Master V2 wont turn on

[Magman116]

After a short ~9 mile ride 3 days ago, I connected up my Alien Rides fast charger to my Master V2 and I heard a small pop sound. I thought that was odd.  I have over 2300 miles on my Master and never recalled hearing it make a pop sound when connecting the charger.

So, I disconnected the charger and went to turn on the wheel, and it would not turn on.  I thought it was strange; I did not do anything different that I normally do after my ride. I checked the output of the charger and it was right at 134.4V.  Then I decided to open the master and check out the batteries.

I measured each battery and didn't find any issues. When I connected the charge cable that goes from the charge board to the main board, there was that pop again, and I could see a flash in the connector.  Then I tried to turn it on and nothing. I noticed a flashing red led and that was the only indication of activity. The flashing led was on the Bluetooth board, so it was getting power.

Long story shot, I checked the voltage on the power rails and noted no issues, there is power to the bottom board and the top controller board, but no response from the wheel.

I sent Alien Rides and email letting them know what was going on.

I took the boards into work and did a full visual inspection looking for physically damaged parts.  There was nothing abnormal. Everything looked as it should. I did not do any component level troubleshooting, I only probed the power rails on the boards.

After I returned home, I sent another email to Alien Rides keeping them informed of what was going on.  Hopefully I will hear back from them.

Does anyone know or have an idea of what could have happened? This was completely unexpected and would like to get my Master back on the road as soon as possible.

 

Thanks!

Edited May 2 by Magman116

[alcatraz]

Few things you can check. 

Pack voltage reaches control board (measure big caps).

Power button function. (ohms mode)

Look for burns or fuses. 

Check the charge port for damage, pins, stripped cables.

Edited May 3 by alcatraz

[alcatraz]

I'm not familiar with those power distribution boards but your problem could be there. Check if you have charger voltage at the board. 

Check the light/display on the charger. No reaction when plugging?

If you're under warranty of course take care not to void your warranty.

[Magman116]

I verified the voltage was going through the boards from the batteries. I also performed a full visual inspection checking for physically damaged components. switches were also verified to have a resistance <.4ohms. 

When I get some times, I will create a schematic so I can properly troubleshoot the boards. I am an electrical engineer so I should not have an issue reverse engineering the boards to make a schematic. Some of the IC's have been sanded to remove the part markings. With the pop that occurred, there could have been a surge that took out a diode or a CMOS IC.

I figured I could not be the only one this has happened to and someone may have know the cause or what failed. It also could have just been a latent component failure.

I was very elated when Alien Rides contacted me and stated they were replacing the boards under warranty. I just hope the replacement boards do not have the same issue that caused mine to fail.  I would hate to have a failure when I am at at speed, 70-80kmh. It may take a while to gain confidence in the wheel again.