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Log Error Catalog

Zero MBB/BMS logs record thousands of diagnostic strings. We normalize them into 36 curated families — what each one means, whether it matters, and what to do. Severities are graded conservatively: most log noise is harmless.

4 critical
17 attention
15 info
Last updated: July 4, 2026

Showing 36 of 36 families

CAN bus framing errors

Info
MBB/BMS
communication
Likely cause

Occasional CAN bus ACK/BIT/STUFF/FORM errors are normal electrical noise on the vehicle network, especially at power-up or with an accessory attached.

What to do

Harmless in small counts. Only investigate if a single ride logs thousands, which can indicate a loose connector or a failing node.

Cell over-voltage (COV) fault

Attention
BMS
battery
Likely cause

A cell reached the over-voltage protection threshold, usually at the very top of a charge or during regen on a full pack.

What to do

Occasional COV events near 100% are normal protection. Frequent COV faults on the same cell group suggest imbalance worth a balancing charge.

Maximum cell voltage difference exceeded

Attention
MBB/BMS
battery
Likely cause

The spread between the highest and lowest cell exceeded the allowed limit — a cell-balance signal.

What to do

A wide spread at the top of charge is often transient. A persistent, growing spread across rides warrants a full balancing charge and monitoring.

Cell-board read attempts failed

Attention
BMS
battery
Likely cause

The BMS could not reliably read one of its cell-monitoring boards (PL/AFE) — a communication problem between the pack controller and a cell group.

What to do

Sporadic retries can be normal. Sustained read failures on the same board can indicate a failing cell-board or harness and are worth a service check.

Cell-board CRC / fault register

Attention
BMS
battery
Likely cause

A cell-monitoring board reported a fault/alert register or CRC error over its internal bus.

What to do

Isolated events are usually transient noise. Recurring board faults point to a specific cell group and warrant inspection.

Invalid cell events

Info
BMS
battery
Likely cause

The BMS logged cell readings it flagged as invalid, often during initialization or a brief read glitch.

What to do

Generally benign self-diagnostics. Persistent floods can accompany a failing cell board.

Chassis / HV isolation fault

Attention
MBB/BMS
safety
Likely cause

The bike detected reduced electrical isolation between the high-voltage system and chassis. Can be triggered by moisture/condensation, especially after washing or in high humidity.

What to do

Often clears once the system dries out. A persistent isolation fault is a genuine HV safety concern — have it inspected before riding in wet conditions.

Cannot connect battery module

Attention
MBB
battery
Likely cause

A battery module could not be brought online — a voltage mismatch, a module controller issue, or (on multi-pack bikes) a pack that is out of range to join.

What to do

On swappable/multi-pack setups this can be expected when packs differ in charge. Repeated failures to connect the same module warrant service.

Contactor did not close (precharge)

Attention
BMS
battery
Likely cause

The main contactor did not close because the precharge voltage did not match — the controller bus did not reach the pack voltage before closing.

What to do

Occasional events on startup can be benign. Persistent precharge failures can indicate a contactor or precharge-circuit problem.

CIB communication timeout

Attention
MBB
communication
Likely cause

The main board lost communication with an interface board within the timeout window.

What to do

Intermittent timeouts are usually transient. Repeated CIB disables can point to a wiring/connector issue.

Internal fault on BMS

Attention
MBB
battery
Likely cause

The main board flagged an internal fault reported by a battery management system.

What to do

Note which BMS index is reporting and whether it recurs; recurring internal faults on one pack warrant service.

Charge state-machine fault

Attention
BMS
charging
Likely cause

The BMS aborted or faulted the charge state machine — often a supply dropout, a handshake issue, or a protection trip during charging.

What to do

A one-off aborted charge is common with flaky supplies. Repeated charge faults on a known-good charger warrant investigation.

Charger undervoltage

Info
charger
charging
Likely cause

A charger reported low input/supply voltage — typically a weak wall circuit, a long extension lead, or a shared circuit under load.

What to do

Usually an external-supply issue, not a bike fault. Try a dedicated outlet.

Shutting down — too many charge faults

Critical
BMS
charging
Likely cause

The BMS shut the session down after repeated charge faults — a protective stop.

What to do

A genuine protective shutdown. Stop using that charger and have the charging path inspected if it repeats.

Voltage critically high

Critical
BMS
battery
Likely cause

A voltage exceeded the critical protection threshold.

What to do

A genuine over-voltage protection event. If it recurs outside the very top of charge, have the pack inspected.

Firmware hard fault

Critical
system
firmware
Likely cause

A controller firmware hard-fault/exception — the processor hit an unrecoverable state and reset.

What to do

Note the firmware version and whether it recurs. Persistent hard faults warrant a firmware update or service.

ABS module error

Attention
system
chassis
Gen 3
Likely cause

The ABS module reported an error — often a wheel-speed-sensor signal issue.

What to do

If the ABS warning light is on, have the wheel-speed sensors and ABS module checked; braking still works without ABS but the safety feature is degraded.

