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Revolution EV, LLC (734) 649-8356 |
Oh No, My Bike Won't Go!
Here are some quick tests you can do if your bike doesn't respond to the throttle.Check the Diagnostic Light
Check the small red diagnostic light on the speedo cluster. If it's flashing then count the number of flashes and open a ticket with X-Treme - something's up that they will need to fix.Check the brake and the sidestand
With the bike on the center stand (the one that puts the back wheel off the ground) switch the bike on. Check that the rear brake light is not lit. If it is then make sure the side stand is up. Both the brakes and the sidestand have a switch in them that tells the controller not to send power to the back wheel. The sidestand switch also lights up the back brake light when the stand is down - so if the rear brake light is on while the side stand is up then you have a faulty sidestand switch. You can also see the brake light go on and off if you push the side stand down (brake light comes on) and then push it back up (brake light goes off). Of course, also applying either the front or the rear brake lever should make the brake light go on and then off when the lever is released.
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| With the sidestand up the brake light is off | With the sidestand down the brake light is on |
Remember if the brake light is lit then the controller won't send power to the motor.
Check the circuit breaker
Unlock and raise the seat - be gentle doing this the lock for the seat can be "finicky" and the keys are easily bent (don't ask me why I know this!). Under the seat you will see a grey circuit breaker attached to the rear wall of the underseat storage compartment - make sure that the switch is in the on position. If it's "tripped" and is in the off position then after you've reset it take the bike for a "gentle" ride and see if it trips again - if it does you likely have another problem and should contact X-Treme. If it doesn't trip again then for this first occurence don't worry much about it - however if it keeps happening then don't just keep resetting it - you need to figure out what's causing it to trip all the time.Remove the rear panels to expose the batteries
For the remaining tests you need to have access to the batteries and the wiring harness. To get access you need to remove the rear body work. You'll need a Phillips Head screw driver, a 10mm wrench or socket and a 12mm wrench or socket. For the simple tests listed below you will also need a voltmeter - a digital mutli-meter can be picked up at most large supermarkets (Meijer's, Wal-Mart etc.) or hardware store for less than $20. Harbor Freight sometimes have them on sale for less than $5! Instructions for removing the rear panels on an XM-2000 can be found here: Removing the XM-2000 rear body panels
The only difference with the XM-3000 is that the circuit breaker is no longer at the bottom front of the seat pillar but mounted to the back of the storage compartment. It is attached via two screws with nuts on the back side - unfortunately these nuts will likely turn loosley before you can get the screw out far enough - so it's easier to remove the large red and black wires entering the circuit breaker. Remember to reattach the circuit breaker after you've removed the panels so that you can perform the tests below.Check the battery connections
There are five batteries, the "most positive" (i.e. the first in the string) is the bottom front battery. The "most negative" (i.e. the last in the
string) is the bottom back battery. Switch your multimeter to measure DC voltage on a setting that can handle at least 65 volts. On mine it looks like
this:
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| Voltage accross entire string should be around 65.5V or more View is from the top looking down at the main cluster of 4 batteries |
Check the input from the throttle
Locate the three wire plug that has a black, red and green wire (the green is in the center):
Set your multi-meter to a range appropriate for reading up to 5V. With the bike on the center stand, and the rear wheel off the ground switch on the bike. Check to see if you have between 4 and 5 volts between the red and black wires (push the probes into the back of the plug until it touches the metal pin - the red probe on the red wire and the black probe on the black wire). If you don't have any voltage then check the circuit breaker is installed and switched on. If still no voltage then you have a problem with the throttle.
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| The voltage across the black and red throttle wires |
Next, leave the black probe on the black wire and press the red probe into the back of the plug for the green wire making sure you make contact with the pin. With the throttle closed you should get a reading of less than 1V. With the throttle fully open you will either get a reading of around 3.5V or 2.2V depending on whether the "speed switch" (next to the throttle) is located in the high speed or low speed position. If you don't see the voltage change as you open the throttle then you have a problem with the throttle.
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| The throttle closed |
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| The throttle fully open in "low speed" mode |
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| The throttle fully open in "high speed" mode |
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| The speed selection switch (0=high, 1=low) |
Check the Hall sensors in the hub motor
Locate the five wire plug that has a black, red, yellow, blue and green wire (the plug has space for six connections but is only used for five):
Make sure the wires are all secure and that the pins in the plug aren't bent and are making a good contact
Set your multi-meter to a range appropriate for reading up to 5V. With the bike on the center stand, and the rear wheel off the ground switch on the bike. Check to see if you have between 4 and 5 volts between the red and black wires (push the probes into the back of the plug until it touches the metal pin - the red probe on the red wire and the black probe on the black wire). If you don't have any voltage then check the circuit breaker is installed and switched on. If still no voltage then you have a problem with the controller.
Leave the black probe on the black wire. Take the red probe and put it on the green wire. Very slowly turn the back wheel - you should see the voltage vary between 0 and 4.x volts. Note that you might have to turn the wheel and stop until the reading on your meter settles and then turn it some more - the main thing you're looking for is the presence of a voltage signal that varies as you turn the wheel (all we're testing is that the hall sensor is sending out a reading - with this simple test you can't check for things like the alignment of the hall sensors within the motor). Repeat the test for the blue and then yellow wires. If one of these sensors doesn't give out any signal or it only puts out a low maximum voltage (say 2V instead of 4V) then you have a bad motor (the hall sensors within the motor are either broken or malfunctioning in some way).
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| The voltage across the black and red wires |
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| The low voltage across the black and blue wires |
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| The high voltage across the black and blue wires |
Now what?
If you get this far and you haven't found anything wrong then contact X-Treme and tell them the steps you took to diagnose the bike so far. They'll likely tell you to send back the motor and controller for them to test - and assuming you're under warranty they will replace the defective parts.
Likewise if you get this far and have found what you suspect is the culprit then assuming it's not an easy fix (such as making sure the plug is plugged in) then contact X-Treme. Tell them what you suspect and what you did to come to this conclusion. They may still want you to send in the motor and controller for them to test - or they might just send you a replacement part (with instructions to return your defective part).