Electric Scooter Guides

The hype surrounding electric scooters is still as strong as ever. They’re a blast to ride, an excellent alternative for daily commutes, and a fun toy for all ages.

1. Plugging and Unplugging

Start by plugging the batter into the scooter before plugging it into the wall outlet. After the charging is complete, make sure to unplug the charger from the wall before you unplug it from the scooter.

2. Making the Battery Last

To get the most out of your battery life, make sure to recharge them after each time you take the scooter for a ride. Leaving these batteries in a partially charged state shortens their overall lifespan. So, either drain it or keep it fully charged.

You’ll also want to make sure you charge the batteries once every three months when keeping the scooter in storage. This ensures that battery is not sitting on a partial charge.

The fastest electric scooters, and off road electric scooters will often drain the battery faster.

3. SLA and L-Ion

Batteries either make use of traditional lead or lithium ion. Make sure your charger matches the type of battery inside of your scooter. Lead uses what is called an SLA, while Lithium Ion versions require standard CC/CV models.

If you aren’t sure what kind your scooter uses, play it safe by sticking with the manufacturer’s charger. You can always order another one from them is yours goes bad.

4. Higher Amperage

If you plan on using your electric scooter for more than one battery cycle a day (you know, charging it multiple times), then you might want to pick up a charger with a higher Amp rating. They charge the battery at a faster pace, making it easier to use your scooter all day long.

Keep in mind, however, that they do shorten the lifespan of the battery. You can slow this process down by using a regular charger whenever possible.

5. Commuting

Lots of people enjoy using their scooters as a way to commute to work. If that is your main use, then charge your device at night, so it has a full charge when you are ready to leave in the morning.

Bringing your charger with you is a good idea if you want to prolong battery life. It also ensures that you won’t have to carry your scooter on the way back home.

6. A Quick Warning

Proper Charging

Knowing how to properly charge a scooter is an essential part of enjoying yours to its fullest. By following these simple tips, you can make the most of each ride and enjoy every battery a little longer.

Electric scooters are just as prone to issues as gas powered scooters, but they suffer from a different set of problems. Rather than internal combustion issues, electric scooters have to operate with all their circuitry at maximum efficiency, or they won’t work at all.

Diagnose The Problem

The first step of the repair process is identifying the problem with the scooter. While we’ve compiled a list of common issues and their fixes later on in the article, your first steps are to put your scooter’s failures into words.

Is your scooter:

• Failing to start
• Starting partially, then stopping
• Not responding to any attempt to start it whatsoever
• Behaving erratically once started
• Predictably under-performing once started
• Stopping unpredictably while running

Each of these problems implies a problem with a different part of the scooter.

Common Issues

Dead Battery

The dead or undercharged battery is by far the most common electric scooter issue, and has a very simple solution: plug in the scooter to leave it to charge. The symptoms of a low battery will be partial turning on but the failure of the electric motor.

A dead battery, on the other hand, will leave your scooter totally unresponsive and take longer to charge.

If a battery isn’t charging, you may have an electrical controller issue, which there’s an entire section for later on. Measuring your battery’s charging is easy with a cheap voltmeter.

Kill Switch On

A scooter with its engine kill switch on will have an engine that refuses to move, but you will be able to get other features of the scooter like lights and its console to be powered, which can be confusing.

Many people mistake a kill switch being left on with a battery being low.

The kill switch should be located directly on the engine of your scooter and must be set to the off position before the engine can run.

Ignition Failure

If your turning of the ignition isn’t causing any action on your scooter, but your battery is full, you may have an electrical problem, or the kill switch may be on.

Flipped Fuse

In the event of an electrical problem, the first culprit is usually a flipped fuse somewhere in the scooter. If your scooter isn’t responding to your attempts at ignition, check the fuse for the ignition and make sure it isn’t flipped.

Likewise, if your engine isn’t running despite full battery charge and a working ignition, check the main fuse and flip it if necessary.

