Mobility scooters help many millions of Americans each year who have trouble walking due to age, arthritis, or muscle disease. Many supermarkets and retail stores offer mobility scooters for their customers to use, making it easy to get around and eliminate the need to bring them to the store. As with almost anything mechanical, there may come a time when your electric mobility scooter requires some troubleshooting. Be sure to refer to your mobility scooter’s user manual, but there are several common things that are easy to check and many times will easily resolve the issue you are having.
One of the scariest things that can happen, especially after you have seen the full benefit derived from your mobility scooter, is when it just won’t start because it appears to be dead. The first thing to do in these cases is to remove the key and then reinsert it. If that still doesn’t fix your problem, you need to make sure that you have fully charged the battery. If you used it heavily for several days without charging, the unit may not have a charge. If this doesn’t solve the problem, you need to reset the switch switch. Most scooters have a main circuit breaker, which is similar, in concept anyway, to the black circuit breakers commonly found in homes. Find the circuit breaker and turn it off and back on or press the reset button, depending on the model of mobility scooter you have. The next step in the troubleshooting process is to check all the battery connections, follow the battery cables, and check that the wiring harness connections are tight. If this still does not fix your problem then you will probably want to take the device to a certified service repair center.
If when using your mobility scooter, the battery gauge indicates a full or adequate charge, but the throttle control does nothing, your mobility scooter may be in freewheel mode. Most electric mobility scooters have something similar to neutral in a car called freewheel mode. When a mobility scooter is in freewheel mode, the brakes and transmission are disengaged, making it easier to push or pull the mobility scooter. Many times the freewheel mode switch is located on the back of the mobility scooter, so if you are pressing the throttle control and nothing happens, make sure it is not in freewheel mode.
If your mobility scooter’s main circuit breaker trips constantly, or if the low battery indicator and the motor races or hesitates when the throttle is pressed, it could be a sign of an electrical problem. First of all make sure the mobility scooter is fully charged and in the event that a main breaker trips it may just be an infrequent charging case so try to stick to a regular charging schedule . If charging the scooter doesn’t fix the problem, it’s probably a good idea to take it to a certified service repair center. There are several tests that can be run on electrical systems with a battery load tester and voltmeters, both of which are available at most auto parts stores, but they are beyond the scope of this document.
If your mobility scooter stops working, don’t panic. Please refer to the user manual that came with your mobility scooter and follow these simple troubleshooting steps. If that still doesn’t solve your problem, it may be necessary to contact a certified service repair center and have your mobility scooter checked by a certified technician.