Help needed fixing my electric wheelchair

kimbo

kimbo

Expert Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2008
Messages
1,872
Reaction score
24
Location
Close to Welkom
Hi, from a dusty and hot freestate

Guys i really need help, i am trying to fix my wheelchair, it is a few years old but still going strong, untill two nights ago, it just refused to turn on. The next morning i checked the batteries with my multimeter and they are good, still reading 13 volt each, so i am trying to fault find at the moment.

As i understand the batteries are connected in series to give 24 volt to the controller, the controller then provides the motors with power according the input from the joystick.

a7d30283-2e7e-4c6e-b7f1-1793c269837f.jpeg

This is the controller, the big red and big black are from the batteries, The pink,white and orange, yellow, goes back to the motors. So as i understand i should get 24 volt between red and black when the batteries are connected? there is no volts
So checking continuity between the red and the batteries connectors i get a beep, so all good, but between the black and the connectors i get nothing
So my logic tells me the wire is broken somewhere, but that is were i am lost, are these controllers straight fwd like that, or am i missing something, i can not get a wiring diagram no ware, so i hope someone with knowledge can please help me, this is my legs please help. This is the make of my wheelchair if that can help, to get a new one is not an option

Thanks
84887a96-9396-4ae0-a1ee-67601710fa44.jpeg
 
Normally they will put a fuse on the positive wire - usually red.

Have a look at the negative cable and see if there may be a fuse in it.

Put your multimeter to show volts, keep the leads on the battery - switch on and try move fwd/back and see what the voltage drops to.

Get a pin and start poking the negative wire - start somewhere in the middle to check for continuity and then move closer to the pcb to check if there is a fault in the black wire. Just push the pin gently into the wire - careful not to push the pin into your fingers on the other side and do not short out the wire. Could be a bad connection in a connector or plug.

Do you have a battery disconnect switch or plug in between the battery and the controller.

I would suggest disconnecting the battery before testing. Sometimes loosening and reconnecting plugs/connectors helps.
 
HobieDave said:
Normally they will put a fuse on the positive wire - usually red.

Have a look at the negative cable and see if there may be a fuse in it.

Put your multimeter to show volts, keep the leads on the battery - switch on and try move fwd/back and see what the voltage drops to.

Get a pin and start poking the negative wire - start somewhere in the middle to check for continuity and then move closer to the pcb to check if there is a fault in the black wire. Just push the pin gently into the wire - careful not to push the pin into your fingers on the other side and do not short out the wire. Could be a bad connection in a connector or plug.

Do you have a battery disconnect switch or plug in between the battery and the controller.

I would suggest disconnecting the battery before testing. Sometimes loosening and reconnecting plugs/connectors helps.
Click to expand...

Hi. Thanks for the help, there is just the battery connector plus between the batteries and the PCB, they did put cable sleeving around all the wires, i will cut them tomorrow and check for a fuse or a brake in the wire, i must say there are inline fuses in the battery boxes, they are good
 
If you aren’t getting voltage on the red and black it sounds like the wire between the two batteries is the problem.

Especially since you said there is continuity on the red and black themselves.
 
kimbo said:
Hi, from a dusty and hot freestate

Guys i really need help, i am trying to fix my wheelchair, it is a few years old but still going strong, untill two nights ago, it just refused to turn on. The next morning i checked the batteries with my multimeter and they are good, still reading 13 volt each, so i am trying to fault find at the moment.

As i understand the batteries are connected in series to give 24 volt to the controller, the controller then provides the motors with power according the input from the joystick.

View attachment 1781378

This is the controller, the big red and big black are from the batteries, The pink,white and orange, yellow, goes back to the motors. So as i understand i should get 24 volt between red and black when the batteries are connected? there is no volts
So checking continuity between the red and the batteries connectors i get a beep, so all good, but between the black and the connectors i get nothing
So my logic tells me the wire is broken somewhere, but that is were i am lost, are these controllers straight fwd like that, or am i missing something, i can not get a wiring diagram no ware, so i hope someone with knowledge can please help me, this is my legs please help. This is the make of my wheelchair if that can help, to get a new one is not an option

Thanks
View attachment 1781387
Click to expand...
i have a service manual for the shoprider (mobility scooter).
I'll post a link - although a different design to the wheelchair, the motor / batteries / electronics follow the same principles.


there are 2 files:
Screen Shot 2024-12-16 at 05.27.16.jpg


Link below:

Shoprider service manuals


(mediafire is looking a bit confusing and cluttered, so uploaded to google docs as well)

Shoprider


Hope this helps a little - I'll watch the thread tho, my mother had a shoprider scooter for many years.
Over the years I had to dig into its guts a few times, so i got to know my way around it.
They are very well made, simple and robust !!
 
