Electric batteries are used to charge electric scooters. It stores the energy used up by the components (lights, controllers, etc.) of the scooter. These electric scooter batteries are needed to be charged by chargers provided during purchase.
However, sometimes these chargers can get disrupted or lost; during those times, what can we do? We can’t just sit with our heads on our hands and have our scooter stop functioning due to no charged batteries, right? Hence, in this article, we will learn about the alternative steps that one can take to keep our scooter batteries charged during a charger’s absence.
Initial Steps for Charging Scooter Battery
Removing the battery from the scooter is essential because the alternative methods for recharging the battery will produce a lot of heat. So if kept outside, the battery will give off the heat to the outer space, thus avoiding overheating. The scooter’s manual usually gives a clear idea of how to remove the scooter’s battery. However, here is a guideline on how you can remove the battery from the scooter:
- a)Inside the scooter, the battery is placed within a screw and a plate holder. Removing this screw and plate holder will help us get a hold of the battery.
- b)Two wires are presently connecting the negative and positive electrodes to the scooter engine. Clips or slide-in hatches connect these electrodes.
- c)The battery now needs to be placed in a dry place before applying alternative charging methods.
Scooter Batteries are of different types. Mainly Lithium-Ion, NiCd and NiMH and Lead Acid batteries are present. Here we will talk about the steps to take to charge these three types of scooter batteries individually.
First, let’s talk about charging Lithium-Ion Scooter batteries without chargers.
Methods for Charging Lithium-Ion Scooter Batteries
1. Using Car Jumpers
A car jumper is an efficient material for recharging your scooter battery if you don’t have your original charger. Why is that? This is because car jumpers have high voltage within them. This high voltage will help to push a large amount of current in the scooter’s battery, thus ending up recharging your scooter batteries!
Here’s how you can go on with the recharging process of your scooter battery with a car jumper:
First Step
Firstly you have to take the battery out as mentioned above and place it in a dry place. Then you have to connect the jumper to the battery.
HERE’S HOW YOU CONNECT THE JUMPER TO A BATTERY:
Hook up the cables of the jumper with the battery’s ports. You have to first attach the jumper’s red cable to the positive port of the shower and then connect the jumper’s black cable to the battery’s negative port. Fit the wires and ports properly to avoid leaks as such leaks can result in accidents. You can watch watch this video to better understand, how to connect car jumpers to the scooter battery:
Second Step
Now, SWITCH ON the jumper. Then the current will flow into the scooter battery. Keep the charging process going on for approximately 20 minutes. However, how long a battery needs to charge completely depends on the type of battery. There’s one way how you can check if your scooter battery is more than half set. Touch your battery and see if it’s hot or not. If it’s hot, then it’s more than half charged. Do not let the battery overheat for too long. Make sure not to disconnect the jumper from the battery while the charging is going on, or else it will damage the battery.
Third Step
Lastly, after having the battery charged, you have to disconnect the jumper. First, remove the jumper’s black cable from the battery’s negative electrode, then remove the red cable from the positive electrode.
2. Using a Variable Power Supply
The second method of charging a lithium-ion scooter battery is using a variable power adapter.
We can use a variable power supply/adapter to recharge a Lithium-Ion scooter battery efficiently as it controls the flow of electric current. Here are the steps you need to follow to restore your scooter battery with a power supply adapter:
First Step
Firstly connect the variable power supply. As already mentioned, click the black cable with the negative port and connect the red wire to the positive port.
Second Step
Now set the voltage to 4.20V. 4.20V is the voltage which is usually set. However this can vary,depending on the number of cells in your scooter. To know how many cells your scooter has,you either have to make a guess or contact the manufacturer.Anyways, the voltage is usually set to 4.20V
Third Step
Too much current is harmful to the battery, so you have to look up your battery’s capacity. Then set the energy to 20%. For instance, if the battery is at 9Ah, the adjustable output source has to be 1.8A.
Fourth Step
As soon as the batteries are charged up, the supplied current will fall. The battery will be fully charged when the current drops to 3% of the scooter battery’s rated capacity(Ah)
Fifth Step
Since it’s fully charged now, disconnect the battery’s variable power supply and put the battery back into the scooter.
Now let’s learn how to charge Lead Acid Scooter Batteries without a charger.
Methods to Charge Lead Acid Scooter Batteries
Using Power Supply
Due to their low price and high durability, these Lead Acid batteries have been quite popular. Let’s learn how we can use a power supply to charge Lead Acid Scooter batteries.
First Step
Firstly you have to place your battery in a well-ventilated place. Before connecting it to the power supply, calculate the charge voltage according to the number of cells in the scooter battery.
Second Step
Now it’s time to set the voltage based on the calculation of the charge voltage. To charge a 12-volt lead-acid battery (these have SIX CELLS)to a voltage limit of 2.40V, set the voltage to 14.40V9 this has been this way (6 cells X 2.40V = 14.40V)
Third Step
Now set the current limit. You have to do it between 10 and 30 percent of the rated capacity. A 10 Ah battery at 30 percent charges at about 3A.The battery will be fully charged when the current drops to 3% of the rated Ah.
Fourth Step
Then disconnect the power supply from the battery.
Methods to Charge NiCd & NiMH Scooter Batteries
Using Power Supply
NiCd and NiMH are different batteries, but they both use chemical energy to power up the scooter. Here’s how you can use a power supply to charge NiCd and NiMH batteries:
After connecting the battery to a variable power supply following the methods mentioned above, start charging. You can identify the battery charge by seeing the increase in temperature. When the temperature rises from 0.3 to 1C, it means the battery has been fully charged. An empty 2Ah NiMH battery at 750-1000mA needs to be charged for approximately 3 hours.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed how we can charge our scooter batteries without a charger. Now whether your scooter has a Lithium-ion battery or Lead Acid Battery or NiCd and NiMH battery, you know what you can do to charge the battery very quickly without a charger. So when you have a faulty scooter battery charger, instead of taking stress, take some careful precautions and follow the steps mentioned in the article. If you have found this article helpful, share it with your scooter buddies, and if you have further queries, kindly comment down below!