Rad Power Radrover Throttle Inoperative

[TWDay]

I'm trying to repair my grandson's 2016 (2nd gen) Radrover. He rode it all through last winter, in Minnesota, until he crashed on ice and snow so many times he couldn't keep up with the repairs. I've gone through all of the connectors and wiring and haven't found any serious problems. However, the throttle is inoperative. The motor kicks on (at full power) when the lower bracket (pedals) spins, but the throttle has no effect on the motor. No error codes, the brakes cut off the motor correctly, and all of the console functions appear normal. The head light is also dead. Any ideas?

 

[CodyDog]

Have you taken a part the throttle? Perhaps the internals are not making proper contact.

 

[LimboJim]

Sounds like studded tires might be a worthwhile investment!

 

[indianajo]

Remove the connector for the throttle and measure the resistance at various positions from wiper to end pin. Usually the middle pin is the wiper. If the resistance doesn't change, the throttle is broken. If resistance if infinity, a wire is probably broken, or the wiper has lost contact. Then disassembly might promote repair, but don't count on it.

 

[harryS]

Indianajo, most throttles these days are a one chip Hall sensor. Three wires, much like a potentiometer, but it's a chip. A potentiometer would work though, if connected properly.

Three wires - power, ground and input. For a working throttle, you'll get about 4.6V on power, and the input will swing between .5V to 4 V when the throttle is moved.

If he unplugs the throttle an probes the three pins, he should see only the 4.5V between power and ground.

If he wants to test the controller, he should apply +3V between input and ground. Motor should spin.

 

[WilliamT]

Its probably easy enough just to replace the throttle. As for the light, if its the same one used on the Radwagon, then the connectors probably just came loose. You can manually push the connectors back into the light (red/black). I was surprised seeing 48 volts going to the light. I would recommend you secure them with some kind of adhesive. Over time they get loose.