.
Today I got an email from Rad asking if I would recommend Rad to a friend. What am
I supposed to say? If they don't resolve this issue my new bike is useless.
Quote from: Treefriend on July 19, 2022, 05:06:10 PM
Quote from: Adams on July 14, 2022, 05:26:06 AM
I have a battery that looks like it won?t charge anymore. Got the bike just 2 months ago.
Rode last night and pulled the batter to charge it. Got up this morning and the battery level had not changed. Charger light is green.
Threw it on my wife?s charger and it has the same issue - charger shows green but the battery has only 6 bars.
The battery will power up the bike and run.
I?ve always used the correct plug in sequence (battery to charger, then charger to outlet) when charging.
Any ideas on what gives? Sounds like the internal fuse went but I have no idea how that could have happened.
I'm having the same problem with my brand new 5. My battery won't charge. I have not got to ride the brand new bike yet
because the battery stays at 4 bars while the charger gives the green light.
I contacted Customer Service. After several days they got back to me and requested several pictures and a video
which I sent to them but I have not heard back from them. Sucks to have a brand new bike that I still haven't
been able to ride and they are dragging their feet.
If they don't replace the battery this bike is useless and I will have to return it along with the $600 worth
of accessories I bought.
UPDATE:
Received a new battery from Rad under my warranty claim. It was a week from when they approved the claim to when I received the battery. I'm happy with the customer service and result.
The same issue with "rad runner." Two days ago I sent a request describing the problem through the official website, but still no response. Very upset about this situation.
Stefan, The Rad Runner battery has fuses in the underside of the battery. Check them to make sure ones not blown. Good Luck!
Quote from: Adams on July 26, 2022, 09:20:20 AM
UPDATE:
Received a new battery from Rad under my warranty claim. It was a week from when they approved the claim to when I received the battery. I'm happy with the customer service and result.
This is good to hear. Received my bike yesterday and the battery was DOA (no charging lights or anything). Support did say there was a "5 day backlog" on manager approval for battery replacement which did not exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy. I've been reading nothing but nightmares of people waiting months.
Also, out of curiosity does rad require the faulty batteries be sent back for warranty replacements? I'm wondering if I should break out my soldering iron and attempt a repair (according to the serial number I apparently have the soldered fuses) so I can maybe actually enjoy my bike a bit before summer ends.
I had the same issue. I accidentally touched the charging port with the key and it stopped charging. All I did was replace the 5A fuse and it's been fine. Look at my name and see my other post about this issue.
Now I carry spare 5 and 40A fuses. Was a very simple fix.
Have to appreciate the fuses built in - def protected the battery.
Quote from: izxion on August 12, 2022, 10:01:04 AMAlso, out of curiosity does rad require the faulty batteries be sent back for warranty replacements? I'm wondering if I should break out my soldering iron and attempt a repair (according to the serial number I apparently have the soldered fuses) so I can maybe actually enjoy my bike a bit before summer ends.
Reports I've read here on the forum all seem to indicate that Rad does NOT require a return of the bad battery; the shipping regulations and cost probably make it not worth the trouble. So, if you can get your original battery functional, you'll have a spare, but I wouldn't touch it until the new battery is in hand and working well on your bike, just in case.
My impression is that Rad has its hands full with all sorts of hassles and expense to recover from bad parts, bad assembly and especially bad designs in the newer models. Hope they don't bleed out as a result, but I've seen it happen before.
I recently encountered the same problem on my Rad 6+. Turned out to be the fuse but changing it was not that easy and even though I was careful not to cut the ribbon cord for the power indicator it does not work now. This is a VERY poorly designed battery system especially with the lock very close to the charging portal.
As Ive posted before I had similar trouble with the battery on my Rover 6 Plus. I thought I'd done something to short the fuse. Got myself in the RAD response system--had to send photos, video of plug in procedure, etc. About a week later I thought I'd plug the battery in just to see what's going on. Shocking (no pun intended) in that it charged!! Instead of showing green meaning charging is completed (which it showed previously despite the battery showing less than full charge) it showed red. In an hour or so it showed green. The battery now showed a full charge. I sent pictures of this to RAD. My assumption was bad battery. But a RAD technician called me to explain what is happening. Apparently the battery can receive an experience that implies a short (my words not his). But--these batteries can do a re-set on their own internally. He said these are the latest battery technology and most advanced batteries for RAD to date. He assured me the battery was now fine and I won't have any problems. So far he is correct. I've ridden and recharged the battery a couple times now and all works perfectly. How weird is all this? But all's well that ends well.