Last edited:
Morning, Thank you for all the help, If the heat permits i will work on it, but nick is stoking the fire again today here in the Freestate, Just after 6 in the morning and the thermometer reads 28
 
Grant said:
i have a service manual for the shoprider (mobility scooter).
I'll post a link - although a different design to the wheelchair, the motor / batteries / electronics follow the same principles.


there are 2 files:
View attachment 1781440


Link below:

Shoprider service manuals


(mediafire is looking a bit confusing and cluttered, so uploaded to google docs as well)

Shoprider


Hope this helps a little - I'll watch the thread tho, my mother had a shoprider scooter for many years.
Over the years I had to dig into its guts a few times, so i got to know my way around it.
They are very well made, simple and robust !!
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for this, yea looks like the same parts are used between scooter and chair, Thank you again, this will help alot
 
kimbo said:
Thank you very much for this, yea looks like the same parts are used between scooter and chair, Thank you again, this will help alot
Click to expand...
you'll find under the seat of the various shopriders everything is pretty similar.
which model is your chair ?


also, try this 1st (from the Shoprider Mobility Scooter Service Manual Live Document):
pg17
Screen Shot 2024-12-16 at 07.32.29.jpg



and then pg21
nb: remember to lift the axle with the drive wheels off the floor - like a car on a workshop ramp - find something to support the axle so the wheels are off the ground - you need something solid, it's pretty heavy (batteries , motor etc).
I could not find anything high or solid enough at my mother's home - landed up using a pair of fancy stainless steel pots from the kitchen - she was horrified, but it worked.
But preferably something non-metallic, given you are dealing with an electrical issue !!
Screen Shot 2024-12-16 at 07.33.02.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you can disconnect the 24v red and black wires from the PCB board and then just run two brand new wires from the batteries to the PCB board (first check that the new battery wires are producing 24V) that would tell you if your original wires have a break in them or an inline fuse is popped.
 
i'm taking you back to the beginning:
Guys i really need help, i am trying to fix my wheelchair, it is a few years old but still going strong, untill two nights ago, it just refused to turn on. The next morning i checked the batteries with my multimeter and they are good, still reading 13 volt each, so i am trying to fault find at the moment.
Click to expand...
you need to test the batteries under load.
propping up the axle keeping the wheels off the floor and trying to run the shoprider is a bit of a starting point - if the motor powers the wheels while elevated (and no load), you have a battery problem - not a wiring problem.

does the chair have a small "hooter" / "horn" button - does that work when the shoprider is powered on ?
it should work even while stationary.

the "tiller" / accelerator control - do you hear any clicking sound from the motor area as you push then release it (accelerating & braking) while the shoprider is powered on ?
if there is complete silence from the motor area, then the tiller unit may be faulty (unlikely), but possibly (and more likely) one of the signal cables from the tiller control to the motor area is damaged - i had this very issue with my mother's shoprider - landed up replacing the wiring loom - was a whole lot easier and quicker than i imagined it would be - perhaps little more than an hour to do.

but back to post #9
plug the multimeter probes into the charging port on the shoprider and see what the multimeter reads.
**put the multimeter probes into the charging port and then power on the shoprider - a safer option than powering on, then inserting the mutimeter probes into a live socket
 
  • Like
Reactions: B-1
Grant said:
i'm taking you back to the beginning:

you need to test the batteries under load.
propping up the axle keeping the wheels off the floor and trying to run the shoprider is a bit of a starting point - if the motor powers the wheels while elevated (and no load), you have a battery problem - not a wiring problem.

does the chair have a small "hooter" / "horn" button - does that work when the shoprider is powered on ?
it should work even while stationary.

the "tiller" / accelerator control - do you hear any clicking sound from the motor area as you push then release it (accelerating & braking) while the shoprider is powered on ?
if there is complete silence from the motor area, then the tiller unit may be faulty (unlikely), but possibly (and more likely) one of the signal cables from the tiller control to the motor area is damaged - i had this very issue with my mother's shoprider - landed up replacing the wiring loom - was a whole lot easier and quicker than i imagined it would be - perhaps little more than an hour to do.

but back to post #9
plug the multimeter probes into the charging port on the shoprider and see what the multimeter reads.
**put the multimeter probes into the charging port and then power on the shoprider - a safer option than powering on, then inserting the mutimeter probes into a live socket
Click to expand...

first test the power at the PCB board then work from there, if that has zero volts then the problem is in the wires from the batteries.

batteries = 24v as measured I think he said (but that's at the battery)
 
Where is the tread on those tyres? I hope you do not go on public roads with this scooter. Dangerous.
 
