Troubleshoot a bike that won’t turn on (bikes with semi-integrated battery)

In the unlikely event that your bike will not turn on, this guide will help you troubleshoot the issue so that you can get back to riding Rad as soon as possible.

This article applies only to bikes that come with a semi-integrated battery (the RadRover 6 Plus or RadCity 5 Plus) when their Rad UI Display and Rad UI Remote will not turn on. If you need to do similar troubleshooting on a bike with an external battery, please see Troubleshoot a Bike that Won't Turn On (bikes with external battery).

  Notice

If you are not confident in your ability to safely and successfully perform all steps, we recommend having the work performed by a local, certified, and reputable bike mechanic.

Overview

Start by testing the battery and then checking the connections to determine the underlying issue. 

This guide was written for the 2021 RadRover 6 Plus, but the steps will be similar for other models (i.e., the RadCity 5 Plus) that have semi-integrated batteries.

Tools Needed:

  • Flat-side cutters
  • A digital camera
  • Proper lighting or a flashlight
  • A set of Allen wrenches
  • A Phillips head screwdriver

  Notice

Hardware may vary (bolt head style) and/or require different tools. Use the appropriate head size and type of tool for your bolts. Ensure the tool is pressed firmly into the bolt head and turn slowly to prevent stripping.

Test the battery

Start by checking the battery’s charge level and the battery terminals. Click on each heading below and follow the instructions within.

Check the battery charge levels

Press and release the battery button, circled in orange below. The battery can be on or off of the bike when you do this. Pressing the battery button should show you the charge level (one indicator light shows an almost depleted charge, and ten indicator lights show a fully charged battery).

IntegratedBatteryBatteryButton.png

 

  • If the battery does not respond at all (none of the charge level indicators light up), there are a few possible causes. Your battery may need charging (see the next bullet point) or your battery may need to be taken out of ship mode.

    Note
    : Not all semi-integrated batteries have a ship mode feature. If you have a battery with this feature, the battery should have come with a bright orange sticker that explains how to take it into or out of ship mode. (Ship mode is an "off" state for the battery that prevents it from supplying any power to the bike; it is used to keep bikes from turning on during shipping.) If you have a battery with the ship mode feature, press and hold the battery button for at least three seconds. If your battery was in ship mode and now isn't, it should now display one or more of its charge level indicator lights if you press and release the battery button again.

  • If the battery gauge is showing no or low charge, charge the battery and try turning the bike on after it has been charged. Follow the instructions in the Owner’s Manual on how to charge the battery. If it is not charging, record a video showing the charging process, including the lights on the charger and battery, and contact Product Support.

  • If the battery is charged, continue with the troubleshooting.
Inspect the battery and battery mount terminals
  1. Prepare your bike for maintenance. Turn off the bike, remove the battery, and press and hold the power button to discharge remaining power.

  2. Inspect the battery and battery mount terminals. Check for any dirt, damage, or moisture at the base of the battery and at the battery mount.

    BatteryTerminals.jpg
    Battery terminals (pictured above)

    BatteryMountTerminals.jpg
    Battery mount terminals (pictured above)

    NOTICE: If everything looks undamaged but damp, allow the battery and battery mount/terminals to air dry completely before re-inserting the battery and attempting to power on the bike.

    If the inside of the connector is damaged or dirty, do not attempt to repair the damage or clean the contacts. Take a photo and contact Product Support for more help.
    If the connector looks normal, take a photo for your records and continue through the troubleshooting.
  3. Reinstall the battery and turn the bike ON
    If the bike does NOT turn ON, continue to the connector check.
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!

Before you start

Before checking the connectors, determine whether your bike has a jumper cable. The jumper cable will be preinstalled on some models.  

Determine whether your bike has a jumper cable

The jumper cable is an extra piece of cable that some bikes have incorporated into the wiring harness as shown in the second illustration below. Whether or not you have a jumper cable will affect which connector check steps apply to you.

