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Newbie here... working on Grandma's mobility scooter

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ratio411

Thread Starter

ratio411

Joined Feb 13, 2011
7
Hi, I found this forum googling for help on a Pride Rally mobility scooter.

Looks like an interesting place!
I might be in over my head though.
I am a gear-head that only dabbles in electronics out of necessity.

Anyway, Grandma's scooter goes forward and reverse normally sometimes, however, sometimes lately it also seems to hold back, hesitate, or seem sluggish for the speed setting.

After reading here, it looks like I need to check the "throttle pot" (5k ohms) and check the brushes in the motor. ???

Seems pretty straight forward. I have a multi-meter and am familiar with the basic uses. I have also changed brushes with one screw, one spring, and brush... Pretty straight forward stuff, even if I didn't know exact theory and operation of the parts.

Any thoughts, ideas, or tips to make my life easier in this endevor?

Thanks much!
I look forward to asking other questions on my mind.
Dave
 
S

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
Welcome to the club -- a lot of us learned to fix things by trial, error, reading, and asking other people.

If you plan to work on the scooter, you'd be best off if you can get a schematic and/or service manual for it. From the little I've read, the scooter companies are not very friendly to do-it-yourselfers. Otherwise, you have to figure out things by looking at what you seen and figuring out how it works -- a much harder proposition.

I strongly recommend you study the basic stuff in the AAC tutorials -- you'll learn a lot and it will be useful the rest of your life.
 
hgmjr

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
ratio411 said:
Hi, I found this forum googling for help on a Pride Rally mobility scooter.

Looks like an interesting place!
I might be in over my head though.
I am a gear-head that only dabbles in electronics out of necessity.

Anyway, Grandma's scooter goes forward and reverse normally sometimes, however, sometimes lately it also seems to hold back, hesitate, or seem sluggish for the speed setting.

After reading here, it looks like I need to check the "throttle pot" (5k ohms) and check the brushes in the motor. ???

Seems pretty straight forward. I have a multi-meter and am familiar with the basic uses. I have also changed brushes with one screw, one spring, and brush... Pretty straight forward stuff, even if I didn't know exact theory and operation of the parts.

Any thoughts, ideas, or tips to make my life easier in this endevor?

Thanks much!
I look forward to asking other questions on my mind.
Dave
Click to expand...
If you can get your hands on a service manual, repairs should be a lot easier to fix. You will also be identify parts and obtain replacement parts.

hgmjr
 
ratio411

Thread Starter

ratio411

Joined Feb 13, 2011
7
I know what you mean about "scooter companies not being do-it-yourself friendly. I have seen it even today looking around the net. They seem to think like drug companies or the like... There appears to be plenty of govt and insurance money for them to get their hands on if you are forced to have them work on the scooter or let them work a scheme to get you into a "free" replacement scooter via doctor's orders.

I want to skip all of that if I can, assuming it is something I can fix.
And believe me, I can work a wrench. So if we aren't talking 'brain surgery'... I can fix it.

"My Dad has a knarly set of tools... I can fix this!"
Jeff Spicoli
:D
 
ratio411

Thread Starter

ratio411

Joined Feb 13, 2011
7
I have been looking for a manual.
All I can come up with is the owner's manual, and if it has to do with anything more than adjusting the seat, they tell you to contact you service provider.

The fact that the motor has serviceable brushes and the "throttle pot" is 5k ohms, I have only picked up by chance here and there. I haven't checked the ohms yet, probably do that tomorrow, but I have played with the throttle to see if it was sticky, sloppy, or the plastic was slipping over the metal dial, and everything seems tght. So I am already leaning towards cleaning the brushes... We'll see.

I was just checking with you guys to see if my thoughts were sound.
The manual is a good idea... Might be like finding teeth in a hen though.
 
Wendy

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,797
What is the make and model of the scooter. It seen some of the guys find stuff no one else could. There is a chance the scooter company wants money for it, but it this scooter is for the long term it would be worth it, much like a service manual for a car.
 
K

K7GUH

Joined Jan 28, 2011
190
The scooter companies will not help you, even if they think they can sell you replacement parts at maximum (to them) profit.

I recently refurbished a scooter which had suspect batteries. Took the batteries (two 12 volt) out and charged them on the bench -- separately -- for several hours. Happily, they took a charge and each tested over 11.5 volts under a 4 amp load (50 watt 12 volt bulb). If they come in under 10.5 volts, consider replacing them real soon now. Consider cleaning up the speed pot with a squirt or two of DeOxit, and examine the brushes closely. Make sure the built in charger is doing its job properly. I found that if I left the key in my scooter, the batteries would discharge, albeit slowly. Don't know how much air the tires are supposed to carry, but check them out, too.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
 
shortbus

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,049
I think liability is why they don't want to give out the information. Afraid that some one will 'soup-up' Grannies scooter and hurt some one. But the basic circuits are just that basic.
 
T

TerryLombardo

Joined Jul 4, 2012
1
ratio411 said:
Hi, I found this forum googling for help on a Pride Rally mobility scooter.

Looks like an interesting place!
I might be in over my head though.
I am a gear-head that only dabbles in electronics out of necessity.

Anyway, Grandma's scooter goes forward and reverse normally sometimes, however, sometimes lately it also seems to hold back, hesitate, or seem sluggish for the speed setting.

After reading here, it looks like I need to check the "throttle pot" (5k ohms) and check the brushes in the motor. ???

Seems pretty straight forward. I have a multi-meter and am familiar with the basic uses. I have also changed brushes with one screw, one spring, and brush... Pretty straight forward stuff, even if I didn't know exact theory and operation of the parts.

Any thoughts, ideas, or tips to make my life easier in this endevor?

Thanks much!
I look forward to asking other questions on my mind.
Dave
Click to expand...
Did you tried to contact the company from where you bought your pride mobility scooter? Normally a scooter doesn't cause such problems. My grand father has been using the vehicle since almost last 2 years but it is working fine. Talk to your dealer regarding this issue. The dealer must fix it or replace the scooter.
 
Wendy

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,797
Welcome to AAC.

Congratulations, you have practiced the arcane art of necromancy, the revival of a long dead thread. Likely the OP (Original Poster) has solved his problem in the year that has passed, or thrown it away, or something.

Your post was moderated because to the sites software it looked like spam. Spam is the only thing that is an automatic lifetime ban. I judged you trying to help, so have approved your first post.
 
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