Scoot F.A.Q.

Q. Why is my battery weak or dead overnight or after the scooter sits for a while?

First, make sure you are not leaving the scooter or any accessories turned on. Leaving the ignition switch on, lights, or other user installed accessories will drain the battery.

It's possible that your battery is in poor condition and/or not being charged properly when the scooter is running. You can find information on checking the battery HERE, or some parts stores will perform battery charging and testing for free to determine if the battery is still good. If the battery is in acceptable condition, verify that the scooter's charging system is working. More info on that HERE.

Cold weather, especially freezing and below, have a negative impact on battery performance. Try to park the scooter in a warmer area if possible.

If all of the above check out alright and your battery is still going dead or getting low over time you may have a parasitic draw. In other words, something is drawing or draining power from your battery even when the key is turned off. A multimeter or ammeter can be used to find out if there is a draw and to help you track it down.
  • Make sure that the ignition switch and all other accessories are off.

  • Disconnect the negative battery cable and secure it so it can't come into contact with either of the battery terminals.

  • Set the multimeter to it's highest rated ammeter setting, usually marked with an A or Amps. You should use a meter capable of handling at least a 10A load. Exceeding the maximum rating of your multimeter could blow it's fuse or damage the meter.

  • Connect one probe to the battery terminal.

  • Connect the other probe to the cable that you removed from the battery terminal.

  • Check the reading on the meter.

    -A reading of 0A means there is no draw at all, or you have the meter set on too high of a range, or poor connections to the battery or cable. Having nothing at all draining the battery is unusual.

    -Readings of up to 50mA (0.05A) are considered acceptable because clocks, alarms, and anything that requires power for memory functions will draw a small amount of current when properly functioning.

    -Readings above 50mA should be investigated further.
You may be able to substitute a test light for a multimeter. It won't give you precise readings, but if it lights up when connected as described above then there is some current flowing through it indicating a draw. No light would indicate no draw or a minimal draw.

In order to track down a specific component or circuit causing a draw you will need to start disconnecting items you suspect one by one to see if the reading decreases (or the test light goes out). If your scooter has a fuse box rather than just one main fuse you can pull fuses one at a time until the reading drops. If you disconnect a connection or fuse and see no reaction, reconnect it and move on to the next. Eventually you should find a circuit or component that causes the draw to drop or go away. If it's a circuit you can narrow your search to items within that circuit. Using a wiring diagram may help. If it's one component, then you have found the source of the draw. The component may need to be replaced. If the item is non-essential it may be able to be removed to eliminate your battery drain woes.

If your scooter is equipped with an alarm I would suggest beginning your search there. Stock alarms, especially on Chinese scooters, are notorious for draining batteries. Many people disable them specifically for that reason. If your scooter features an underseat light that comes on when the seat is raised a switch going bad so the light remains on is another likely suspect. Stereo systems should also be among the first things checked.

Related Info :
Scooter Battery Checks
Individual System Wiring Diagrams
Wiring Diagrams
Manuals


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