Semi-integrated battery fuse replacement

[AtLarge]

I?m surprised they don?t offer a repair service on this as a customer courtesy even if you have to pay for it. Would be far cheaper than a new battery and everyone benefits from it including the environment. From what I have read a simple SMD fuse replacement is easy money. Certainly not worth the cost of future business.

[Eevv_ii]

A big thanks to everyone who shared instructions and tips! I too blew the fuse in my semi integrated battery, and thanks to this forum and help from a friend, I got my battery working again today.

If anyone else is in this situation, I encourage you to try the repair route. If you lack the tools, you could check repaircafe.org to see if a local volunteer can help.

Below I will share detailed instructions consolidating what I learned in this forum and from doing my own repair. It is a long post, but I am hoping the extra detail might help someone.

VIDEOS/PHOTOS
Both these videos are worth watching to see some visuals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q287-kQNDsM&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoHOZZpu6oo -- you probably do not need to take the whole thing out like this guy does

I also made a login account to this forum so I could see the photos others have posted.

WHAT YOU NEED
-   10 amp mini fuse -- available at an auto supply shop
-   Something to pry off black end cap -- e.g. flathead screw driver, putty knife, wood chisel; a hammer or mallet helps too
-   Torx 10 screwdriver -- needs to be long and skinny enough to access a narrow, recessed opening. What my friend had on hand did not work, so I had to run to the hardware store
-   Utility knife -- for cutting through the blue plastic and black silicone rubber
-   Needle nose pliers -- for removing the broken fuse
-   Electrical tape -- for sealing up the plastic when you finish

STEP 1: REMOVE END CAP
This first step is a bit challenging. You need to pry something in like flathead screwdriver and then you can use a mallet to tap your tool at an angle and eventually knock off the end cap to reveal the screws underneath. I recommend starting with the end cap that is close to the charge port. Several posters here reported that is the ONLY end they had to mess with. Eventually I had to open up both ends (will explain later), but maybe you will have more luck.

STEP 2: REMOVE TORX SCREWS
There are four torx 10 screws on each side. Two are relatively easy to remove, but the other two are buried deep in the recessed opening, which is why you need a torx 10 screwdriver that can go deep.

STEP 3: MAKE SURE FUSE IS ACCESSIBLE
This step seems to be easier for some than others. The fuse is around the top left corner on the charge port end of the battery. Some people say they just pulled the blue casing out a bit and were able to move onto the next step. In my battery, there was a LOT of black silicone rubber so things were really sealed into place. I had to do a lot of careful cutting around all the edges to get through the rubber, and I also had to do the same on the other side. It was a frustrating process, but eventually I cut enough of the black stuff all around and used a mallet to push the bottom end of the battery so a portion was sticking out the top, finally making the fuse accessible.

STEP 4: CAREFULLY MAKE A SLIT IN THE BLUE PLASTIC TO ACCESS FUSE
Use your utility knife to make a small slit so you can remove the broken fuse. Proceed slowly and carefully. To the right of the fuse there is a flat ribbon that conveys the battery status to the exterior lights. Some other forum posters accidentally cut through that during this step.

STEP 5: REMOVE FUSE
You will see a red fuse with the number 10. You can pull it out using needle nose pliers.

STEP 6: REPLACE THE FUSE WITH ANOTHER 10 AMP MINI FUSE
I went to an auto supply story and got a 5-pack of fuses for $5. Much cheaper than a $600 battery replacement! Luckily this step is pretty easy. You just insert the fuse in the same spot where you removed the broken one. Once this is done, I recommend plugging in your charger to confirm that both lights are red indicating it is fixed and now charging. If it works now, congrats!

STEP 7: TAPE IT UP
I used some electrical tape to seal up where I had cut. I could only add one piece of tape because it was a really tight fit getting my battery back in. Here are some comments left by others in this forum:
--I used electrical insulating tape and Duct tape over that.
--I used standard electrical tape to tape things back. I then coated the patched area and the tape with liquid electrical tape for a good seal. This brushes on nicely.
--I used some vinyl tape. Rad uses silicon seal, all the black stuff in the photos. If you use silicone to seal the battery, I recommend avoiding any silicone with acetic acid (it smells like vinegar). Acetic acid can corrode the electronics in the battery pack. Permatex Ultra Black gasket maker does not have acetic acid and is available at most automotive supply stores.

STEP 8: REASSEMBLE
Make sure to get the gasket back on correctly, and then you just add the screws back in and put the end caps back on.

STEP 9: ASK RAD TO REDESIGN THIS BATTERY
Seriously. Anyone have ideas on how to best influence their design team? When my fuse blew earlier this month, I submitted a warranty inquiry and sent some follow-up messages, and also called and waited on hold for two hours, and weeks later I have STILL not gotten a response from their corporate help center. So based on my terrible experience with customer support, I feel like sending design feedback to that generic email is a black hole. But if anyone knows the email address for their head of engineering please send it to me! Designing this thing with repair in mind will be better for Rad, for customers, and for the planet.

