I. Introduction
If you have an electric scooter and you are depending on it for regular commute, you must know about its battery and charging. By gaining knowledge about your electric scooter’s battery and its charging, you will be in a better position to take care of it.
In this article, we are going to take a look at ‘the possible reasons why your electric scooter is not charging’ and also ‘how you can improve the life of your electric scooter battery by caring a little about it’.
II. Possible reasons, why your Electric Scooter is not charging.
Firstly, let us go through the electric scooter charging process.
Take out your battery charger, connect the power end of the charger to an electrical power outlet, and turn the switch on. The LED on the charger should glow green, indicating that the charger is good.
Now, connect the battery end of the charger to the charging port and turn on the power; the LED on the charger should glow red indicating that the charging is under progress.
Charge the battery for the duration as recommended in your owner’s manual; it can be anywhere between 3 to 12 hours. When the battery is fully charged, the LED on the charger will glow green which indicates that the charging is complete and you can remove the charger from your electric scooter. All this happens when everything is working fine.
However, your battery may sometimes not get charged even after the complete duration of charging. There can be many reasons for it. Let us consider them one by one.
| 1 | Are you using the correct charger? |
| If you have more than one electric scooter, there can be a mix-up of chargers. Check the printed label on the charger, the voltage of the charger should be marginally higher than the voltage of the battery, such as 39 volts charger for charging 36 volts battery. If there was a mix-up, use the correct charger. | |
| 2 | When the charger is plugged into the mains, there is no green LED glowing. |
| Your charger may have a built-in fuse or a circuit breaker. Check and make the correction. If the charger is now working, use it.
If the fuse or the circuit-breaker is intact, take the help of a voltmeter or multimeter and test the voltage output of the charger. If the voltage is zero or less than the battery’s voltage, the charger is faulty and you need a new charger. |
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| 3 | Check the mains current and charger port. |
| The charger port may have become loose or there may be a loose connection. Check the port with the multimeter and replace the faulty charger. | |
| 4 | Check the battery. A battery charger cannot charge a battery that has reached the end of its life. |
| Remove the footboard, examine the battery physically, and look for leakage. If the battery looks fine, test the battery’s voltage.
The actual voltage of the battery is marginally more than its stated value. For instance, the actual voltage of a 36 volts battery can be 38 or 39 volts. If the battery’s voltage is low, the battery needs replacement. Verify the battery history and make sure it’s old and served its life. If you are in doubt, take the help of a battery technician. |
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| 5 | The LED on the charger becomes green within a short time of charging. |
| Continue charging for the recommended duration. If the charged battery does not give its rated output (scooter speed and range miles), the battery needs to be tested.
An aged battery may lose its voltage fast. Verify the battery history, how old it is, and take the help of the battery technician if necessary. |
III. What care can you take to improve the life of your Electric Scooter battery?
The battery life of your electric scooter can be measured in the form of the number of charging cycles, the number of years, or the total miles. However, it mainly depends on how you use and take care of your electric scooter including the battery.
Electric scooters are generally reliable, durable, and need very little maintenance. However, you need to take care since the parts are delicate and sensitive.
Following are some of the steps you must take to improve the life of the battery:
- Do not overcharge your battery as overcharging may reduce the battery life and also cause damage to it.
- Always use the correct charger (received with your scooter) for the best compatibility.
- Select a place that is cool and ventilated to charge your electric scooter battery, this will improve its life.
- Do not charge your electric scooter battery immediately after a ride, allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before plugging for charging.
- Do not rely on your electric scooter display for the charging status. Instead, rely only on your charger’s light to turn green for complete charging status.
- It is a good practice to charge the battery after using it for the day. It is ok to charge the battery after each use even if the battery power is not completely drained.
- Your scooter display panel gives an indication about the status of battery charge, like green for a full charge, red for no charge, and one or two more colors to show in-between status. Do not wait for the battery to become completely drained for charging, do it when it still has some charge in it.
- Keep a history of your battery, like battery identity number, date of manufacture, date when you start using it, and battery details (no. of batteries, total volts, and amp-hours).
- When your electric scooter is to be stored for long, charge the battery up to 70%, remove the connection between the battery terminals and the electric scooter and park the scooter in a safe place. Check the battery and charge it at least once in a month. If you leave the battery unattended for a longer period, it will deteriorate and lose its life.
- Park your scooter in a place which is not exposed to water and dust or rodents or very high temperature.
- Do not overload your electric scooter.
- After the charging time, the LED on the charger port should glow green indicating that the battery is charged. If the LED becomes green within a short time, continue to charge the battery for its full duration.
IV. Conclusion
The electric scooter is a reliable and environmentally friendly vehicle and the battery is said to be its heart. So, you must look after the battery to make your electric scooter dependable.
