Turbo Vado not switching on

M

mrkjd

New Member
Region
United Kingdom
Tried to turn on my 2022 Turbo Vado today after storage in garage over winter. Nothing. Nada!

Took battery out and it indicated charge on the test button. Replaced and plugged in to charger again. Brief glimmer from screen then nothing. Unplugged charger and plugged in again. This time I could get the screen on. Still a bit flakey but I managed to switch the display on and off and noted it go to green. Mission Control connected.

It said charge was 92% and charging but green light on charger was not flashing and sure enough after 1/2 hour it was still showing 92%. Unplugged charger and screen wouldn’t switch on. Plug in charger and it does come on.

I’ve cleaned battery connections to no effect. I’m not sure if the issue is with a connection or the display or software. At a loss as to what to try next. Any suggestions? Can I reboot?
 
Can't you turn your Vado on?! Or perhaps your Vado's display is in the Stealth mode? Have you tried a short ride?
The fact the battery does not charge more does not mean anything.

P.S. Is it a Mastermind Vado?
 
Mark, let me explain it more. If it is the Mastermind Vado:
  • The fact Mission Control connects to your Vado means the system is alive. Try a short ride to confirm the assistance is working
  • Sometimes, the Mastermind display is in Stealth Mode. It was described in these Forums for many times. (I do not know myself how to disable the Stealth Mode).
  • The battery might refuse to recharge if it is at the high charge state after the storage. You need to ride your Vado to significantly discharge the battery then recharge it.
 
Allan47.7339 said:
It kind of sounds like what they talk about in this TSB. It's intended for shops but there may be some useful info. It's in the manuals listings for Turbo Vado.
(Also since the charger plug connector is magnetic, check to make sure it didn't pick up some stray piece of metal.)

Click to expand...
I think this was it. Not sure if this is possible but I had left a phone cable plugged in to the display over winter. Maybe it got wet and allowed the display battery to slowly drain.

I put battery pack on as per TSB for 20 mins and the display switched on. On a short ride the motor and display are performing as normal and the bike is now recharging.

Thanks Stefan and Alllan47 for your help.
 
I experienced the same problem this spring.
I kept the battery indoors over the winter, then charged it fully and installed it on the bike.
Bike display and system would not start up. No change when I plugged the bike in.
I asked my LBS (Specialized dealer) whether there was any kind of internal battery in the head unit or elsewhere that needed time to charge up - they insisted there was not. Out of desperation I plugged my phone charger into the head unit anyway, and when I came back to check it a few minutes later the system fired up normally as though nothing had happened.

Thanks for posting the TSB! Doesn’t exactly inspire sure confidence in the repair crew at my LBS, however. But this is my first ebike - perhaps this is par for the course on the tech stuff.
 
After 6300 flawless miles my 2022 Vado 4.0 won't turn on. I live in Cleveland Ohio and have ridden it virtually everyday and throughout the last 3 winters. The battery has 140 cycles and 100% health. I never charged it in the cold and always took it out of the bike to charge inside during the winters.

Things I have tried that have not worked...
Plugging in the charger this did wake up the bike once or twice but the on/off button didn't work.
Took the battery out and thoroughly cleaned the contacts inside the bike and on the battery.
Brought the bike and battery inside my house to warm up. This worked in the sense It let me charge the battery in the bike. But when it got to 100% it beeped and turned itself off. Then it would not turn off or on. I had to remove the battery to get it to shut off.

I just took it to the dealer to have it looked at.

I know the motor is warranted for 10k miles but does anyone know how long the electronics are covered? I bought it 3/28/2022. Hope this is all covered. The bike has really been fantastic otherwise.

Edit... I guess the bike is out of warranty :-(

I hope it isn't too expensive to fix. If not I may just get another Vado.
 
