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10/22/2007 |
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Electric Scooter Maintenance & Tips
When you purchase a new Electric Scooter, you are counting on that new electric scooter to last a long time and provide several hours of enjoyment. In order to give you the best information, our technical team has put together this guidelines section to assist with the most common situations that we have found in our years of experiance dealing with all sorts of electric scooters.
Though we have provided a lot of information, we realize that these are not the only issues that you may encounter. Our electric scooter tech department is committed to bringing you the most up to date information, as a situation arises that can benefit our customers as a whole, it will be added here. So keep checking back for new solutions.
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Before operating your new electric scooter:
Make sure the tires are inflated properly. Small tires loose air pressure quickly and must be aired frequently. Most small tires can accept air pressure to 85 psi. This allows the tire to properly contact the surface and keeps the tube from rotating inside the tire during braking and acceleration. If the tube rotates, the valve stem will possibly be cut or torn from the inner tube. This will require replacement of the inner tube.
Charge the battery. Batteries should be charged frequently, especially after prolonged usage that runs the battery down. Allow the batteries to cool for an hour or more before charging. Heat will damage batteries and it is helpful to keep batteries as cool as possible during use or charging.
Keep the right tension on your drive belt (or chain) during use. A loose drive belt will allow the teeth to slip and wear at an excessive rate. Failure of the belt will occur due to slippage or the heat generated due to improper tension. The belt can be adjusted by moving the rear tire forward or aft. Check your specification, but look for approximately one-half to one-quarter inch gap when pressing against the middle of the span. It is important to prevent slippage.
When you change a belt due to wear be sure to center it so that it does not ride against the side of the belt hubs on the motor or rear tire. If it is not centered properly it will cause the belt to try to jump up on the edge of the hub and cause a tear in the edge of the belt which will eventually cause the belt to completely separate. Most dealers have a very limited replacement warranty for belts due to improper installation and replacement. Please check your belt often after replacement to insure it is properly installed and centered on the drive hubs.
Lightly oil throttle and brake linkages to prevent binding. Check nuts and bolts to insure they are tight and cannot come loose. Wipe down the chrome pieces to prevent rust.
Do not ride electric scooters through water or mud, or even on wet grass since water can cause failure of the electrical components! Electric scooters are meant to be ridden on dry hard surfaces.
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Problems and Possible Solutions
No power / system won’t charge
In this situation we will assume that the battery has been charged or allowed to stand for several hours (a battery will normally self-charge up to a point and make the scooter power up for a fair distance). There are generally two main suspects:
1) First suspect a loose or broken connection. Take the top or deck off to see the wiring and inspect it for any loose or broken connections on the battery, switch, controller, etc.
2) Second suspect the controller box has failed. Since the controller is the heart of the system it can fail in many ways to prevent current from being supplied to the motor.
3) Other less likely suspects can be:
A battery that is completely open, supplying no current and possible even testing as having no voltage. It can be very briefly shorted with a wire to see if an arc is produced, revealing current is present. See Below for more advise on batteries.
It is also possible to have a bad brake lever or throttle since both have wiring and switches or variable controls. The brake lever has a power cut-off switch. The throttle variably controls the speed of the scooter.
The scooter On/Off switch can be defective. Without a good switch the scooter has no power, but the test of this is the power light. Does the power light come on when the switch is activated to the On position?
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After fully charging, powers only for short distance use.
Suspect the battery charger or the battery as the primary cause of short distance riding after a lengthy or full charge. If your battery charger does not have charging indicator lights then you may not be charging the battery at all if the charger is defective.
The battery may be self-charging to only about 60% on it's own. If the battery is getting old then it may not be able to hold a full charge and the battery will need replacement. When suspected you can very briefly arc across the battery terminals with a insulated wire to see if it produces a nice arc. It is also possible to test some individual battery 12 volt cells using 12 volt motors or lights that will show you the available current capability. Is the 12 volt light dim on a charged battery? Does the 12 volt motor run slowly when connected to the cell? Similar type tests can be performed using a 24 volt battery cell, too. WARNING! Batteries contain acid that can explode, or the vapors ignite from an arc. Batteries produce current and voltage that can burn you when a shorted circuit occurs. Be absolutely sure you know what you are doing before trying any tests to eliminate a component from consideration of being defective!!!
You can take the battery to a shop capable of testing the battery under a loaded condition. Fully charge the battery and carefully remove it. Let a technician determine the condition of the battery for you.
We absolutely recommend a high quality Battery Charger as sold on our scooter parts page. This 24 volt charger provides an on/off indicator light plus a battery status light - Red for charging and Green for charged (no longer charging). It also prevents over charging with auto shut-off circuitry. This will increase the life expectancy of your battery.
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