ultralite355 mobility scooter

Thread Starter

karenbluebell

Joined Jul 17, 2011
1
new to this and not technnically minded at all , purchase the scooter under the impression it just need a new battery.
although the battery charger is showing the batteries full, the gauge on the battery pack and the scooter itself says they are flat ? can anyone give me some sort of idea what could be the problem before i pass it to an enginere who will charge me a small fortune, i may be able to repair this myself if i have an idea of what the problem could be.
please can you also talk in laymans terms as as i said im not an electrician or mechanic, thanks in advice to anyone who is willing to help me out :confused:
 

someonesdad

Joined Jul 7, 2009
1,583
That's a little like asking "My car won't start. What's wrong?". OK, maybe not quite as bad, but obviously more information is needed to help troubleshoot it. There are folks on this forum who are good troubleshooters and are generous with their time, so your chances of getting useful information are good -- but only if you give as much information as possible about the scooter, be willing to take pictures and follow troubleshooting instructions, and be patient (realize you might get conflicting or wrong opinions, so you have to sort the wheat from the chaff).

The first step in problem solving is always to make sure you have a crystal-clear problem statement. It sounds like yours is "After I connect the charger to the scooter, it says the battery is charged, but the scooter doesn't run." Make SURE the problem statement is focused on the correct problem (the classic statement is "make sure you drain the right swamp when hunting alligators"). In other words, you have to make sure we're all working on the right problem. Don't laugh, as it's quite common for people to work on the wrong problem.

The first two suspects in the crime are the battery charger and the battery. Troubleshooting involves doing tests and taking data that help to confirm or deny that some particular subsystem is where the problem lies. One thing you should realize is that the battery is likely a sealed lead-acid battery and these batteries have a distinct life. So your problem might be as simple as just needing to replace the battery.

I recommend you take some clear, well-lit pictures of the scooter that show as much of how it operates as possible. A picture of the exterior of the scooter is practically worthless, so don't bother. Try to get some pictures of the charger and the battery to start with. What is the scooter's model number and who manufactured it? Have you contacted the manufacturer for help? Have you tried to get your hands on a schematic of the scooter?

You may be asked to purchase a cheap digital multimeter to help with troubleshooting. Don't worry -- a cheap $5 meter from Harbor Freight is fine.

Oh, also state what country or region you're in so we can tailor the responses to your locality.
 

shortbus

Joined Sep 30, 2009
10,045
Modern battery chargers for the most part won't charge or even attempt to charge a completely dead battery. Like someonesdad says, a multimeter to check the battery is the minimum to start with.
 

hspalm

Joined Feb 17, 2010
201
new to this and not technnically minded at all , purchase the scooter under the impression it just need a new battery.
Have you replaced the battery, then? Or do you want to be sure it's the battery before you buy a new one?

I am under the impression that you have already changed the battery since it seemed your next step would be to have an engineer do a repair on it (not just for a battery replacement, i guessed).
 
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