Well Rover congratulations, that's assume news. I hope a lot more people have that happen. Sure would be a great stress reliever and a great answer to Rad's battery problem. If they could some how instructed and force that to happen to more batteries.
The crazy thing is that the 10 amp auto fuse costs $1.25 each at my local hardware. The difficulty is that the fuses are deeply deeply buried. If you are an idiot like me and blew the fuse yourself you may want to look at some of the posts on integrated fuses and how to change them. Rad doesn?t offer the service!! So if you stuck a key into the port they want $750 Cdn to replace the battery. It took me about 90 minute do it myself once I had the tools. I don?t really have good skills.
I may open my own repair shop. I figure I could do about fifteen a day.m someone should.
We've been waiting a month to receive a replacement for a RR6+, covered under warranty. This is taking a big chunk out of the Michigan riding season. I hope they get their act together soon.
Quote from: izxion on August 12, 2022, 10:01:04 AM
Quote from: Adams on July 26, 2022, 09:20:20 AM
UPDATE:
Received a new battery from Rad under my warranty claim. It was a week from when they approved the claim to when I received the battery. I'm happy with the customer service and result.
This is good to hear. Received my bike yesterday and the battery was DOA (no charging lights or anything). Support did say there was a "5 day backlog" on manager approval for battery replacement which did not exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy. I've been reading nothing but nightmares of people waiting months.
Also, out of curiosity does rad require the faulty batteries be sent back for warranty replacements? I'm wondering if I should break out my soldering iron and attempt a repair (according to the serial number I apparently have the soldered fuses) so I can maybe actually enjoy my bike a bit before summer ends.
Rad does NOT require you to send the old battery back. Break out that soldering iron! What is the serial number range that has soldered fuses?
Quote from: Rover on August 20, 2022, 02:51:48 PM
As Ive posted before I had similar trouble with the battery on my Rover 6 Plus. I thought I'd done something to short the fuse. Got myself in the RAD response system--had to send photos, video of plug in procedure, etc. About a week later I thought I'd plug the battery in just to see what's going on. Shocking (no pun intended) in that it charged!! Instead of showing green meaning charging is completed (which it showed previously despite the battery showing less than full charge) it showed red. In an hour or so it showed green. The battery now showed a full charge. I sent pictures of this to RAD. My assumption was bad battery. But a RAD technician called me to explain what is happening. Apparently the battery can receive an experience that implies a short (my words not his). But--these batteries can do a re-set on their own internally. He said these are the latest battery technology and most advanced batteries for RAD to date. He assured me the battery was now fine and I won't have any problems. So far he is correct. I've ridden and recharged the battery a couple times now and all works perfectly. How weird is all this? But all's well that ends well.
Was your battery warm when you tried to charge it? The BMS (Battery Management System) in the battery will prevent charging on over temperature. It has happened to me a couple of times here in Florida when I have used high PAS levels. I just left the charger plugged in, and it started charging when the battery cooled a bit. Note that the battery was warm to the touch, not hot.
It happens to me yesterday check your 5amp fuse remove and check if it is blown just replaced it should solve your problem.
I'm in the same boat with getting a new Rover 6+ with a DOA battery. Warranty is nice but seems like maybe a better QC needs to be in place? These new batteries don't have the easy plug-in fuses. Apparently I see a 10A and a 40A fuse that is a surface mount/ceramic type fuse (yes the 40A came off during removal). I did test continuity with a multi-meter and both were good. Not sure what other options left. Anyone know of a place/person that is willing to work on these? Also, do you think it's safe for me to solder the 40A back on or am I taking a risk? Thanks.
I received a replacement semi integrated battery and charger for my Rad Rover 6 plus bike. The battery is doing the same thing as my old battery. The charger shows a green light instead of a red light. IT BRAND NEW!
My Rad City 5 plus battery after 2 months not used indicated 4 bars on battery led. After charging overnight, battery charger indicated charged but led's on battery still showed 4 bars. I assumed it had not charged. It most likely was fully charged. Rad help desk advised to run battery down to 1 bar and then charge overnight. I lifted rear wheel of ground (rope over garage rafter) and rapped old inner tube around throttle and let'r go full speed. It took 3 hrs to run down to 1 bar. So I'm thinking it was fully charged and led's on battery not showing true. I didn't think to check the UI display at that time. Then after charging overnight once more it still showed the same 1 bar. Rad help desk said to do that cycle 2 more times and indicated a repair service might be able to replace a fuse. Instead I put on bike and this time checked display which showed fully charged. You Tube has a video on replacing fuse. It was easy to pop off the cover, then 4 torx size 10 screws. Hard part getting to the 10 amp auto fuse buried about 1/2 inch under blue tape. Indeed it was blown out. After changing that out, charged overnight and now battery led's completely out. Put on bike and UI display showed fully charged. Wife test rode, everything works fine and she says can live without battery led's better than without $600.00. If Rad had designed a convenient port for this simple fuse fix it could avoid a great deal of complaints and risk of tearing into an out of warranty batteries. No idea why LED's on battery now not working at all.
