"Radar error check app" on 2022 Turbo Vado 5.0 IGH

N

Nonlinear

Active Member
Hi,

I've recently received two "radar error check app" errors on my 2022 Vado 5.0 IGH. This happened yesterday and today on my commute to work. It was raining both days, but I live in Vancouver and it rains frequently, and this is the first time I have received the error. (Actually, it may have happened once before last fall, but it hasn't happened since.) When I get the error, the motor cuts out for about 3 seconds, then restarts and I see the error on my TCU for about 5-10 seconds. The error disappears from the TCU, but when I check the app, there is a diagnostic message telling me to check the radar for damage or a lose connection. I don't see any damage, and the error clears when I restart the bike.

Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm wondering if this is due to a faulty radar or wiring harness, or the rain, or perhaps the PearTune that I installed recently. I am going to email Katerina at PearTune to see if she has had reports of this happening to anyone else. (I can't see how the PearTune would be responsible though, since as I understand it, the PearTune only interfaces between the speed sensor, TCU, and the motor. The schematic they show in the instructions doesn't indicate anything about the radar. Although I guess the radar signal is running through the PearTune wiring somehow...)
 
Nonlinear said:
Hi,

I've recently received two "radar error check app" errors on my 2022 Vado 5.0 IGH. This happened yesterday and today on my commute to work. It was raining both days, but I live in Vancouver and it rains frequently, and this is the first time I have received the error. (Actually, it may have happened once before last fall, but it hasn't happened since.) When I get the error, the motor cuts out for about 3 seconds, then restarts and I see the error on my TCU for about 5-10 seconds. The error disappears from the TCU, but when I check the app, there is a diagnostic message telling me to check the radar for damage or a lose connection. I don't see any damage, and the error clears when I restart the bike.

Has this happened to anyone else before? I'm wondering if this is due to a faulty radar or wiring harness, or the rain, or perhaps the PearTune that I installed recently. I am going to email Katerina at PearTune to see if she has had reports of this happening to anyone else. (I can't see how the PearTune would be responsible though, since as I understand it, the PearTune only interfaces between the speed sensor, TCU, and the motor. The schematic they show in the instructions doesn't indicate anything about the radar. Although I guess the radar signal is running through the PearTune wiring somehow...)
Click to expand...
Not having the answer to your dilemma let me just say PearTune often throws "Motor Error" messages on my Vado SL. That only happens when PearTune is active. I don't care.
 
I've occasionally seen this on my Vado 4.0 with my Varia radar which I also use on my road bike.

I suspect it's just the TCD-w's way of announcing a brief drop out in connectivity from the Varia - which I also sometimes see on my road bike between my Varia and my Garmin Edge 830.

So - unless you're seeing it a lot, and unless the Varia just isn't working, you're probably fine.
 
Any chance water is getting into the location for the Pear Tune connection. Under the Display, perhaps? Or maybe the Varia has a slight crack admitting water?
 
kahn said:
Any chance water is getting into the location for the Pear Tune connection. Under the Display, perhaps? Or maybe the Varia has a slight crack admitting water?
Click to expand...
I do not think so. PearTune is just inside the top tube near to the TCU. I do not think it is a bad connection by the motor, either.
 
kahn said:
Any chance water is getting into the location for the Pear Tune connection. Under the Display, perhaps? Or maybe the Varia has a slight crack admitting water?
Click to expand...
Yes, this is a possibility. It was raining both times this happened. It wasn't raining today, and I didn't get an error today.

All of the PearTune connections are within the motor housing. There are only two connections that aren't present in the stock Specialized design. These two connections connect the PearTune to the display and the speed sensor (then the PearTune also connects to the motor, which is the same as in the stock design). I was able to use heat shrink tubing on the speed sensor connection, but not on the TCU connection because I didn't have tubing with large enough diameter. I am planning to get some tomorrow and will cover the TCU connection with heat shrink tubing to see if that solves the issue.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
I do not think so. PearTune is just inside the top tube near to the TCU. I do not think it is a bad connection by the motor, either.
Click to expand...
On the 2022 Vado, the PearTune is actually in the motor housing (we don't have any controller on the top tube, it's just the mastermind TCU mounted on the handlebars). :)
 
Nonlinear said:
On the 2022 Vado, the PearTune is actually in the motor housing (we don't have any controller on the top tube, it's just the mastermind TCU mounted on the handlebars). :)
Click to expand...
That's OK. The fact the PT is installed in the motor chamber on Vado and it is in the top tube on Vado SL will eliminate the "raining issue" hypothesis :)
 
