How to Charge the Batteries in your Motorized Scooter

Mobility scooter. Electric Wheelchair. Power scooter. Electric Cart. It's got quite a few names but the concept is the same. You use it to help you get around if you have difficulty walking. If you use a motorized scooter to get around, the last thing you want is to be sidelined by a battery that constantly needs charging or one that is unreliable. While batteries can be fairly resilient, there are techniques that you need to take into consideration when charging. These instructions explain how to charge the battery installed in your scooter or your replacement battery to maximize its lifespan.

Further instructions can be found in your scooter owner’s manual. These are general instructions for most scooters, but the instructions in your manual may differ. Always follow the instructions provided with your scooter or scooter replacement battery.

Charging the Batteries

Make sure the scooter is powered off. Find the charging port on the scooter battery and plug in the charging cable. Plug the power cable into the power outlet. Make sure you use the charger supplied with the batteries, as other chargers may cause damage to the batteries.

The LED light, either red or orange, will be on when the battery is charging. It will need to charge for up to 10 hours for a full charge.

When the LED light is green, stop charging the battery.

Disconnect the charger from the scooter, then from the power outlet. Give it a test run before riding it to make sure that it charged.

Recharge Batteries Regularly

The batteries of your power scooter should be charged to full capacity every night. This is important for getting the longest useful life from your battery.

The batteries should be fully charged prior to your first ride on a new scooter. If your scooter is kept in storage, the battery should still be fully charged once a week. If your scooter is not used every day, you should charge it after each time you drive it.

Charge the batteries as soon as there are signs of power loss. If your scooter is slow, or if the power needle is in the red, it’s time to re-charge.

A scooter that is regularly charged and maintained will provide you with dependable and consistent power and long lasting batteries.

Why is my scooter battery low?

The batteries in your mobility scooter are designed to keep you on the go for hours. Some common issues may make your batteries discharge faster than usual.

If you are at the heavier end of the weight allowance for your scooter, a full charge may drain more quickly.

Extreme cold, heat or bumpy terrain can drain your batteries more quickly as well. If you frequently stop and start, or traverse inclines, your batteries will deplete more quickly.

Older batteries will not hold a charge as long as a new, fresh batteries. But keep in mind that new batteries don’t reach their full capacity for 10 to 20 charging cycles. We also encourage scooter owners to grab a backup just in case. They're mostly fairly easy to switch out so on the odd occasion when you can't wait for your scooter battery to recharge, you can pop in a new one and keep on scooting!