Torq Died on the way to work

[stokepa31]

HI All. Heeeelp.

riding to work this morning when all the lights went out and everything died. I was on a flat bit of road and pedalling + full throttle. I dont think I went over any large bumps. Can anyone give me some advice. Battery was fully charged. Road surface was damp with small amounts of standing water.

Is this a battery cut out and if so will it come back on its own?

is it the battery fuse?

should I start taking stuff apart (please dont let it be this as I have the technical ability of a slug)

not looking forward to the ride home without my motor!

Thanks in advance

Paul

 

[Wizard9956]

Hi Paul , i've only had my bike about a month so don't know loads about them , but the first thing i'd try is go and try switching the bike on again , if it's still dead then i would be looking at replacing the fuse ( my fuse is located inside the top of the battery case and is accessed by removing 4 screws ) note my bike is not a Torq , so your fuse may located else where .
If the fuse is ok then i would think that one of the wiring connectors has come apart where the controller is ( my controller is under a side cover beneath the battery ) .
Hope this helps .

atb

Wizard

 

[Tiberius]

If its a cut out,then it should come back on if you turn the key off and back on again.

If its the fuse gone, then it shoudl be easy to pull it out and check it. Never had to do this, so don't know if its a visual check or you need a meter.

I have had some problems with spray getting into the electronics. In that case it didn't die completely, just was intermittent and erratic, and it behaved once dried out.

Does the red light on the side of the controller come on?

If you have a meter, it is easy to remove the battery and check the voltage at the terminals. That at least will tell you if the problem is in the battery or the bike. You can also inspect the connectors and the connector mountings on the bike.

Nick

 

[HarryB]

I agree with Nick in that if it is damp getting into a connection then the symptoms would be an intermittant fault like the throttle not working or the pedalec sensor not working. I have had these to a certain extent and it just needs drying out. If you have no lights and no light on the controller then you are looking at a fuse or something more terminal like the controller dying. 50 cycles are always very helpful if you want to talk through some symptoms.

 

[coops]

Hi Paul,

I'd try switching on again, like the others said, and make a note of the state of the controller box (under base of battery holder) red LED light - if its steady then all should be well; if its flashing, count the number of consecutive flashes between pauses (count a few times to be sure its correct) then check against the self-diagnostic codes available here on flecc's site.

If there's no red light, might that mean a fuse gone like the others said? I don't know on that one, but a fuse gone has not happened to me before.

Let us know how you get on & I hope you're back on the road again soon, with power too!

Stuart.

 

[flecc]

There's a second internal fuse in the battery as well, seen at number 6 below:

.

 

[stokepa31]

Hi Guys.

Thanks for all the responses. Sorry about my late response - been in meetings all morning.

I have just been down to visit my sick bike.

External fuse seems fine on a visual inspection but I dont have meter. Still no lights on handlebar or battery controller. Guess i'll have to contact 50 cycles.

I did not suffer any intemittent symtoms so perhaps that rules out water ingress.

I have removed the battery and re-inserted too. still nothing

Paul

 

[tgame]

I've got my fingers crossed for you, Paul.

 

[Joe]

i had a vespa t5 that was extremely tempermental in heavy rain. once broken down i sprayed wd40 in the appropriate electrical areas and was able to restart. always disappointing to breakdown on a new machine, i am hoping its just a temporary glitch for you

 

[stokepa31]

Thanks for all your support and ideas guys.

I had a bit of a mare last night. Firstly I thought i'd just ride the bike home minus power until I realised that it was dark and the lights run off the main battery.

Today I needed to use the car as I have off site meetings to attend so the bike will be left at work anther night (secure though).

I contacted 50 cycles yeaterday and they were at lunch. I contacted them this morning and they were late coming in but would phone me back by 2pm. fingers crossed they will give me a ring and discuss solutions.

Tried a new fuse this morning which made no difference!

i'll let you all know how it turns out.