Stefan Mikes said:
That's OK. The fact the PT is installed in the motor chamber on Vado and it is in the top tube on Vado SL will eliminate the "raining issue" hypothesis :)
Click to expand...
Do you mean it doesn't get wet in the motor housing? I'm pretty sure it can get wet in there - both my LBS as well as PearTune have told me this. :)
 
Nonlinear said:
Do you mean it doesn't get wet in the motor housing? I'm pretty sure it can get wet in there - both my LBS as well as PearTune have told me this. :)
Click to expand...
We both get the "Motor Error" disregarding where PearTune is located. It is a small glitch of the dongle, that's it.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
We both get the "Motor Error" disregarding where PearTune is located. It is a small glitch of the dongle, that's it.
Click to expand...
Good point. Though I'm getting a radar error versus a motor error, so I guess there is a chance it could still be a different issue. At any rate, I'm going to apply heat shrink tube to the larger connector that I wasn't able to cover during the initial install :)

The two this happened to me last week, it was raining both days. Didn't get any errors on the rain free days.
 
So I opened up the motor housing today in order to put some shrink tubing over the large connectors, since I didn't have the appropriate size when I first installed. While doing so, I noticed that two of the wires (blue and red) from the original bike connector had been squished, creating a couple small holes in the plastic insulation and exposing a tiny bit of wire on each (see attached photo). This must have happened when I reinstalled the cover last time, which is weird because I'm usually a very careful person. I guess it could have been pre-existing too (I donrecall a rarad error a few months ago, before I installed the PearTune), although it seems even more doubtful that this would happen at the Specialized factory.

Anyway, I installed some heat shrink tubing over the original Specialized connector and about 4" up the wire. Because the tubing had to be large enough to fit over the connector, it didn't seal tight against the wire at the other end, but I'm hoping the 4" is long enough to keep the water from the damaged wires. I then covered both connectors with the larger heat shrink tube. I gave it a test ride, and everything seemed to work, so we'll see how it fares in the rain next time. (I live in Vancouver, so commute in the rain for about half of the year.)

I am guessing that if these wires were damaged, that could be where the water was entering the wiring, causing the radar error. Does anyone know if the blue and red wires are for the radar? If I continue having problems, I suppose the next step is to have that wiring harness replaced. Hopefully I can buy just that since harness, and not a complete set of all harnesses for the bike.

I'll update this thread after a few test rides in the rain, in case it helps anyone in the future.
 

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It just occurred to me that I could probably seal up the tiny holes in the wires using a hot glue gun. If I have any check radar errors in the rain going forward, I may open it up and give that a shot before replacing the wiring harness.

Edit: my brother who is a mechanic said to just put some RTV over the holes then cover it in shrink tube, and it will be fine. So I'll give that a shot if I have any troubles. :)
 
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I just put a brand new RTL515 on my also brand new Turbo Tero X and I got the "radar error check app" error before I even left my garage, a few times on the ride, and once when I got back to the garage. So your modifications probably aren't the cause. In my case, I assumed it was due to mounting it fairly low (with the dropper post, there's not much fixed seatpost to work with) causing it to see the fender or something. It did seem to happen when I transitioned from traffic to no traffic, so maybe it's just going to sleep very aggressively.

The app is no help, and has even less control than I expected. I thought the app would let me set the light mode directly, update firmware, change sleep timeout, etc. It seems like it's just a display for the most part. There is a "diagnostic report" option but it looks like it sends direct to Garmin so you'd need a ticket.

Next step will be 3d printed mount to put it on the fender... Although I did find one ride so convincing that I might go straight to trying to integrate the eRTL615 in place of the stock taillight.
 
Ben J said:
I just put a brand new RTL515 on my also brand new Turbo Tero X and I got the "radar error check app" error before I even left my garage, a few times on the ride, and once when I got back to the garage. So your modifications probably aren't the cause. In my case, I assumed it was due to mounting it fairly low (with the dropper post, there's not much fixed seatpost to work with) causing it to see the fender or something. It did seem to happen when I transitioned from traffic to no traffic, so maybe it's just going to sleep very aggressively.

The app is no help, and has even less control than I expected. I thought the app would let me set the light mode directly, update firmware, change sleep timeout, etc. It seems like it's just a display for the most part. There is a "diagnostic report" option but it looks like it sends direct to Garmin so you'd need a ticket.

Next step will be 3d printed mount to put it on the fender... Although I did find one ride so convincing that I might go straight to trying to integrate the eRTL615 in place of the stock taillight.
Click to expand...
I have had three Garmin radar. once in awhile they disconnect. it usually only lasts a second or two. thats on three different Garmin gps's and my hammerhead.
 
I had this issue on the vardo 5.0

Turns out the radar needs replacement and have to wait 6 weeks. Its been disconnected so that I can still ride the dam thing.
 
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