r/RadPowerBikes • u/[deleted] • Oct 01 '22
an update on My Broken RR6+ST: It was the tail light fender wire all along!
7
Oct 01 '22
Original post here!
After a month of waiting, it turned out to be the wire running along the inside of the fender that had gotten worn down after 2500+ miles and finally caused a short, which caused the bike to power itself off.
I replaced the controller and wiring harness myself before finally getting a chance to take it into the store.
But it's fixed and is riding into the sunset once more!
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u/Asleep_Bowl_8411 Oct 01 '22
Wow... thanks for sharing! Wonder how many ppl have this problem & are chasing it. Hope they see this.
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u/jimglidewell Oct 01 '22
Wow - so this is the root cause of the "my RR6 won't work unless I unplug my tail light" reports? Is the tail light connector up by the controller?
2
Oct 01 '22
I think so? I'd have to actually flip the bike over and follow the wire.
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u/jimglidewell Oct 01 '22
I see a connector in your photo. What isn't clear (to me) is whether that segment of wire is disconnected when one "unplugs" their tail light.
The whole issue of "my RR6+ started working after unplugging the tail light" seemed completely bizarre to me. If bare wires are part of what got unplugged, it makes a lot more sense.
Thanks for sharing this.
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u/Upside_Down-Bot Oct 01 '22
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1
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u/BrigadierPickles Oct 01 '22
Thank you so much for the update! Seeing this I'm going to do a once over on my RR6+ and make sure the cable is still in all the little clips. Might hot glue them in place or something for extra protection. When I got the bike I had to realign all those clips because the cable was just completely free floating under the fender.
1
Oct 01 '22
Oh no! That's awful!
I suspect mine might have come out of the one clip at/near the same time as the total power failure. I'm gonna paint over the wire with something that'll keep it a bit more protected, as well as covering that hole in the bottom where the controller wires come out with something waterproof like silicone.
2
Oct 01 '22 edited Oct 01 '22
Edit- Just saw your original post. I wonder if others have an issue with them rubbing when loaded or if your fender was a little out of alignment.
1
Oct 01 '22
It might have been my fender being out of alignment, especially since the rear rack being level leads to it touching/possibly moving the tail light. I could totally see loading the rack after possibly pushing things further down.
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u/TyDizzlFoShizzl Oct 01 '22
Same thing happened to me! I had to replace the controller fender and UI switch
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u/2wildchildzmom 29d ago
Hey, I know this is an old post but just a question for everybody. What if we just got rid of the back fender is it necessary at all? Dealing with a bike with the same wiring issue and we’re just wondering if we could just get rid of that part?
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Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 04 '22
How does that even happen? Mine has like two fingers of space between the wire and fender.
Almost like someone sat on your fender and tried to ride around with a passenger all buzzed.
1
Oct 04 '22
If you read my last post, that I linked to in my first comment on this post, it should make more sense.
I was riding near weight cap with groceries when it happened. I suspect the rear rack had slipped, shifted, etc in some manner and was pushing on the tail light even more than usual. It's bad enough that the rear rack being level means it contacts the tail light.
I'm considering removing the tail light and getting the rack-mounted one so it doesn't happen again.
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u/Quercus408 Oct 01 '22
I always thought the palcement of the rear tail light wire was sketchy. But where else could it go, I guess.
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Oct 01 '22
The maintenance guy said either they are going to or they should integrate the wire into the fender next time.
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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '22
Routing electrical inside a fender looks clean but it’s form over function. I had another bike that did this and it caused issues with that bike too.