Semi-integrated battery fuse replacement

[DickB]

The new Rad semi-integrated battery has internal fuses that are a bit difficult but not impossible to replace.

I got a battery from a Facebook group member that refused to charge after a couple of months. She sent it to me to examine. (She got a warranty replacement from Rad.)

The new battery has an aluminum tube-like case, and is opened from the ends. To open it, you must first pry off a cover at either end of the battery to expose T10 Torx screws. Remove 4 screws at each end.

The battery is well sealed against moisture. The end caps have rubber gaskets, and all exposed connections are sealed in silicone rubber. The battery assembly itself is fastened to the case at either end with silicone rubber. This must be cut at both ends to remove the battery assembly. To remove the assembly, I pushed from the power connector end, rotating the end cap to fit through the case.

The entire assembly is sealed in shrink wrap and more silicone. The fuses are at either end. Not knowing the internal construction, I made a bit of a mess opening the shrink wrap. Now knowing where the fuses are located, small flaps could be carefully cut in the shrink wrap to expose the fuses and then reseal the shrink wrap. Another Facebook member used my information and photos to replace a charge fuse by just opening the end caps, cutting the silicone, and pushing the charge fuse end out of the case a few inches. He then cut a small flap in the shrink wrap to expose the fuse. It is not necessary to completely disassemble as I did.

The charge fuse is 10A, possibly because the new charger is higher amperage? I'm charging with my standard 2A charger to confirm the fix. The battery arrived depleted, with 1 of 10 LEDs lit. At present I have 3 LEDs lit. The battery is presenting about 46V at the power port, consistent with 3 LEDs. I cannot test it on my Rover 5, but I have no reason to believe that it will not work; in fact it was working fine, just not charging.

I'm sure many other than me question the decision to require such disassembly to replace a fuse. Including Rad. This inexpensive fuse cost them a replacement battery.

[JimInPT]

Way to go, Dick; nice work and I'm sure she appreciates having a working spare now.  Seems like a pretty dumb engineering design to prevent easy inspection and access to a 10-cent part that's designed to break and be replaced.  Reminds me of the new keylock design that can't shut down power to the bike at all.

[sputnik3]

Thank you for this info, Dick! My wife went on her first ride today and tried to remove the battery after the ride by accidentally putting the key in the charing port. It made a spark and the fuse was blown. I was able to remove the one end cap and cut just in front of the fuse and replace it. I put some Permatex Ultra Black (chosen because it is acetal acid-free) over the opening to seal it back up. It appears to be charging now. RadPower wasn't at all sympathetic about this and just told me it wasn't covered under warranty. At least there is a way to save these.

[DickB]

Thank you for this info, Dick! My wife went on her first ride today and tried to remove the battery after the ride by accidentally putting the key in the charing port. It made a spark and the fuse was blown. I was able to remove the one end cap and cut just in front of the fuse and replace it. I put some Permatex Ultra Black (chosen because it is acetal acid-free) over the opening to seal it back up. It appears to be charging now. RadPower wasn't at all sympathetic about this and just told me it wasn't covered under warranty. At least there is a way to save these.

Glad you were able to save it!

What I find interesting is that my 2021 Standard battery has diodes in the charge circuit that SHOULD prevent this from happening. I have an older Standard battery that I repaired by replacing the power connector. That battery has the entire inside assembly covered in shrink wrap, which I did not need to remove to make the repair, so I could not examine the circuitry. The newer battery was not covered in shrink wrap, leaving the circuit board open for inspection. However, it appears that the older batteries do not have the diodes. I say this because the full battery voltage is present at the charge port. On the newer Standard battery, the full voltage is not present at the charge port, because the diodes allow only a very small amount of leakage current to flow out of the charge port. It is curious that Rad would not include this type of protection in the semi-integrated battery.

