Radrover 6+ battery won?t charge

[RadRoverNYCFL]

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.

[JimInPT]

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.

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.

[Rybaky]

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.

[Rover]

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.

[rjp]

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. 

[WillFalk]

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.

[radgranddad]

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.

[Adams]

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?

[DickB]

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.

[gorillos]

It happens to me yesterday check your 5amp fuse remove and check if it is blown just replaced it should solve your problem.

[chitownindy]

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.

[kkeide]

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!

[VONNYG]

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.

[Adams]

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.

[jimsem]

My Rad Wagon arrived with an open 5 A fuse.