Electrical Controller Issues

Speaking of the electrical system, the circuits of the electrical controller where some of your fuses may be located is often the source of many scooter issues.

Electrical controller issues can be tough to diagnose because they can seem to come and go depending on the kind of issue. If any debris or water has gotten into the electrical controller area, you can expect unpredictable behavior from your engine if you can get it started.

One thing that you can do to make sure that your electrical controller is operating properly is to secure all of the wire connections at their point of meeting the board, and also at their source. Loose wires are a big cause of unpredictable issues, though they’re unlikely to prevent your scooter from starting.

If there aren’t any loose connections or flipped fuses or blown fuses on your electrical controller, look for popped transistors.

While it’s extremely unlikely that your scooter will have a popped transistor, they’re easy and cheap to replace—just clip out the old transistor from the bottom and solder in your new one using a minute amount of solder.

Hot Engine

Often, electrical scooters will run with extremely hot engines, which you’ll be able to feel. If the scooter’s engine overheats, it’ll turn off. This prevents damage to the engine.

When the engine is extremely hot, the battery is also extremely hot. This is dangerous and hurts your battery’s health. One thing to check is the main fuse going from your battery to your engine—be sure to wait until everything is cool enough to touch.

If the wiring is damaged or the fuse is damaged but still partially operational, your engine may be drawing an excess amount of power from the battery, and, paired with electrical controller issues, running at more cycles than necessary, causing overheating.

Weak Acceleration

Weak acceleration points to a problem with the engine’s ability to draw power from the battery or the mechanical aspects of the engine itself. Check your fuses and electrical controller.

If it’s a mechanical issue, send it to the shop.

Wrapping Up

This wraps up our list of common electrical scooter problems and quick solutions. Hopefully, you’re ready to repair your scooter, or at a minimum figure out what your scooter’s problem is. Remember, there’s no shame in sending your scooter into the shop.

For many of the thornier mechanical issues, sending your scooter to the shop is necessary.

With cities expanding and the world pushing for a greener future, more and more individuals are opting for new ways to get them from point A to point B. Whether it’s for fun or a daily commute, you’ve probably seen people riding around on those nifty electric scooters.

They’re faster, and less exhausting, to ride than a bicycle. Plus, they’re a ton of fun. How does an electric scooter work, though?

Inner Workings

The batteries supply power to the motor like this:

• After hitting the ON button or switch, the process begins
• Electricity travels to the scooter’s motor, which is mounted to the frame
• The motor then rotates the front, rear or both wheels, making the scooter move
• Accelerating draws more power from the battery, increasing speed
• Decelerating reduces the draw, slowing you down to a complete stop

How to Operate the Scooter

While individual controls will vary from brand to brand, every electric scooter utilizes an accelerator and decelerator. Instead of using your feet to manually push the scooter forward, there will be a lever or button to press that automatically starts or stops the wheels. All you have to do is balance.

Power and Speed

Top speeds normally stagnate at about 20 miles per hour, but that’s a speedy trip through city sidewalks or suburban streets. Your maximum speed is determined by the wattage of the motor, which ranges between 200 to 1000 on different models. More wattage equals more power, which means faster speeds.

While your inner speed demon may want something faster, anything above 20 mph is more than enough to have you flying around town. It also feels incredibly faster than driving in a car, making higher speed models something users have to adjust to.

The Ride

Electric scooters offer an incredibly smooth riding experience. Their ability to zip in-between cars, glide over bumps, and maintain speed when traveling uphill makes them as fun as they are useful for getting around.

Braking is gradual and slow, keeping you from flying off the device, while still maintaining the ability to stop you from losing control a steep decline. All in all, it’s a highly enjoyable experience.

eScooters

So, how does an electric scooter work? Quite simply, considering up and coming technology these days. While the inner workings might not be common knowledge for most, using one of these devices is a simple process.