BBS02 Won't Turn On after a Year Of Non-Use

danpenn

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Two years ago I installed a mid drive BBS02 that I bought from JohnnyNerdOut on Trek Verve bike. It ran great for about a year. Then I gave it to my son in law. He rode it a little and then he just stopped riding it and left it stored in his apartment building basement parking garage for a year. Battery was kept in his warm apartment and charged occasionally.
Now I've got the bike back and it won't turn on. I'm pretty sure the battery is good and up to proper charge. My voltmeter is packed up in one of the thousand boxes we have because we are moving soon. But here's photo of the battery lights.
How do I figure out why it won't turn on? Maybe one of the wiring harness connectors is bad or the controller has gone bad? How do I track the problem down?
 
First thing to do is check the fuse on the battery. Beyond that, you're going to need a voltmeter. A cheap one may be more palatable to buy than tearing open 50 boxes looking for the one you have.

Also, the problem could be your display. Just yesterday I was testing a newly received BBSHD and using a display I had in a drawer thanks to it having a broken attachment bracket. Motor was completely dead. Until I realized I was pushing the wrong button to turn it on. So a)make sure you aren't doing something dumb like that and b) if not doing anything dumb, your display could still be the source of the problem and not the battery or the motor.
 
This bike has been busy, being moved and stored and moved and stored again. As we always say, it's time to go over every plug and check how it is plugged in. It might be the display or the display might not be totally plugged in at the moment.
 
M@Robertson. Thanks for the advice

I think it is a fuse in the battery. I got my voltmeter out of the moving boxes. I know the meter works because I tested another battery that I have and got a reading. And I get no power reading from the battery in question. If I can find the proper screwdrivers to open the battery case, I might give it a try. Or I may just let the problem sit until I move to Louisville in a month. Then I can unpack my tools and have a nice warm garage to work in. I think I'll wait.
 
View attachment 18398Two years ago I installed a mid drive BBS02 that I bought from JohnnyNerdOut on Trek Verve bike. It ran great for about a year. Then I gave it to my son in law. He rode it a little and then he just stopped riding it and left it stored in his apartment building basement parking garage for a year. Battery was kept in his warm apartment and charged occasionally.
Now I've got the bike back and it won't turn on. I'm pretty sure the battery is good and up to proper charge. My voltmeter is packed up in one of the thousand boxes we have because we are moving soon. But here's photo of the battery lights.
How do I figure out why it won't turn on? Maybe one of the wiring harness connectors is bad or the controller has gone bad? How do I track the problem down?
Check internal connectors - I had similar issue, was my crappy solder coupled with careless handling.
 
The problem isn't the battery! Yesterday I discovered two things. I found the 30 amp fuse in a hole under the battery. Right next to the power switch. Don't know how I missed it till now. The fuse is good.
And the first moving box I opened, yielded my volt meter. And the battery is producing power.
So, my garage in Minneapolis is still frozen, I think I will wait till I get to a warm garage in Louisville do more about this problem. More to follow in the spring.
 
Start with simple things - unplug and reconnect all connectors. Look at them to ensure they are not corroded.
 
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