ES2: external better is overly discharged
 

hi guys,
while i wait for a response from segway i thought id ask here if anyone has had a similar experience as ive not been able to find any by googling.

basicly i ordered an external battery for my ES2 and fitted it last night.
the first thing needed was a firmware update. that ran through with no problems. but then all of a sudden the ES2 starts bleeping wildly and on the app a warning appears:

"External battery is overly discharged and not available to charge. Please replace battery. (46)"

i can see the external battery in the app. its firmware is now uptodate and the app is telling me its 20% full, although after going to work today and leaving it atached to the ES2 its come down to 2%

has anyone seen anything like this? im hopeing segway gets back to me soon!

Very strange, hope someone could help.

after a few weeks of waiting i get an email from paypal showing that segway have paid me back the money. no note from segway, nothing.
so i rang there "customer care" hotline and was promptly informed that if i wanted another one i would have to order it again.
oh well, second time lucky i guess.... wish me luck

so new battery arrived yesterday and i fitted it only to be met with a new error code:

„external battery protection borad is damaged. Please replaced battery (48)“

i restarted the scooter to see if that helps. scooter starts and no external betery is visable in the app. after starting i get asked by the app to do a firmware update

after firmware update is complete and es2 restarts... straight way the dreaded bleeping and the good old error code like before....

„external battery is overly discharged and not available to charge. Please replace battery. (46)“


back to square one. i guess i send it back and buy another one. third time luck i hope

cheers
g

The external battery, if it is lithium, should not be discharged below 20%. It should be stored for sale in a warehouse at around 50%. The charge circuits will see a battery below 20% as overly discharged and possibly damaged. Therefore, they will likely not charge it.

Maybe the scooter's charge circuit will slow charge it if left connected. Then when above 20 percent, kick into high charge rate. Stay home and monitor it if you try to charge it.

Odd, that Segway is letting batteries in warehouses get so low on charge. A disconnected battery should not discharge on its own except for very slowly over several years. Perhaps there is some built in smart circuit on the battery that is discharging it.

The only thing you can do is try another battery. Maybe try a battery straight from the Segway website to avoid suspect batteries?

same problem with my es2
 

i have exact same problem,but my battery did work for about a month before those same error codes..

i am actually buying direct from segway, twise now
my uneducated guess, is that they have been stored in a very cold warehouse.
anyway, segway tech suport told me they have passed my case on to their engineers and i should wait untill i hear from them.

"We are currently working on your problem. This can take up some time as we have forwarded your error description to our technician department.

In the next 1 to 3 days we will contact you again with the results.

We thank you for your understanding and wish you a nice day. "


so after 5 weeks of waiting and 3 ignored emails asking what is going on, ive just been given by segway germany, an email adress to some external company that aparantly now handles customer support and told to contact them from now on

this service ****ing sucks!!!!

so ive written to this new email address. lets see what happens.

still no answer from either segway or the new "customer service" company.

new try sent today.......

general
 

Seriously !
I hadn't heard this problem before.

Hope someone can help .
Wish you good luck.

I just ordered a used external battery from eBay. Is there some way I can be sure it's fully charged without connecting it to the scooter? If I simply store the battery without connecting it for a few weeks am I in danger of allowing the battery to discharge to unsafe levels? I didn't come with instructions, can I charge the battery on its own (not connected to the scooter) using the scooter power supply/charger ?

so after over 4 months, 2 separate bateries having to be sent back, 20 emails, i have a working battery!!!
and oh boy was the wait worth it. the acceleration now is insane! and going 30kmh is a bit scary!
anyway, CASE CLOSED!

Great to hear that your problem was resolved and even better to read your report about how much better you glide with the additional Ah...

So, do you believe that the problem was that when you installed a new factory battery, that the scooter sensed ot had a low charge and would not accept it as a good battery?

Was there anyway to perhaps put a charge on the external battery prior to connecting to the scooter?

*( I am newbie, although I have extensive knowledge about all things cool, I am only starting to learn SegWay )

As I was reading your tale... months and months of waiting, geeze... That was my initial impression. That the disparity of charge between the onboard battery and the newly installed battery was probably making the machine think that the new battery just couldn't take a charge, 'how else would an external battery be so deep in discharge', especially if the onboard battery was 100%

Another thing... Is this the standard customer respect that I should prepare to accept? Long waits for resolutions? Little to no response to my inquiries, and if any, they are not going to be forthcoming?

The questions I have been asking here (in fact the reason I searched this forum out) was due to no satisfaction from asking these questions from Tech Support

I am going to have a hard time chunking up that much coin to a company that gets around to answering my questions at their own leisure...
If I have a problem with this 'investment' I want PDQ solutions.

I have plans to take a mid week trip to Mount Dora, Florida. There is a Segway dealer there that also does the tour circuit. I figure I can ride one for a few hours and survey the sales climate.

I gotta say, that I am sure not used to being ignored and brushed aside when making a luxury purchase. And my first purchase is likely going to one of many for a fleet of aging airline pilots who have more money than their knees and ankles can carry around these airshows these days.

" Is this the standard customer respect that I should prepare to accept? "

YES. Segway is a very bad company. DO NOT BUY THEIR STUFF.

My ES2 $500 scooter failed after 3 months after LIGHT use (~30 miles of total use), due to their NEW firmware downloading via the iphone app and killing my unit. NO JOKE. They fixed it, but it took 6 months of emails and phone calls. INSANE.

The external battery which I later purchased at $250 failed after 5 charge cycles, but since I don't ride my scooter much, I never noticed it. The warranty is only for six months and they tell you to go away and they will not help you. This equipment is ALL Chinese TRASH !!!!!

If you are able, ONLY BUY this unit from COSTCO in the USA, since they will take it back and exchange it anytime. ALSO, BUY it with a VISA credit card which doubles your Segway warranty.