Brief overview of electric side maintenance of electric scooters.
In many cases, failure in some parts leads to problems in another. That is how we scope narrowing down where the cause of the problem. It is rare that the motor itself is broken. You can kill your engine by smashing it or hitting something. The cable is quite exposed so it's a real option. Too high voltage will burn the motor, and as said, constant humidity will slowly corrupt it. But the electric scooter failure is usually not an engine failure. The problem is most often somewhere else and the motor is just a substitute victim.
The motor runs intermittently.
At slow speed this usually does not occur, but as accelerating it starts. The failure indicates that the engine is receiving uneven current. Something's blocking the peak, or not letting it through the power.
Start by checking the cables connecting the controller to the motor. Do they look visually alright? Are there visual signs of overheating or even burns? Try the couplings one by one. Are they intact and tightly attached to each other? They are all able to block electricity. In most cases the reason is faulty or corrupt couplers. Peel the wire if necessary and replace the couplers.
If the motor’s unsteady running is caused by the electric scooter's broken central unit, usually the operating system has a “controller fault” warning sign that is shown on the led screen. And, if it is caused by the controller, which is quite rare with the symptoms described above, usually controller failure comes with a strange sound, high enough to notice even while driving the scooter.
Let us exclude here the failure of the battery: if the pressure, extra weight, rapid acceleration causes the escooter to shut down and after a little wait it turns back on. Battery failure, caused by the BMS battery (battery management system) and its safety system is turning the battery off.
The motor doesn't work with acceleration.
Check, if the engine is disconnected from the controller, check the motor wires. Check if the motor is connected to the controller, but the controller is not connected to the battery. Meaning that the motor is not indirectly connected to the battery. You can feel this even when walking with the scooter forward and notice that the motor is pushing back, feels somehow heavy, harder to push. The motor does not react when accelerating. It seems that the meter system does not get the command through. The scooter is turned, so something goes through, but acceleration does not work. Check the wires that connect the meter system to the controller. Try it one by one, whether they're loose or worn out. Try to find the particular cable that sends these commands. Sometimes it is called hall out, sending. You can ask the dealer or the manufacturer what each wire is used for.
If everything else looks fine, you can measure the meter wire with a 4.5-5v electricity meter test to check if some of the cables are violated somewhere inside when the electricity passes.
Scooter does not turn on.
Push the power on, and try to speed up. By doing so, you test that the LED screen is not dark or broken. Check and test the charger, does it have a green light ON, and does the charger's plug look normal? Try charging the scooter once again, try another charger, if you have one. If you don’t, let's think of other possible reasons. Battery could be empty. One reason could be that the charger is not charging or the scooter's charging port is broken. Both mean the power doesn't reach the battery. Or, there could be a failure in the battery's charging cables and charging port, so it is unable to charge. If this is the case, charge usually just shows green light instead of red (charging). Check the charging wires and the connectors and measure the battery to be sure of the battery voltage and if they are in a normal range. Measuring the battery also tells you the current charge of it. If steady, but not empty. Check the cables from the speed meter to the controller, one reason for not turning on. There are several other reasons for this, but by testing them out one by one, the options, testing and replacing them, could fix the issue. Unfortunately, we have often noticed that the failure appears after a while, because of poor previous maintenance. Someone must have not peeled and squeezed the connectors properly, that simple. Sometimes the water, if there is water, signs of humidity around the controller and other parts. Responsible scooter brands do their best to seal the battery properly, water protected. And, if the case has been opened after the first water sealing, certified shops play by the brand’s book and instructions. Certified resellers and partners tend to re-seal water protected parts during their maintenance process. But again, if the mechanic is a random anti-professional low-brainer, the actions taken are a total mystery sometimes even for themselves. However, water can cause many types of short circuits, but they can all be pointed out and corrected.
One last thing to mention, if the scooter is powered off, do not kick the scooter with no power on. It may kill the controller.