Paul

 

[Tiberius]

the lights run off the main battery.
Paul

Hi Paul,

I forgot about lights; mine doesn't have them.
One of the things to be established early on is whether the fault is in the battery or the bike. If the lights don't work, that would suggest the battery. Or maybe the key switch. Possibly someone who knows how the lights are wired up could comment.

Nick

 

[flecc]

It's as in my wiring schematic referred to earlier Nick.

Power is taken from the handlebar meter to the twistgrip switch, then back to the meter and on to the headlamp. Then a lead is run from the headlamp to the tail lamp.
.

 

[stokepa31]

Update

Had a realy good chat with Lloyd at 50 cycles this afternon. I need to get hold of a meter to check the output from the battery if that is ok then I need to check the contact housing on the bike to see if its damaged in any way. If that is ok then I need to upend the bike and check three circuits.

1 the wire that goes to the handlebars
2 the one that goes to the motor
3 the one that goes to the controler unit

if I isolate each one and check it it should tell me which one has the break.

needless to say most of this was dutch to me but my nextdoor neighbour Eddy is a retired electrician who should have both the meter and the nouse to carry out the checks.

failing that the bike will have to go to loughborugh for a shop fix. 50 cycles were really helpful and I would point out that they offered the shop fix option immediately if I did'nt fancy the tinker option.

will let you know how it goes. hopefully i'll be back on the road soon.

 

[jeronimo479]

Shut off problem

I had that problem with my 2nd battery. I found that the contacts between the screws and the battery terminals were bad. The battery always worked intermittently. That battery failed eventually, and I haven't yet bought another.
If the contacts on the battery show voltage, you don't have that problem. If they show no voltage, try placing the meter probes right on the screws deep in the contacts area.

Wayne

 

[JamesC]

I have not experienced any electrical problems on my Torq, but have just been in amongst the cables near the bottom bracket to wire in an extra battery.

Points that I would check:
1. Turn the bike upside down and look at the backside of the 2 battery pins. The brass nuts securing the cable to the pin were beginning to show signs of coming loose.

2. The two cables going up to the keyswitch are soldered to small tags behind the bulbous rubber gaiter - these connections could fatigue from the vibration of regular use.

As yet, I have not been inside the battery so not sure what can go wrong there.

Best of luck
James

 

[flecc]

Illustrations of the possibilities here James.

There are two wires from the pack down to screws inside the base plate which secure the connector clips, so that's a possioble point of contact loss.
.

 

[stokepa31]

Update!!

OK, so I leave work at 4pm to ensure I get back home during daylight. I turn on the ignition before setting off and there is still no sign of life I decide to leave it on anyway in the hope vibration make make something hook up again and give me signs of the problem on route home.

Nothing happens until i'm 400yds from home when i notice the light switch is in the on position and i turn it off. the instant i do this, all power suddenly restores itself and the battery indicator sudenly shows green. I test the throttle and sure enough, off I whiz

Thoroughly knackered from my exploits I power my way up the back drive and park. the minute I turn the light switch back to the on position all power disappears again

It would appear not to be the battery but the spaghetti bit undeneath that needs attention.

Paul

 

[flecc]

I'm not sure, but it could be a minor fault linking to the earthing strip inside the headlight Paul. These lights don't need to be earthed, it's a left over from when it was a dynamo light.

If you remove the front of the headlight and disconnect that earth to the frame, it might just solve the problem temporarily to allow the lights to work as well.
.

 

[JamesC]

If you remove the front of the headlight and disconnect that earth to the frame, it might just solve the problem temporarily to allow the lights to work as well.
.

If it is to do with the unneccessary earthing in the light circuit, BOTH the headlamp and the tail lamp on the carrier are earthed.

To check if it is the headlight, just remove the nut and bolt that allows the headlamp to pivot and slide the lamp out of the bracket. You will see the offending bit of brass which touches the bracket and earths the lamp.

To check if it is the tailight, carefully unclip the red lens, then remove the nut and bolt on the side that goes through the brass electrical connection strip.

James

 

[flecc]

Thanks for the correction James. I didn't have lights on my early Torq and only have experience with the Quando set with a different type of tail light, plastic on a plastic mounting.
.