Another Ather 450X caught fire in Bengaluru, and the company has blamed the harness for this fire.
The video of the electric bike catching fire has been making the rounds of social media, and the company has also released an official statement for the cause of the fire.
Ather 450X Catches Fire in Bengaluru; Is Harness At Fault?
In India, the Ather 450X was introduced with a starting price of Rs. 1.55 lakh (ex-showroom, Bengaluru). The new model, which is powered by a 3.7kWh battery, has a 146-kilometer range that has been approved by ARAI. The new Ather has improved UI/UX in terms of a dashboard, a new Ather Stack, and an upgraded 2 GB RAM that offers better performance in hotter environments.
A few weeks ago in Bangalore, a fire damaged an Ather 450X electric scooter. Given the seriousness of the situation, Ather Energy looked into it and has since made its findings public.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. Ather Energy claims that the incident was a “rare human error” and that it has updated its manufacturing procedures, upgraded its machinery, and added a two-step verification process to help prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The fire, according to the company, was started by a short circuit. According to reports, there was improper torque applied to one of the motor controller connectors, which led to sparking near the controller terminals.
Ather’s Statement on Electric Bike Causing Fire
According to Ather, the short circuit triggered the safety systems, which immediately shut off the flow of power and limited the damage. It is claimed that a recently implemented 2-step verification process should stop incidents like this from happening again.
Ather Energy determined the cause and issued a formal statement elaborating on the fire’s origin. According to the manufacturer, one of the connectors for the motor controller was torqued incorrectly, which regrettably led to sparking near the controller terminals.
As per Ather’s statement, “the incident had nothing to do with a battery thermal runaway event and the battery continued to operate normally post the incident also. All our battery packs are designed, manufactured and tested by our teams in India and remain subject to the highest quality and testing standards in the world.”
The battery pack, the dashboard, and the battery management system (BMS) were unaffected at all. The scooter’s internal safety systems quickly cut off the power supply. Unfortunately, a fire had already started in the wiring harness.