VIN read failed (reset to uninitialized)

Info
MBB
firmware
Likely cause

The board could not read the stored VIN and reset it to uninitialized — a cosmetic/firmware bookkeeping event.

What to do

Harmless to operation. If the VIN shows blank in the app, a dealer can re-write it.

Error log could not initialize

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

The BMS could not initialize its internal error log at startup — internal housekeeping.

What to do

Benign self-diagnostic; no rider action needed.

Pack I/O management returned fail

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

An internal BMS I/O management call returned a non-success code — usually a transient internal retry.

What to do

Benign in isolation; only relevant if paired with sustained pack faults.

Critical error shutdown

Critical
system
firmware
Likely cause

The firmware entered a protective shutdown after a critical error.

What to do

A genuine protective stop. Note what preceded it in the log and whether it recurs; a repeating critical shutdown warrants service.

Sevcon controller cutout / restart

Attention
sevcon
controller
Gen 2
Likely cause

The motor controller (Sevcon) hit a cutout fault and was restarted to clear it — often a transient torque/throttle or thermal protection trip.

What to do

An isolated cutout during hard acceleration can be normal protection. Frequent cutouts warrant a controller/throttle inspection.

Current sensor not calibrated

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

The current sensor calibration was not set, so current readings may be less accurate until calibrated.

What to do

Benign for riding; a dealer tool can calibrate it if energy figures look off.

Stats read failed / reset to defaults

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

The BMS could not read stored statistics and reset them to defaults — internal housekeeping, occasionally after a firmware update.

What to do

Benign; some lifetime counters may reset. No rider action needed.

BMS quick self-test error

Attention
BMS
battery
Likely cause

The BMS power-on quick self-test flagged a subsystem before going online — e.g. cell measurement ('Cells Failed') or the pack-I/O ADC ('PackIO ADC Failed').

What to do

An isolated self-test miss at boot can be transient. Repeated failures of the same subsystem point to a hardware issue on that pack and warrant service.

Self-test finished with warnings

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

The BMS completed its self-test but raised one or more non-fatal warning flags (a bitfield) — noted diagnostics rather than a hard failure.

What to do

Benign if the bike operates normally. The flag value identifies which check was flagged for a technician if it recurs.

BMS startup failed with code

Attention
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

A BMS startup step failed and reported an error code; the controller typically retries the sequence.

What to do

Occasional startup retries that then succeed are usually benign. Persistent startup failures on one pack warrant service.

Recovering from a charge fault

Info
BMS
charging
Likely cause

After a charge fault the BMS is retrying to resume charging — a normal recovery step, not a hard stop.

What to do

Benign if charging then continues. If it pairs with repeated charge faults on a known-good charger, see the charge state-machine family.

Accelerometer self-test failed (retrying)

Info
MBB
chassis
Likely cause

The onboard accelerometer (used for tip-over / lean sensing) failed its power-on self-test and is retrying.

What to do

Usually clears on retry and is harmless. A sensor that never passes can disable tip-over detection — worth a service check if it fails every boot.

Module loopback lost

Attention
MBB
communication
Likely cause

The main board lost the loopback/heartbeat with a battery module — a communication dropout between the MBB and a module.

What to do

Isolated events are transient. Repeated loss on the same module points to a connector or harness issue on that pack.

DTC set from BMS CAN error

Attention
MBB
communication
Likely cause

The main board set a diagnostic trouble code because it hit a CAN communication error talking to a BMS.

What to do

Isolated events are transient noise. A persistent DTC from BMS CAN errors warrants checking the pack CAN wiring and connectors.

Bluetooth module (RN-42) reset

Info
MBB
communication
Likely cause

The onboard Bluetooth module (RN-42) did not exit command mode and was reset via its reset pin — a benign comms retry.

What to do

Harmless; affects only the phone Bluetooth link, not riding or charging.

Settings read failed / reset to defaults

Info
BMS/MBB
firmware
Likely cause

Stored settings could not be read and were reset to defaults — internal housekeeping, sometimes after a firmware update.

What to do

Benign; some saved preferences may revert. No rider action needed.

Watchdog extended for bootloader

Info
BMS
firmware
Likely cause

The firmware extended the watchdog window so the bootloader has time to start — a normal part of the boot / firmware-update sequence.

What to do

Informational boot housekeeping; no rider action needed.

Watchdog timer reset (WDT timeout)

Attention
system
firmware
Likely cause

A controller's watchdog timer expired and reset the processor — the firmware stopped servicing the watchdog (a hang or an overrun); a stack trace is logged.

What to do

An isolated watchdog reset that recovers is often transient. Repeated WDT timeouts point to a firmware issue and warrant a firmware update or service.

Fault set / pending / cleared

Info
MBB
firmware
Likely cause

The firmware's generic fault lifecycle — a named fault became active (set), was counting down (pending), or resolved (cleared). Severity depends on the named fault.

What to do

A cleared fault that does not return is resolved. Look at the specific fault name and whether it stays set.

This catalog is informational. Severities are our conservative interpretation of log patterns, not official Zero Motorcycles gradings. When in doubt, consult a Zero dealer.