Grant said:
i'm taking you back to the beginning:

you need to test the batteries under load.
propping up the axle keeping the wheels off the floor and trying to run the shoprider is a bit of a starting point - if the motor powers the wheels while elevated (and no load), you have a battery problem - not a wiring problem.

does the chair have a small "hooter" / "horn" button - does that work when the shoprider is powered on ?
it should work even while stationary.

the "tiller" / accelerator control - do you hear any clicking sound from the motor area as you push then release it (accelerating & braking) while the shoprider is powered on ?
if there is complete silence from the motor area, then the tiller unit may be faulty (unlikely), but possibly (and more likely) one of the signal cables from the tiller control to the motor area is damaged - i had this very issue with my mother's shoprider - landed up replacing the wiring loom - was a whole lot easier and quicker than i imagined it would be - perhaps little more than an hour to do.

but back to post #9
plug the multimeter probes into the charging port on the shoprider and see what the multimeter reads.
**put the multimeter probes into the charging port and then power on the shoprider - a safer option than powering on, then inserting the mutimeter probes into a live socket
Click to expand...
There is no 24 volt coming to the PCB, so cant test, but i get a good reading at the battery terminals, i am just waiting for the sun to calm down, then i want to go test the connectors from the batteries to the wiring harnas
 
kimbo said:
Sorry uncle

Yea can you believe, a set of tyres with rims, 1k each, just the tyre, R500, so it is slics for now
Click to expand...
for tyres (the front smaller ones) - contact Speddick Industrial tyres.

ce-mobility prices were fairly decent (this invoice from about 12yrs back), the pricing is at medical aid rates - "cash" customers get a discount off the medical aid tariff.

when you are wanting to replace wheels / tyres, let me know.
i have a stellar reputation for convincing companies to offer really big discounts, sometimes at cost price, and sometimes as a donation.

i had pick n pay donate a shoprider to someone a few yrs back, enervision to donate really good deep cycle batteries, and a myriad of other medical related products.

The trick is really simple
Firstly do the homework and find out which director of the company to approach - someone with empathy, regardless of their actual portfolio within the company.
Has to be done by phone - (email / text etc guaranteed to fail) person to person.
Then you prep them for what may seem like an incoming request for a kidney donation, but you are only asking for a donation of say, 2 tryes - the relief in their voice is palpable.
A third party needs to do this on behalf of the person needing assistance - for some reason advocating on behalf of another seem to work best.
But most importantly is the homework - who is the right person in the company to contact
 
Grant said:
for tyres (the front smaller ones) - contact Speddick Industrial tyres.

ce-mobility prices were fairly decent (this invoice from about 12yrs back), the pricing is at medical aid rates - "cash" customers get a discount off the medical aid tariff.

when you are wanting to replace wheels / tyres, let me know.
i have a stellar reputation for convincing companies to offer really big discounts, sometimes at cost price, and sometimes as a donation.

i had pick n pay donate a shoprider to someone a few yrs back, enervision to donate really good deep cycle batteries, and a myriad of other medical related products.

The trick is really simple
Firstly do the homework and find out which director of the company to approach - someone with empathy, regardless of their actual portfolio within the company.
Has to be done by phone - (email / text etc guaranteed to fail) person to person.
Then you prep them for what may seem like an incoming request for a kidney donation, but you are only asking for a donation of say, 2 tryes - the relief in their voice is palpable.
A third party needs to do this on behalf of the person needing assistance - for some reason advocating on behalf of another seem to work best.
But most importantly is the homework - who is the right person in the company to contact
Click to expand...
There was no testing done today, as soon as the sun relaxed a bit it started raining cats and dog, i am sure there was small bunnies in there as well.
Thank you very much, i will take you up on the offer, i must just get some $$ one side, and on a SASSA Disability that is not so fast,
 
Shopping trolley tyres will do the trick for the front of the wheel chair, and they're free if you hug a hobo
 
Auto X (Willard)donated two batteries to me for one of the staff members at work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X