SCOOTER MAINTENANCE TIPS

SCOOTER RUNS WIDE OPEN

1) CONTROL BOX. The control box uses input from the throttle to vary the speed of the scooter or motorbike. If a control box becomes defective it is possible that it will read a false throttle indication and run at full speed. It can also simply short out and put full output volt/amps to the motor in the circuit that supplies the motor its power. This motor circuit is the part of the control box where heat builds up and results in either a total burn out or open circuit, or everything melts together to create a full speed condition that even the brake cutout switch will not stop. Only turning off the switch or disconnecting the batteries will stop this runaway condition. It is possible for a control box to go bad just sitting in the garage, so try to store your scooter or motorbike with this possibility in mind. While rare, it has happened that a scooter owner found his electric scooter in his garage on its side running wide open and the switch off.
2) THROTTLE WIRE SHORT. Less likely, but possible, is a short between two of the three wires in the throttle harness that causes a full speed condition.

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 good battery set will normally self-charge up to a point and make the scooter power up for a fair distance). There are generally these main suspects:
1) WIRING. First suspect a loose, shorted, or broken connection. Take the top or deck off to see the wiring and inspect it for any bad connections on the battery, switches, controller box, etc. A battery charger will indicate a green charged battery condition if there is an open connection in the charge circuit from the socket to the batteries.
2) CONTROL BOX / MOTOR. Second suspect the controller box has failed. You may detect a burnt smell. Since the controller is the brain of the system it can fail in many ways to prevent current from being supplied to the motor. You can separately test the motor without a load by direct connecting it (safely) to the battery to see if it will run. MOTORS can get so hot they melt the windings together and short out. You may detect a burnt smell. The result is reduced power, high amerage draw (you may blow a fuse repeatedly), low performance, or it may be completely dead.
3) BATTERY. Also suspect a battery cell that is completely open or shorted by age producing sediments and deposits (we have seen new scooters with batteries over a year old from manufacture that were bad), supplying no current and possible even testing as having no voltage or current or partial current ability. A battery can be very briefly shorted with a wire from positive to negative to see if an arc is produced, revealing current is present, but it is best to have a load tester since even brief periods of available current will not conclusively test a battery's condition. Most places that sell any batteries will have a tester to check your batteries. See Below for more advice on batteries.
4) COMPONENTS: THROTTLE / BRAKE CUTOUT SWITCH. 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 which can go bad or stick and disconnecting it from the system eliminates it. The throttle variably controls the speed of the scooter and is usually reliable since it has no contacting parts.
5) SWITCH. 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?
6.) SUBSTITUTION. Substitution of a good component for a suspected bad component is the only last conclusive means to find the bad component. While you must purchase the component, and it may not be returned if it is not the faulty part, you will make the repair and likely for less money than a repair service would charge for parts and labor.
7.) FUSE / FUSEHOLDER. When a fuse blows there usually is a reason so be mindful that just replacing a fuse may result in the new fuse blowing, too. There even may be an arc when you insert the fuse if you do not first disconnect the batteries. Also look at the wiring to the fuseholder. If a wire breaks off the fuseholder then you will have a short ride and the batteries will not charge.

POWERS FOR ONLY SHORT DISTANCE USE AFTER FULLY CHARGING

Suspect the battery charger, open wiring in the charger circuit, or the battery set 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 about 40-60% on it's own if it is not old. If the battery is getting old then it may not be able to hold a full charge and the battery will need replacement (the charger may show the battery fully charged after a short period of charging). When suspected you can very briefly arc across the battery terminals with a insulated wire to see if it produces a nice arc. But as stated above this is not very conclusive since a battery may not have the ability to maintain the current needed. On bikes and scooters so equiped, does the headlight stay lit brightly? 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 over a long period of time. 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 proformed using a 24 volt battery cell, too. But also be aware that a loose connector from the charger socket on the scooter to the control box can make you think the battery has charged. Check those connections, moving the wires to see if it results in the battery charger indicator light showing the charge mode is starting.

When batteries get old they build up deposits and sediments inside the battery. If a battery is very compact like the Vapor 24 volt single cell battery, then the electrode plates can short out when deposits build up. This usually happens during extended periods of inactivity of a few months. But, normal batteries will also produce deposits on the electrode plates and sediments at the bottom of the battery. Once contact is made between one or more of the electrode plates the battery will begin to fail, producing less power or being unable to accept a charge from the battery charger. The only recourse is to replace the battery set completely. When one 12 volt cell is failing, the other cell will also begin to fail very soon thereafter due to the aging process. Always replace all battery cells!

The charger socket and wiring to the batteries often goes through the control box. At any point in the charge circuit you can have an open connection. The charger will not indicate a red light charge condition, however. It will appear that the charger indicates a green light for fully charged batteries, the same as when you plug the charger into the AC outlet without plugging it into the scooter charger socket. So check for a broken or loose wire at the charger socket first. And if you have jumper wires you can carefully isolate the charger socket circuit from the control box (disconnect the plug from the control box) and connect the red wire with a jumper wire to the positive red terminal of the battery set, and the black wire from the socket to the black negative pole of the battery set. No matter what the colors PIN 1 is always plus, positive. Be sure you know what you are doing before trying this procedure, but if it works you will know that your batteries are good because they now can be charged directly from the battery charger. And you will know that your control box is bad, or at least the charger circuit in the control box is bad.

WARNING! Batteries contain acid that can explode, or the hygrogen vapors can 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.