Zero MX Extreme

Hey guys, just picked up a used zero MX for a couple hundred bucks with no battery pack. I have decided to assemble one from turnigy lipoly packs and am in the process of ordering everything I need but first I need to nail down some details.

What guage wire is suggested?

Is the Anderson SB50 connector/SMH SY50 the same as what's on my bike? (it shows the name brand anderson with 50A/600V rating).

What voltage is suggested? From what I can gather 14s is the stock voltage? I have also seen one other reference to 74v but that was a 2012 DS. I'm thinking of running 14s6p 5000-5300mah packs

For wiring I'm thinking of using EC5 connectors, dean's or bullet connectors but I haven't really figured out how to wire it all into a harness with larger guage wire without going with some sort of terminal block style setup. I have an 80 watt weller I use to solder my RC helicopter packs with but I don't know how it will work on anything over 10 guage wire. Any tips here would be greatly appreciated.

As of right now I have an rc helicopter 12s 4000 mah pack hooked up with some 20 guage wire rigged just to see if the electronics and all work. Photos are below, I'm able to hear a click that sounds like a relay and the "dash" lights up but I'm not sure of the controller/motor's condition as it will not turn over and if it does I expect the wire to quickly melt but I would like to test it before ordering $1000+ in packs.

Finally, I'm not against going with pre-assembled packs if the price is close to the Turnigy packs. I do have experience with soldering and wiring up series and parallel packs, just not at this scale.

Well I noticed the "dash" wasn't showing more then red for battery voltage at 12s so I charged my packs up from their nominal voltage of 22.2/3.7v per cell to 4.2v per cell/50.4v max. It turned on once and showed an orange LED for voltage and then started dimming the green on led and then I heard a click and smelled something...not electronics but the sound and smell came from the dash which appears to be more then a display unit so no doubt I'll need to replace it.

Here is a picture of what I found inside:



Notice the dead bull ant? One of many dead with a few still alive...no clue how they got in. The ribbon cable connection point was wet inside so clearly when I washed this thing(with water hose, not pressure washer) water got inside since it has no rubber seals or anything to protect it from moisture and looking at the rust I would say the case design offered no protection since the start of it's life.

The bottom of the PCB faired much better:




And here are the PCB screws:



Hopefully my alltrax NPX4834 controller's circuit board is in better shape. Should I go ahead and inspect the controller as well?

If anyone has an extra display unit/controller I will be needing one otherwise I'm gonna have to give zero a call and see if they offer the part.

Gonna go try and clean this one up with some 91% isopropyl alcohol but I have plans to seal this box up next time with silicone.

(Heart attack.) What a find!

This is one of those teething problems that Zero should at least share some responsibility with you on IMO. They clearly will have gained more in knowing of this problem then the cost of a few parts.

Thanks guys I would agree it should be replaced if I was the original owner but given the poor design it would be fair to purchase at cost or half price.

I'm expecting it to be in the $100-250 price range, hopefully no more as the speed controller itself can be purchased for $299.

On another note I ordered some Superwench "SMH" brand 1551 connectors and they fit the battery lead perfectly for anyone interested.

That's insane on a mass production vehicle like that. Even more so if you consider this is supposed to be an off road bike that gets muddy and wet.

I would see if you can determine what Q13 is. I see there are at least 3 other FET's nearby and if all of those have the same numbers on them, then Q13 is likely the same. There is a chance there is more than one bad component, but I can guarantee Q13 is no longer operational. This is likely a $2 part, but it will cost you $7 for shipping. I would, "at minimum" try replacing this to see if you can get it to work again.

By the look of the rust on those screws this has been going on for a long while, not just from you hosing down the bike.

Goodluck,

Ed

Excuse me sir...but where the hell can I find a Zero for a few hundred bucks? I'll take 3.

Tek said:

Excuse me sir...but where the hell can I find a Zero for a few hundred bucks? I'll take 3.

Click to expand...

I had planned to build a high power electric bicycle eventually but while looking on craigslist for a frame to start with I found this for $400, got seller down to $350 though. One of the few times I've found a good deal local to me(south FL) and not sold already.

edventure said:

That's insane on a mass production vehicle like that. Even more so if you consider this is supposed to be an off road bike that gets muddy and wet.

I would see if you can determine what Q13 is. I see there are at least 3 other FET's nearby and if all of those have the same numbers on them, then Q13 is likely the same. There is a chance there is more than one bad component, but I can guarantee Q13 is no longer operational. This is likely a $2 part, but it will cost you $7 for shipping. I would, "at minimum" try replacing this to see if you can get it to work again.

By the look of the rust on those screws this has been going on for a long while, not just from you hosing down the bike.

Goodluck,

Ed

Click to expand...

Took a better look at the PCB tonight and after removing all of the fets I found that the traces were damaged as well. I could probably jump them with wiring but I'm considering just ditching the whole dash/key all together since I plan to skip EMS/stock battery and use LIFEPO4 or Lipolys with balancing taps & my iCharger 4010 Duo chargers.

Anyone have a source for a suitable electric wiring diagram? This is the best I have come across so far:



It looks like my Zero MX has a Alltrax NPX4834 controller which I assume is a 5k (3?) wire type since the twist throttle is a Magura. Also mounted is a MZJ-200 Solenoid.