Does the LED light up on the SM-BCR2 light up when you plug it in to the connection on your bike and a phone charger or other 5 vdc adapter?
If you get a light, then I tend to believe that the issue is elswhere. Maybe several places. One between Windows and your USB port not recognizing the SM-BCR2 being plugged in.
The other, that you simply didn't plug the wires in the new components in correctly. Did you push them in until you felt or heard a click?
The earlier reference you made to taping everything together to keep the wires connected just sounds hokey to me. I would do that for moisture protection, but not to hold things together to maintain a connection.