Question
How can I get my electric scooter ignition to turn on if i lost the keys?
Muhammad Shahzad
Community Answer
If you have lost the keys to your electric scooter, there are a few things you can try to turn on the ignition: (1) If you have a spare key, use it to turn on the ignition. (2) There are universal keys that fit most electric scooters. These keys are available online or at your local scooter shop. (3) Hotwiring your scooter is not recommended, as it can cause damage to the ignition system. However, if you have some knowledge of the wiring system and are confident in your abilities, you can try hotwiring. This involves connecting two wires together to bypass the ignition.
Let your scooter cool down
Never charge your scooter battery immediately after you've used it. Let it cool down at least 15 minutes before charging. An electric scooter battery heats up when in use, and battery longevity, as well as battery capacity, will be negatively impacted when charging it hot.
Make sure your electric scooter and charger are not wet
If you have been riding in wet conditions, and even if your electric scooter has some IP rating, very few of them are completely waterproof. It is important to make sure that everything is dry before you plug the power cord into a wall outlet.
Let it drip off or wipe it off as best you can. Some water might have ended up where it shouldn't be, the charging port for instance.
A minimum of 30-45 minutes is recommended.
Use an original charger
Make sure you always use the correct charger that came with the electric scooter and is approved by the manufacturer to avoid battery damage.
Off-brand chargers may not be compatible with the battery's chemistry, or they may charge it at a higher rate that exceeds its limits.
If you don't use the original charger, make sure to double-check it is the same voltage.
Charge in a dry, cool environment
A cool and dry place (room temperature) is the ideal circumstance for charging an electric scooter battery.
Below 0°C/32°F or hotter than 45°C/113°F is not recommended, because low-temperature or high temperatures can damage the battery.
Never charge your electric scooter in direct sunlight. Such extreme temperatures can cause a serious failure or even an explosion.
Do not charge the electric scooter in a humid room or in locations that are exposed to water, rain, snow, or other liquid.
Turn off your scooter while charging
Do electric scooters charge on or off?
Turning your electric scooter off when charging is the best practice.
Charging your electric scooter with it turned on will reduce how fast the battery charges and can lead to battery damage.
Plug the charger into the power outlet first
Always check your manual for charging procedures. For most electric scooters, the rule of thumb is to always plug the charger into the wall outlet first, the electric scooter second. Unless your manual says the opposite.
The reason for this is if something goes wrong, let's say there is a short circuit, only the scooter's charger will be affected.
Most chargers have a red indicator light to show it is charging. If the charger turns red, all good, if not, unplug it and see if it is repairable or replace it.
Plug the charger into the scooter’s charging port
Insert the charger plug into the electric scooter charging port. Most modern electric scooters will indicate the charging status on the display. When the charger light is green, it means the scooter battery is fully charged.
Charge your battery until it’s fully charged
In order to get as many lifecycles as possible out of your battery, always try to get it fully charged.
Avoid having it completely drained. The more you ride with a fully charged battery the less risk of it draining completely which is not good for the battery. Of course, the lithium-ion batteries of today's electric scooters can manage not being completely charged a bit here & there but try to avoid it becoming a habit.
Avoid overcharging your battery
Scooter batteries don't like being overcharged. Although you might think that this is how you get it fully charged, it's not.
The best charging process is to stop charging as soon as the scooter's battery is full.
Your electric scooter might have built-in overcharge protection but even so, it is always best practice to unplug it once the battery level is full.
Don’t ride immediately after charging
Waiting for about 5 minutes to let the electric scooter battery cool off after being charged is recommended before going for a ride. It will prolong the electric scooter's battery life.
How do you know if your electric scooter is charging
When the indicator light turns red on the charger and you can see on the e-scooters display it is "filling up", it is charging. Charger turns green when full.
How to charge electric scooter without charger
No charger? Then don't charge it until you get the right one.
If for some reason, you absolutely must charge it, maybe in an emergency, you can use another source, such as a car battery.
But there is a procedure.
You will need jumper cables.
Make sure the battery's voltage from the power source you are charging from, f.e. a car battery, is higher than that of the e scooter.
Turn off your e scooter and remove the battery. Find the positive terminal (red), and the negative terminal, (black).
Take the red lead from the jumper cable and attach it to the red or positive terminal on your scooter's battery. The other red end goes on the other power source. The one black lead goes on to the negative terminal on the scooter battery and the other end to metal or another grounding point.
Start the car and let it run. Let your battery charge for a while.
Remove the cables in reverse order and make sure the lead ends never touch each other.
how long to charge an electric scooter
How long should my scooter charge? It depends on the model and size of your battery. Also what type of scooter battery charger you have. Your instruction manual will have the data on how long it will take to charge it. Between 3 - 5 hours is typical for many of today's average electric scooters. If it takes 8 hours, charging the battery overnight is a good idea. Some fast chargers can fill it up in less than an hour but this should be used as a backup rather than a routine
How often to charge an electric scooter
If you ride your scooter every day, depending on how far you ride, you will probably charge your electric scooter overnight all day you use it. Don't let the battery level go below 30% as lithium-ion batteries don't perform as well at this level. You will quickly drop lower and also shorten the battery life span.
how much does it cost to charge an electric scooter
Depending on your type of electric scooter it will require more or less energy to charge. However, we are talking very low figures.
An approximate calculation done by some researchers concluded it looks something like this:
Conclusion
In short. Charging your e scooter is not complicated but, doing it right will increase battery longevity as well as performance. Finding a good routine and never letting it fully discharge are two of the top tips given.