Friday, October 2, 2009

Cynth's Battery Scare

Written by Cynth:
I too bought one of the "gold brick" double Lithium Ion batteries. I took it for a test drive last night in Home Depot.

I love Home Depot for its wide isles and smooth floor lol I found isles that had no people or objects in the way and "floored it" down and back (Yes I slowed down at intersecting isles) but I needed to test out my new battery.. and besides it was fun :) I spent an hour doing this and actually doing some shopping and the battery worked flawlessly.

The other reason I was at Home Depot was to purchase a voltage meter. I had a recent "scare" with my Lithium Ion battery (the regular one). I came home after doing some shopping for a friend of mine who is in assisted living. I used the scoot in the store and the assisted living center. The battery had been fully charged before I left that day.

I plugged in the battery before I went to bed and woke up expecting a green light on the charger. Instead there was a flashing red light on the right side and solid red on the left.

So I unplugged the battery and the charger and tried again. I kept getting flashing red on the charger meaning the battery wasn't charging.

I of coursed went into panic mode at the thought of being without a battery and emailed Hardy and Elizabeth in a flurry of emails. (sorry!)

I wanted to buy another Lithium Ion battery thinking my battery was bad, but all of the Lithium Ion batteries were in transit from Florida to Washington state (TravelScoot is moving!). But Hardy did have one of the new double size Lithium Ion batteries available so I purchased it.

Well it turns out that it was not my Lithium Ion battery it was the charger that was bad. (yea!) In order to find this out I had to buy a voltage meter to test my battery after charging it on the new charger that came with the double sized Lithium Ion.

After running the double sized Lithium Ion battery around I plugged it into the charger that came with the regular Lithium Ion battery to make sure it was the charger that was bad, it was.

Long story (very long sorry!) short. My battery charger went bad. If you plug in your Lithium Ion battery (in the correct sequence) and keep getting a flashing red light on the charger, don't panic it could just be a bad charger.

Also during this time of "omg no battery panic", Hardy sent me a "kit" to make my own SLA battery with so I would not be without a battery (Hardy is awesome). I purchased the batteries to make it with locally. I will keep the SLA battery in my trunk for emergencies.

I plan on making a video on "How to make your own SLA emergency battery" over the weekend and hope to have it posted soon.

I feel MUCH more comfortable knowing I can find the parts I need around town to make my own battery and be back in Scootin business in one day.

8 comments:

  1. I'll join in the chorus!
    Me too, me too.... ;-)

    Ah, and you answered my question about their location. Drats! Wish I had ordered my SLA battery while they were still down below me in FL.

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  2. hardy is moving??? oh no!

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxoxooxoxxo

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  3. How do you make this "kit" to make a back up battery?
    It would be interesting to know for emergencies.

    Thanks
    Chuck

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  4. Chuck, I am still trying to locate the "name" of the red connectors that are on the scoot motor and the battery. I want to make an accurate list of parts.

    I will ask Hardy if they just sell the "kit" without the batteries just in case the connectors he is using are just to difficult to locate.

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  5. Remember if you are going to keep a SLA battery in the trunk as a back-up. It needs to be charged every 60 to 90 days! Put a tag on it so you can keep track.

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  6. I must apologize for my lack of video making that I promised. There were some hitches in my plan and then around Halloween I got H1N1 that then turned into pneumonia and while I am finally getting better I am still not completely better.

    I found it impossible to find the red connectors in Boise hence the hitch.

    I will however take some pictures and or video on SLA battery connecting soon. Really!

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