Last edited:
Stefan Mikes said:
Perhaps the Mastermind TCU is in some way broken?
Click to expand...
My thought too. I mean is seems to me that if the mastermind had a replaceable battery it just needs to be replaced? The wording in the docs doesn't explicitly say it doesn't have a battery... it refers only to not having a "replaceable" battery. We'll see. I would lobve to have an excuse to upgrade from my 4.0 to a 5.0 but of course I don't want to spend 5k USD.
 
Axis said:
My thought too. I mean is seems to me that if the mastermind had a replaceable battery it just needs to be replaced? The wording in the docs doesn't explicitly say it doesn't have a battery... it refers only to not having a "replaceable" battery. We'll see. I would lobve to have an excuse to upgrade from my 4.0 to a 5.0 but of course I don't want to spend 5k USD.
Click to expand...
Perhaps a Specialized dealer can help and that would be not dramatically expensive?
Just for the record: My 2021 Vado SL 4.0 has recently passed the 10,000 mile mark!

Screenshot_20250105_222142_Specialized.jpg
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Perhaps a Specialized dealer can help and that would be not dramatically expensive?
Just for the record: My 2021 Vado SL 4.0 has recently passed the 10,000 mile mark!
Click to expand...
I found the part number for the Mastermind.
S216800041ELE TCD-W 2, WIRED DISPLAY WITH REMOTEMasterMind TCD-w

And yes it does have a battery that can be recharged via the usb-c port. I wish I would have known this before taking it to the LBS.
That makes sense I can see how it could be drained. This winter I have kept the battery inside and the bike outside in sub 20f weather. The battery in the Mastermind would be 3 years old (or more). I did go almost a week without installing the battery and riding the bike.

1736113502361.png
 
Stefan Mikes said:
@MartsEbike: We may have the culprit. Your Vado SL might have sat in the box for 2 years since the manufacture! Ask Balfes for recharging the Mastermind via USB-C.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Stefan! :)

I thought they'd replace/charge the TCU first, but I received an email from the dealer today telling me Specialized is sending out a new internal battery! So I'm now waiting for that to be delivered. This is strange as the current battery reported 100% health (when it worked!) and no faults. But we will see what happens. They have a deeper insight from the diagnostics so hopefully this resolves it.

In any case, I'll now have a new battery, instead of one that's over 2 years old! 😁
 
Stefan Mikes said:
It doesn't work that way. The battery comes in a hibernated state and goes alive on first use 😊 Your 'new' battery could actually be old, it doesn't matter!
Click to expand...

Somewhat true, but 2 years is a long time! A hibernated state only minimises the chance of chemical reaction within the battery, it's impossible to fully stop it. Lithium-ion batteries are still susceptible to calendar ageing, especially during prolonged hibernation, and the effects of this are dependent on storage conditions. It can lead to a lower overall capacity and higher internal resistance. A newer battery will always be better.
 
MartsEbike said:
Somewhat true, but 2 years is a long time! A hibernated state only minimises the chance of chemical reaction within the battery, it's impossible to fully stop it. Lithium-ion batteries are still susceptible to calendar ageing, especially during prolonged hibernation, and the effects of this are dependent on storage conditions. It can lead to a lower overall capacity and higher internal resistance. A newer battery will always be better.
Click to expand...
Again, you do not know what the battery manufactured date would be :)
My first Vado was manufactured in 2017, and I bought the e-bike as new two years after. I put the battery in use, and it lasted until 2024, that is for five years! Or, 7 years from mfg date.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Again, you do not know what the battery manufactured date would be :)
My first Vado was manufactured in 2017, and I bought the e-bike as new two years after. I put the battery in use, and it lasted until 2024, that is for five years! Or, 7 years from mfg date.
Click to expand...

That's true, but Specialized has opted to change the battery, and they know the dates from the batch codes/serial numbers. :)

It's reasonable to assume the new battery is newer than the bike's original battery. Early production batches of this battery would have been used during the manufacturing of Vado SL1 bikes, which ended in 2022/23. However, the same battery is also utilised in newer models, such as the 2024 Creo SL Comp Carbon, and spares are typically produced for several years after the original bike's production run.
 
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