Pimp an Electric Scooter (in Progress..)

A very nice friend gave me this broken electric scooter (probably just a dead battery). Since i have always wanted one from the moment i heard about them i was very happy! Doesn't matter if it's broken because that will just give me a good reason to take it apart and rebuild it like I want it.

I found a very similar model on ebay and youtube, the motor is somewhere around 100W. Pretty anemic yes. But hey, it's free anemia.

I'm thinking LiPoFe batteries, a charging docking station for my phone, a more powerful motor, storage space and of course a new look!

Step 1: Open Her Up!

Use what ever tools you need. I used a flat head screw driver on a multi-tool. It was inconvenient but got the job done.

1. Remove saddle post.
There was a button I needed to press in, very simple.

2. Remove top cover screws. 4 screws, one in each corner.

3. Remove battery and control box.
Both just needed to be disconnected and lifted out. A bit of old electrical tape around the connectors to keep them in place so they were pretty sticky.

4. Test battery.
I had no volt-meter at home so i went ghetto and simply shorted the battery for a moment. No spark=no power. Dead. (Don't short a battery unless you _really_ know what you are doing).

Step 2: Test Motor

I used a normal PC ATX power supply because it was the only thing powerful enough I had at home. If you do it like this follow these steps.

1. Cut of one connector from the power supply with at least one yellow (12V+) and a black cable (ground). I cut of a floppy connector because i don't have anything to connect it to anyway.

2. Strip the yellow and black wire. (use wire cutter, knife or teeth)

3. Hot-wire power supply. A ATX power supply need to have a grey wire grounded to give power. See picture. Grey->Black.

4. Connect black wire to motor

5. Power on power supply

6. Connect yellow wire to motor.

If you are a bit lucky like me the motor will turn a little before the power supply shuts down (temporarily). If you are not lucky the power supply will catch fire and explode after turning the motor for a second. If you are really not lucky the power supply will catch fire and not turn the motor at all.

Testing motor at 12V: Success!
For about 2 seconds. Power supply is to weak, over current protection activates

Testing motor at 5V: Success!
Power supply is strong enough. Motor is running even at this low voltage, slowly and weakly of course but steadily.

[UPDATE]
I got it running properly from the PSU, I had forgotten that the PSU need a load on the +5 to behave well. I connected (if I may call it that) a 12V halogen spotlight by poking the pins into the PSU connector. Seeing the wheel spinning i knew what it meant. I had to ride it. The problem with using a PSU to power it is that it wont work unless it's connected to an outlet. Enter extension cords.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6HhMRiKqBc

I had a blast driving around my apartment with a somewhere around 50W motor, it ran fine on a flat floor.

Step 3: Get Batteries

1. Measure available space for batteries. I didn't have anything to measure with so I used a credit card. I'ts 85.60 x 53.98 mm according to wikipedia.

Space for batteries:
Depth: 75 mm
Length: 257 mm
Width: 85 mm