  • If your accessory cable doesn't connect with anything (it has a connector cover on its end), you do not have a jumper cable.
  • If the accessory cable loops back up toward your wiring harness and connects to another cable, you do have a jumper cable.

wiring_harness_jumper_cable_diagrams-02.png

Above: Wiring harness without a jumper cable

Legend (for wiring harness illustrations above and below)

A Rad UI Display
B Rad UI Display connector to the wiring harness (on bikes without a jumper cable). On bikes with a jumper cable, this connector connects to the jumper cable.
C Rad UI Display connector to the Rad UI Remote
D Wiring harness junction
E Wiring harness to headlight connector
F Accessory port with connector cover on its end
G Jumper cable junction
H Jumper cable connected to the wiring harness
I Jumper cable connected to the accessory port


Below: Wiring harness with a jumper cable

wiring_harness_jumper_cable_diagrams-01.png

Check individual connectors

There are a few main connectors that can cause the bike to not turn on if they are loose, misaligned, or damaged.

  • Jumper cable connectors (if applicable)
  • Rad UI Display connector
  • Rad UI Remote connector
  • Wiring harness connector
  • Battery connector

Start by preparing your bike for maintenance. Turn off the bike, remove the battery, and press and hold the power button to discharge remaining power.

Unplug one connector at a time, inspect the inside, reconnect it, and turn on the bike to see if the error is resolved. Use flat-side cutters to snip zip ties as needed to create enough slack to unplug the connectors.

Click on each heading below and follow the instructions to check each connector.

 Warning

Do not insert any tools into the connectors, use metal tools on the internal pins, or attempt to straighten bent pins. Doing so can lead to irreversible damage to the component or cause injury or death.
Front accessory port (if you DO have a jumper cable)

WiringHarness_JumperCableAccPortCircled.png

  1. Prepare your bike for maintenance. Turn off the bike, remove the battery, and press and hold the power button to discharge remaining power.
  2. Locate the accessory port. The accessory port is connected to the jumper cable as indicated by an orange circle in the illustration above.
  3. Check the accessory port connector's alignment. Before unplugging the accessory port/jumper cable connectors, check the external arrows on the connector. If the arrows are not aligned, take a picture for future reference. 
  4. Unplug and inspect the connector. Snip any nearby zip ties if you need cable slack, and pull each side of the connector apart without twisting to unplug.
    If the inside of the connector is damaged, dirty, or wet,  the part may need to be replaced. Take a photo and contact Product Support for help.
    If the connector looks dry, clean, and undamaged, line up the internal notch and pins and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect. 
  5. Reinstall the battery and turn on the bike.
    If the bike does NOT turn on, turn off the bike, remove the battery, and discharge the remaining power. We’ll repeat this process with the remaining connectors.
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!
Rad UI connectors (if you DO have a jumper cable)

In this step, you will check the Rad UI connectors. Refer to the diagram below.

wiring_harness_jumper_cable_diagrams-01.png

B Jumper cable to Rad UI Display
C Rad UI Display to Rad UI Remote
H Jumper cable to wiring harness
  1. Locate the Rad UI Display connector ("C" in the illustration above) that goes to the Rad UI Remote by tracing the cable that goes between those two components. Pull each side of the connector apart without twisting. Snip zip ties if you need more cable slack.
  2. Locate the Rad UI Display connector ("B" in the illustration above) that goes to the jumper cable. There are two cables connected to the Rad UI Display. You just traced one of them to the Rad UI Remote. The other cable connects to the jumper cable. Disconnect this connector by pulling it apart without twisting.
  3. Locate the jumper cable connector ("H" in the illustration above) that goes to the wiring harness. Trace the connector that has been disconnected from the Rad UI to the jumper cable. At the fork, the jumper cable leads to the accessory port (labeled "I") and the wiring harness (labeled "H"). Disconnect the connector that is identical in size and color (green) to the Rad UI.
  4. Inspect the inside of the connectors. 
    If the inside of a connector is damaged, dirty, or wet, the part may need to be replaced. Take a photo and contact Product Support for help.
    If the inside of the connector looks in good condition, line up the internal notch and pins and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect. 
  5. Reinstall the battery and turn on the bike.
    If the does NOT turn ON, turn off the bike, remove the battery, and discharge the remaining power. We’ll repeat this process with the remaining connectors.
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!
Rad UI connectors (if you do NOT have a jumper cable)

In this step, you will check the Rad UI connectors that go to the jumper cable and to the Rad UI remote. Refer to the diagram below.

