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Electric Scooter Troubleshooting Guide

Determine The Battery Packs History
Determine how long has the battery pack has been left in an uncharged state for. If left uncharged for under 6 months you may be able to successfully recharge the battery pack. However if left uncharged for over 6 months then it is almost always the case that the battery pack is defective. If you know that the scooter has been sitting for a long time without being recharged then you can safely assume that the battery pack has become defective.

Inspect By Sight, Touch, And Smell
Remove the footplate or wiring cover and look for any burned or melted wires, wire connectors, or electrical components. Also look for loose, disconnected, or damaged wires or wire connectors. Pull and push on all of the individual wires and wire connectors to make sure they are not loose or disconnected. Get your nose close to the speed controller and motor and smell them. Any components that look burned or melted, or that smell like burned plastic are almost always defective and should be replaced. Motors that smell burned should be replaced to prevent damage to the speed controller.

Try Charging The Battery Pack for 8 Hours
If the battery pack has been charged for under 8 hours try charging the battery pack for 8 hours and then see if the scooter runs at full speed. It is a good practice to not leave the battery charger plugged into the scooter for more than 12 hours due to the possibility of overcharging and damaging the battery pack if the battery charger happens to malfunction.

Test The Battery Charger
(No Tools Needed) Plug the battery charger into the wall and look for one or more illuminated indicator lights. If an indicator light is not illuminated or blinks on and off when the charger is plugged into the wall then the battery charger is defective.

(Tool Needed: Multimeter) If you have a multimeter you can test the battery chargers output Voltage. Its Voltage should be a few Volts above the battery chargers rated Voltage (24V, 36V, 48V, etc.). If the battery chargers output Voltage is zero, or if it is below the battery chargers rated Voltage then the battery charger is defective. 

Test The Battery Charger Port
(No Tools Needed) If the battery charger is plugged into the wall, unplug it. Plug the battery charger into the battery charger port on the scooter and look for an illuminated indicator light on the battery charger. If an indicator light on the battery charger illuminates when the charger is plugged into the scooter then the wiring and wiring connectors going to the charger port are good and the charger port itself is good.

(Tool Needed: Multimeter) If you have a multimeter the battery charger ports Voltage can be tested. The Voltage level present at the charging port should be the same as at the battery pack.

Test The Battery Pack On A Scooter That Runs
(No Tools Needed) If the scooter is running, a battery test can be performed on it by fully charging the battery pack and then riding the scooter at full throttle on flat ground and seeing how long the battery pack lasts. On flat ground most electric scooters will have a range of around 30-45 minutes. If the battery pack lasts less then 30 minutes then it is most likely worn-out and may need to be replaced. If the battery pack last less than 20 minutes then it is moderately worn-out and should be replaced. Severely worn-out battery packs will only last 5-10 minutes or less.

(No Tools Needed) If the scooter is running and has a headlight, a load test can be performed on the battery pack by taping an arch-shaped piece of cardboard over the headlight so you can see the headlights beam shining on it when you are riding. Then fully charge the battery pack and ride the scooter with the headlight on, keeping an eye on the headlights beam shining on the paper. If the battery pack is good the headlight will only dim a little when you give the scooter full throttle. If the battery pack is worn-out then the headlights beam will severely dim when the scooter is given full throttle.

(Tool Needed: Multimeter) If you have a multimeter and the scooter is running, a battery pack load test can be performed by fully charging the battery pack. Then jack up the rear wheel, connect a multimeter to the battery pack, and give the scooter full throttle while engaging but not locking up the rear brake. When you engage the rear brake the battery pack will experience a "load" and you can then read its Voltage to determine how much it drops. If the battery pack is good the Voltage will only drop by a few Volts, however if the battery pack is worn-out the Voltage will drop more severely.

Test The Battery Pack On A Scooter That Does Not Run
(Tool Needed: Load Tester) If the scooter is not running, a load test can be performed on it by removing the battery pack from the scooter and taking the individual batteries out. The individual batteries can be tested with a 12 Volt automotive battery load tester. If you do not have a load tester all auto parts stores sell load testers and most auto parts stores will load test electric scooter batteries for free.

Test The Voltage Of The Battery Pack
(Tool Needed: Multimeter) If you have a multimeter the battery pack Voltage can be tested to determine its condition. A good battery pack's Voltage will be above its rated Voltage level even if it has been fully discharged and allows to sit a few minutes, or if it has been in storage. If a battery pack Voltage does not bounce back to above its rated Voltage level within a few minutes after being discharged that points towards a defective or worn-out battery pack. When a battery pack has been fully charged and its Voltage is below its rated Voltage level that also points towards a defective or worn-out battery pack. Good scooter battery packs will bounce back to above their rated Voltage level within a few minutes after the scooter has been driven.