[Gigantes8]

Thank you all for your help. The photos were really useful. Some tips I learned:

1. The black cap that hides the two screws on top can be tapped off if you use a small screw driver and tap it from each side. It is just friction fit on. You will need a torx bit that is at least an 1" deep. Some shorter bits won't fit in the deep well.

2. You only have to take off the charge cap side. Once you take off the cap you do not need to slide the battery out. Just make an incision on the upper left. If you make a horizontal slit you can use needle nose to pull out the fuse.

3. It is a mini fuse.

[DickB]

Thank you all for your help. The photos were really useful. Some tips I learned:

1. The black cap that hides the two screws on top can be tapped off if you use a small screw driver and tap it from each side. It is just friction fit on. You will need a torx bit that is at least an 1" deep. Some shorter bits won't fit in the deep well.

2. You only have to take off the charge cap side. Once you take off the cap you do not need to slide the battery out. Just make an incision on the upper left. If you make a horizontal slit you can use needle nose to pull out the fuse.

3. It is a mini fuse.

Thanks - good tips!

[JulianFL]

Can anyone offer some guidance on how best to reseal after replacing the fuse?

[DickB]

I used some vinyl tape. Rad uses silicon seal, all the black stuff in the photos.

The attached photo is how another owner made the repair without removing the entire battery.  As previously mentioned, another owner did not move the battery at all; just cut a slit at the fuse and used a needle-nose pliers.  A bit of silicone would seal that slit.

[sputnik3]

If you use silicone to seal the battery, I would recommend avoiding any silicone with acetic acid (it smells like vinegar). Acetic acid can corrode the electronics in the battery pack. Permatex Ultra Black gasket maker does not have acetic acid and is available at most automotive supply stores.

[DickB]

Photos courtesy of Scott Bulloch.

[schecska]

Im having a really hard time popping off the end cap. Any tips on what actually will fit in the crack to pry it open?

[Eric7]

Im having a really hard time popping off the end cap. Any tips on what actually will fit in the crack to pry it open?

I don't own one of these batteries.  For tight parts, I use a small $13 carving knife which is as sharp as a razor blade but stronger.  I push it in as like I am cutting it apart.  Then a crack opens and I stick in a tougher blade and twist.

[DaveNancy]

I do feel stupid.... I too touched key to the charge post, not used bike for while and went to remove it to charge and sparked of course...  Now will not recharge so I am sure fuse below. 

I understand the details and photos but do not want to try to do work myself.    Very sad Rad designed it this way, grrr. 

If anyone knows of a repair center that would repair my battery (integrated Rad Rover 6 battery) please pm me or post reply. 

[DickB]

Contact Rad if under warranty. If you're honest about what happened, they may not cover it.

You might try Batteries +.  They say that they have battery rebuild services. Bring photos from this post.

[BriainO]

Thanks a million for sharing, @DickB.

I needed to register with this forum to view the photos... radpowerbikes.eu told me they would replace the battery, but due to changes in dangerous, or hazardous goods' regulations in January 2022, they have been unable to ship any batteries and it will still be around 2-3 weeks from now until they can possibly ship due to ironing out the bureaucracy between Customs and the their suppliers and manufacturers. At this time they are not advising customers to do the fuse fix themselves. I hope they may provide support on their help pages soon... additionally I encourage them to include the following warning in the manual: Don't poke the charge-port with your key!

Thankfully, it's an easy enough fix.

1. Remove the end cap was tapping the ends with a hammer and screwdriver. Don't lever with your carving knife, the tip will break off!

2. Remove the 4x torx #10 screws holding on the endcap.

3. Carefully make a slit in the thick plastic wrap.

4. Firmly grip the Red 10A fuse. It's a micro type and it's seated very firm.

5. Replace the fuse with another 10A micro-fuse.

6. Tape (or silicone) it up. I used electrical insulating tape and Duct tape over that.

7. Charge your battery as normal (I charge mine to 80-90% for longevity, unless I'm doing a big ride)