wiring_harness_no_jumper.png

A Rad UI Display
B Rad UI Display connector to the jumper cable
C Rad UI Display connector to the Rad UI Remote
H Jumper cable connector to the wiring harness
  1. Locate the Rad UI Display connector ("C" in the illustration above) that goes to the Rad UI Remote by tracing the cable that goes between those two components. Pull each side of the connectors apart without twisting. Snip zip ties if you need more cable slack.
  2. Locate the Rad UI Display connector ("B" in the illustration above) that goes to the jumper cable. There are two cables connected to the Rad UI Display. You just traced one of them to the Rad UI Remote. The other cable connects to the jumper cable. Disconnect this connector by pulling it apart without twisting.
  3. Locate the jumper cable connector ("H" in the illustration above) that goes to the wiring harness. Trace the connector that has been disconnected from the Rad UI Display to the jumper cable. At the fork the jumper cable leads to the accessory port (labeled "I") and the wiring harness (labeled "H"). Disconnect the connector that is identical in size and color (green) to the Rad UI Display.
  4. Inspect the inside of the connectors. 
    If the inside of the connector is damaged, dirty, or wet,  the part may need to be replaced. Take a photo and contact Product Support for help.
    If the inside of the connector looks in good condition, line up the internal notch and pins and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect. 
  5. Reinstall the battery and turn on the bike.
    If the does NOT turn ON, turn off the bike, remove the battery, and discharge the remaining power. We’ll repeat this process with the remaining connectors.
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!
Wiring harness connector check
  1. Partially loosen the bolts on your external cable cover, and turn the handlebar to the left to create cable slack.

    remove_external_cable_protector.png

  2. Locate the wiring harness connector just behind the bottom of the seat tube. Unplug it and inspect the inside. The 11 pins should be clean and not bent. If it looks normal, line up the internal notch and pins, and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect.

    wiring_harness_connector.png

    If the inside of the connector is damaged, dirty, or wet,  the part may need to be replaced. Take a photo and contact Product Support for help.
    If the inside of the connector looks in good condition, line up the internal notch and pins and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect. 
  3. Double-check that the connector is secure.
  4. Gently pull the wiring harness cable at the top of the downtube to create cable slack at the front of the bike. Ensure the handlebar turns to both sides before tightening the bolts on the external cable cover.
  5. Reinstall the battery and turn on the bike.
    If the does NOT turn ON, turn off the bike, remove the battery, and discharge the remaining power. We’ll repeat this process with the remaining connectors.
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!
Battery mount connector check
  1. Remove the bolts on the internal cable cover. Use your Phillips head screwdriver to loosen all four bolts. Set the bolts and internal cable cover aside.

    internal_cable_protector_bolts.png

  2. Remove the bolts on the battery mount. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the two bolts and set them aside.

    BatteryMountBolts.jpg

    NOTICE: The bolt at the bottom has a round head and the other is a flat head. Make sure that the flat head bolt goes back in the correct place when reinstalling the battery mount.
  3. Remove the battery mount and locate the battery connector. Unplug it by pulling both ends apart without twisting, and inspect the inside of the connector.
    If the inside of the connector is damaged, dirty, or wet,  the part may need to be replaced. Take a photo and contact Product Support for help.
    If the inside of the connector looks in good condition, line up the internal notch and pins and external arrows, and press together without twisting to reconnect. 
  4. Reinstall the battery mount. Push the connectors back into the slot and, using the Phillips head screwdriver, thread in the round bolt partially. Then move on to the flat head bolt and tighten both.

    Tip

    If the bolt slips, you may need to tilt the bike so that the bolt falls out of the battery slot. There is a hole at the bottom of the downtube.

  5. Reinstall the internal cable cover. Using the Phillips head screwdriver, reinstall the internal cable cover. Thread in all four bolts partially, and then tighten completely.
  6. Reinstall the battery and turn on the bike.
    If the issue persists after completing the connector check, contact Product Support
    • Share a video showing the lights on the battery, and that the bike does not turn on
    • Explain the symptoms your bike is experiencing 
    • Record the troubleshooting steps you performed
    • Share any pictures that were taken through the troubleshooting process
    • Note any additional information that might be helpful
    If the bike turns ON, test the bike fully and ride Rad!

If you resolve the issue, replace any snipped zip ties and trim them to be flush and smooth. Use flat-side cutters to snip off zip tie excess.

Check that all cables are out of the way of moving parts, and turn the handlebar to check that it can move freely.

Reinstall the battery, test the bike fully, and ride Rad!

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