Quote from: VONNYG on March 04, 2023, 06:03:13 AM
My Rad City 5 plus battery after 2 months not used indicated 4 bars on battery led. After charging overnight, battery charger indicated charged but led's on battery still showed 4 bars. I assumed it had not charged. It most likely was fully charged. Rad help desk advised to run battery down to 1 bar and then charge overnight. I lifted rear wheel of ground (rope over garage rafter) and rapped old inner tube around throttle and let'r go full speed. It took 3 hrs to run down to 1 bar. So I'm thinking it was fully charged and led's on battery not showing true. I didn't think to check the UI display at that time. Then after charging overnight once more it still showed the same 1 bar. Rad help desk said to do that cycle 2 more times and indicated a repair service might be able to replace a fuse. Instead I put on bike and this time checked display which showed fully charged. You Tube has a video on replacing fuse. It was easy to pop off the cover, then 4 torx size 10 screws. Hard part getting to the 10 amp auto fuse buried about 1/2 inch under blue tape. Indeed it was blown out. After changing that out, charged overnight and now battery led's completely out. Put on bike and UI display showed fully charged. Wife test rode, everything works fine and she says can live without battery led's better than without $600.00. If Rad had designed a convenient port for this simple fuse fix it could avoid a great deal of complaints and risk of tearing into an out of warranty batteries. No idea why LED's on battery now not working at all.
Sounds like you cut the ribbon to the led display when you did the fuse repair. Its in the vicinity of the fuse. Easy to do if you go too deep when slicing thru the blue wrapper.. Better than a completely bricked battery though.
My Rad Wagon arrived with an open 5 A fuse.
Well it appears I am in the same situation as many with a new RadRover 6 + and a dead integrated battery after one ride and then winter storage in MN. Did you all have to send in a video of the charging procedure to support before they would contact you. I have waited for two days without any response from Rad regarding my battery issue. Not wanting to hack the battery until I have a replacement from them considering the battery cost for replacement.
Thank you all your experience with this is very helpful
This post from earlier today (reply #13) might be of some assistance; apparently the Seattle Rad service people acknowledged a bad batch of batteries was installed into these bikes:
https://www.radowners.com/index.php/topic,9409.msg22772.html#msg22772
I assume yours is still under warranty and hope you can get a replacement quickly and smoothly.
Quote from: Radgrampa on June 23, 2023, 12:04:02 PM
Well it appears I am in the same situation as many with a new RadRover 6 + and a dead integrated battery after one ride and then winter storage in MN. Did you all have to send in a video of the charging procedure to support before they would contact you. I have waited for two days without any response from Rad regarding my battery issue. Not wanting to hack the battery until I have a replacement from them considering the battery cost for replacement.
Thank you all your experience with this is very helpful
Hello to a fellow Minnesotan!
Rad did make me send a video of charging procedure, and photos of serial #, keys, and charging port on battery before honoring the warranty claim.
Gentleman thank you for the assistance, I figured this wouldn't be an easy fix and yes I am still within my warranty. As with everyone else it's just a very bad impression on what I think is a pretty good product that so many are going through this battery flaw issue. Would I recommend this product to my friends, that remains to be seen. The couple that told me about Rad bikes had the same issue with one of their new RadRover 6+ models and ended up getting a new battery. As with others living in the northern part of the country our biking season is short enough without this type of issue.
Thank you
Quote from: Radgrampa on June 23, 2023, 01:17:11 PM
Gentleman thank you for the assistance, I figured this wouldn't be an easy fix and yes I am still within my warranty. As with everyone else it's just a very bad impression on what I think is a pretty good product that so many are going through this battery flaw issue. Would I recommend this product to my friends, that remains to be seen. The couple that told me about Rad bikes had the same issue with one of their new RadRover 6+ models and ended up getting a new battery. As with others living in the northern part of the country our biking season is short enough without this type of issue.
Thank you
Hopefully you get a replacement.
As someone else from MN, remember to bring your lithium batteries indoors for the winter. It'll help prolong their life. Not just for your bike, but power tools too!