Turbo Vado SL did not turn on

[tonylchang]

Hello!

I have a Vado SL that I was unfortunately unable to ride for a about a week (bad air in NorCal). The battery was still mostly charged, but for some reason the bike did not turn on after I pressed the power button. Figuring it was a dead battery I went ahead with my ride.

However when I got home and plugged the bike in,the power meter indicated that I had 80-90% charge Further, after unplugging the bike it turned on and off just fine.

Anyone else have a similar experience? Hoping this isn’t a recurring problem...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Them electronic gremlins... Don't worry too much.

 

[Sierratim]

Both of our Vados benefitted from a plastic friendly contact cleaner on the battery power terminals and the mating frame mounted connector. It's fairly cheap. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

 

[tonylchang]

Both of our Vados benefitted from a plastic friendly contact cleaner on the battery power terminals and the mating frame mounted connector. It's fairly cheap. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

Thanks for the suggestion! My Vado is the SL version so the battery can't be removed.

 

[Sierratim]

Thanks for the suggestion! My Vado is the SL version so the battery can't be removed.

I need to pay more attention. It's that senility thing again...

 

[tonylchang]

This actually happened again today. I tried plugging it in, except this time the bike did not turn on. When I came back from riding the other bike, unplugging the power cable caused the lights to come on briefly. After that the power button worked as expected.

Calling LBS tomorrow to see what can be done.

 

[Luigo]

This actually happened again today. I tried plugging it in, except this time the bike did not turn on. When I came back from riding the other bike, unplugging the power cable caused the lights to come on briefly. After that the power button worked as expected.

Calling LBS tomorrow to see what can be done.

Hello. Did you arrive to any conclusion on that? I have the same issue recently on the VADO SL 5.0; despite a fully charged battery I cannot turn on the bike wiht the TCU lower button.

I figured out that removing the TCU from the frame and unpluging the Y shape connector and pluging again the TCU start can be done as usual by the lower button.
I have replaced the coin battery CR1620; I also left the TCU disconnected from the lights cables (rear and front); also left the TCU plug for the remote unpluged; also done a TCU reset...nothing solves the problem...

In between short periods like riding the bike for short distances the TCU can be turned on as usual; longer periods like from one day to the other, despite a battery with still an high level of capacity it requires removing TCU and unpluging/pluging the Y connector.

 

[Allan47.7339]

Hello. Did you arrive to any conclusion on that? I have the same issue recently on the VADO SL 5.0; despite a fully charged battery I cannot turn on the bike wiht the TCU lower button.

I figured out that removing the TCU from the frame and unpluging the Y shape connector and pluging again the TCU start can be done as usual by the lower button.
I have replaced the coin battery CR1620; I also left the TCU disconnected from the lights cables (rear and front); also left the TCU plug for the remote unpluged; also done a TCU reset...nothing solves the problem...

In between short periods like riding the bike for short distances the TCU can be turned on as usual; longer periods like from one day to the other, despite a battery with still an high level of capacity it requires removing TCU and unpluging/pluging the Y connector.

This is a bit of an old thread and the OP has not been here since March. Have you checked the Mission Control app for any firmware updates available for the TCU or main battery? It might be time for a visit to the dealer. Replacement TCU's seem to be out of stock not to mention the cost of nearly 200 Euro or dollars. It sounds like you have checked for a bad y-connector cable by bypassing the lights and the lights connector cables.

bestbike.de had a note on their page for a spare TCU S216800009: "When replacing the TCU, the new one should be "married" to the engine using dealer software." Maybe there is a firmware glitch?

If you do find a solution please come back and post the results.

 

[Luigo]

This is a bit of an old thread and the OP has not been here since March. Have you checked the Mission Control app for any firmware updates available for the TCU or main battery? It might be time for a visit to the dealer. Replacement TCU's seem to be out of stock not to mention the cost of nearly 200 Euro or dollars. It sounds like you have checked for a bad y-connector cable by bypassing the lights and the lights connector cables.

bestbike.de had a note on their page for a spare TCU S216800009: "When replacing the TCU, the new one should be "married" to the engine using dealer software." Maybe there is a firmware glitch?

If you do find a solution please come back and post the results.

Thanks. Dealer visit seems to be the way to go. Mission Control remarks a firmware update for the TCU that I did not pay attention since the bike was working properly. It cannot be done OTA as I have understood for my case.
I will keep you on the loop in future developments.
Thanks

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Thanks. Dealer visit seems to be the way to go. Mission Control remarks a firmware update for the TCU that I did not pay attention since the bike was working properly. It cannot be done OTA as I have understood for my case.
I will keep you on the loop in future developments.
Thanks

Yes contact the bike shop you bought it. They should run diagnostics on the bike and report to Specialized who should then replace the TCU if you are still in warranty. Specialized in my experience do this pretty swiftly. They’ve replaced my TCU twice.