[JimInPT]

STEP 9: ASK RAD TO REDESIGN THIS BATTERY
Seriously. Anyone have ideas on how to best influence their design team?

Well, they already have.  Unfortunately, it looks like both fuses are now surface-mounted and soldered to the circuit board.  How's that for improving customer access, maintainability and satisfaction?

Rad seems to be running off the rails in a number of ways since the new series of bikes were releases, including the Expand Contract 5.  They may be begging for a class-action lawsuit from pissed-off customers for poor design and engineering.  It seems like every day now we're hearing about somebody sticking their key in the wrong hole and blowing the fuse, after which Rad says "too bad, you have our crap design - $700 please including tax and shipping, but don't try replacing that 20-cent part yourself." 

So many things wrong with that design.......

[Adams]

So many things wrong with that design.......

My wife is putting washi tape over her charger port to make sure she doesn't key it. . .

[AtLarge]

Good post Eevv_ii 🙂

[JimInPT]

So many things wrong with that design.......

My wife is putting washi tape over her charger port to make sure she doesn't key it. . .

Don't those batteries have a flip-open rubber cover over the charging port like other batteries?  In addition to keys, you don't want dust, dirt or water getting into that port either.

[Adams]

So many things wrong with that design.......

My wife is putting washi tape over her charger port to make sure she doesn't key it. . .

Don't those batteries have a flip-open rubber cover over the charging port like other batteries?  In addition to keys, you don't want dust, dirt or water getting into that port either.

They do, but hers isn't staying shut.  She thought an extra reminder to not make a dumb mistake wouldn't hurt. . .

[Gerakat]

I want to thank everyone here for the super helpful instructions for replacing the fuse. After waiting on hold for 2 hours customer support told me they?d give me $100 off a new battery. Ridiculous for a bike I?ve had for a couple of months. Super disappointed and I likely would not recommend anyone I know to buy a RAD bike because of this ridiculously stupid battery design and the lack of accountability on their part. But on the positive side all of the helpful info here helped me replace the fuse and I?m back up and running without shelling out $500 or throwing the battery away. THANK YOU to everyone who contributed the photos and videos!

[Monty316r]

Thank you for your help on this Dick.  many thanks

[andrewbartley@shaw.ca]

Thanks to all who posted. Fix worked. Photos and info saved the day. I?d did the key to the battery twice. The first battery was replaced by rad. Knowing what I do now I could have fixed the first one. Thanks again.

I needed to register with this forum to view the photos... radpowerbikes.eu told me they would replace the battery, but due to changes in dangerous, or hazardous goods' regulations in January 2022, they have been unable to ship any batteries and it will still be around 2-3 weeks from now until they can possibly ship due to ironing out the bureaucracy between Customs and the their suppliers and manufacturers. At this time they are not advising customers to do the fuse fix themselves. I hope they may provide support on their help pages soon... additionally I encourage them to include the following warning in the manual: Don't poke the charge-port with your key!

Thankfully, it's an easy enough fix.

1. Remove the end cap was tapping the ends with a hammer and screwdriver. Don't lever with your carving knife, the tip will break off!

2. Remove the 4x torx #10 screws holding on the endcap.

3. Carefully make a slit in the thick plastic wrap.

4. Firmly grip the Red 10A fuse. It's a micro type and it's seated very firm.

5. Replace the fuse with another 10A micro-fuse.

6. Tape (or silicone) it up. I used electrical insulating tape and Duct tape over that.

7. Charge your battery as normal (I charge mine to 80-90% for longevity, unless I'm doing a big ride)
[/quote]

[dgerv]

Thank you very much for this info i was able to change the fuse on my wife bike and we are up and running again !!!!
save me $800 canadian

[WillFalk]

Thanks everyone very much.   Took about 90 minutes once I had all of the tools. 
The 10 amp automotive fuses cost $5.49 for five
The R10 torx bit was harder.  A one inch bit didn?t work.  I found a two inch on Amazon.

My pictures show the placement of the fuse.   It is upper left.   But on top!
Moving the battery pack out was a bit tricky.  I ended up using a piece of wood and a hammer.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

That's a pretty shitty design.  It's not only end user unfriendly, it's trained technician unfriendly.

[JimInPT]

That's a pretty shitty design.  It's not only end user unfriendly, it's trained technician unfriendly.

And a far cry from the previous battery design, with two rubber plugs on the underside to keep moisture from the two fuses - pop them open, extract fuse with needlenose pliers, insert new fuse, done.  But even those seem like a mystery to most - a couple weeks ago, I showed a guy in town who rents Rads to tourists that they were there, and how to change them; he had no idea they had fuses, or that they can be unlocked/stolen with a blank key.

Rad's going backwards in numerous small and large ways, and it's sad to see.  I plan to keep my pretty-great, 35A MiniST2 from spring '21 (i.e. all original-spec components) going as long as she's willing to go.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

How much of it is Rad's design vs them just buying whatever is available off the shelf?