How to fix your hoverboard

Why won’t my hoverboard won’t turn on? 

How to fix your hoverboard when it won’t turn on

Your hoverboard is all charged up and ready to go but you turn it on and it either turns on and then shows a low battery after only a couple of minutes or it doesn’t turn on at all. Here are a few things you can try.

1 - Plug the charger in again. Does the light on the charger stay green or go red? If it stays green then your charger thinks the battery is full. It should go to red for at least a couple of minutes to top the battery up even if it’s fully charged so if it stays green when you plug it in you may have a bad battery charger.  If you have a friend with a hoverboard ask them to borrow their charger and see what it does. If it acts the same, the light on your hoverboard charger stays green, then it sounds like there is a problem with your hoverboard motherboard or battery. If the light on the new charger turns red and stays red for several minutes then maybe your charger is defective. Let your hoverboard charge until the light on the charger goes to green and give it a try. If it was a bad hoverboard charger it should take a couple of hours to fully charge your battery.

2 - But we have also seen another situation that can act the same way. Sometimes the charge port on the hoverboard has a locator tab that’s not big enough and then you can plug the charger into your hoverboard and have it so that it’s turned the wrong way. Even though it’s plugged in it’s not charging. To check this unplug the charger and have a look inside the charge port. There should be 3 pins and on the plastic plug you should be able to see the locator tab. Now look for the slot on the charger cord and line it up so that it will match up to the tab. Plug it in and see what happens. If the light turns red and stays red that was probably all that the problem was. The tab inside the charge port is supposed to prevent you from plugging it in the wrong way but the charger is made by one company and the charge port is made by another company and sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned. The good news is that plugging your charger in wrong won’t hurt your hoverboard or cause any damage or danger. The charge port has three terminals but there are only wires connected to two of them so even if it’s turned the wrong way it won’t cause any damage.

3 - If the charger isn’t the problem the you probably have a fault inside the hoverboard. You can easily get access to the battery by removing the bottom cover from your hoverboard. There are about 7 screws on each side of the case that you can take out. Then locate the battery. It is usually in a blue plastic cover and is the largest part inside of the case so it should be easy to find. It will have a two pin connector on it and you need to unplug the connector and check the voltage using a voltmeter. A fully charged battery will have between 36 volts and 42 volts. If the voltage is less than this and you have confirmed that the charger is working properly then it sounds like you need a new battery.

4 – If the charger works and the battery is OK then you may have a defective motherboard. Diagnosing a defective hoverboard motherboard is a process of elimination. Although this is not the last step in diagnosing a hoverboard that will not turn on it is the most likely next probable cause. Continue through the next few steps and if there are no other problems then replacing the motherboard is your next step in repairing your hoverboard that won’t turn on.

5 – Have a look at the wiring inside your hoverboard and pay attention to the charge port wiring and where it plugs into the motherboard. Make sure it is plugged in properly. It’s also a good idea to unplug it and plug it back in and see if your hoverboard will charge. If this is OK then there is only one more thing to check before replacing the motherboard.

6 – Check your hoverboard for trouble codes. If you don’t know how to find out the trouble codes on your hoverboard then you should contact us and we can tell you how to check the trouble codes on your hoverboard. If your hoverboard does have a trouble code then it needs to be fixed and your problem should be solved.

Now you know how to repair your hoverboard if it won’t turn on.

My hoverboard shakes. What can I do to fix it?

This can be caused by

1 – The rider being too light

2 – The sensors not being engaged enough

3 – The sensors being engaged even when you’re not on the hoverboard

4 – A defective side board (which includes the sensors)

Here is what to do to stop your hoverboard from shaking, no matter of the cause.

Let’s start with when your hoverboard shakes while you are riding it. If your hoverboard shakes and vibrates when you are riding it then it means that the sensors are only being partially depressed and the motherboard doesn’t know if you are actually pushing on the sensor or not. The tab that engages with the sensor is only partially breaking the sensor causing it to freak out.

The first thing that can cause this is a rider that is too light for the hoverboard. Most hoverboards are rated to operate with as little as 20kg (44 pounds) But at this weight it sometimes isn’t enough to push the tab down far enough to operate the sensor properly. Sometimes if you move your feet to the outside of the hoverboard foot pads all the way it will be enough to make a difference. This is the first thing that you should try because it the easiest and doesn’t require taking your hoverboard apart. A very small rider might look like they are riding it with their legs spread far apart but once they get used to riding this way they will find that it’s not a problem.

              Now if the rider is well over the rated minimum weight of 44 pounds and the hoverboard shakes while you are riding it then the position of the sensors may be off from the factory. This isn’t that hard to fix but it does require that you disassemble your hoverboard. You will need to take the screws out that hold the covers on so that you can get access to the tabs. One you have it apart you can find the screws that hold the plunger in place and remove them. Add a small piece of thick paper between the screw and the hoverboard to shim it closer to the sensor. You will probably have to do all three screws on both tabs and you might need to adjust both sides. This is a kind of trial and error to see how far you need to adjust it to get it to work with the rider that normally rides the hoverboard but once you have it adjusted properly you will be amazed by how well it works.

              So now let’s talk about why your hoverboard might shake, vibrate and spin around violently when you get off of it. You will find articles online about it being caused by a vacuum that is created causing the sensor to stick but unless you have one of the very early hoverboards this is unlikely to be your problem as all the plungers now have vent slots so that air can’t get trapped causing this problem. More likely the cause of your hoverboard spinning and vibrating when you get off of it is because the sensor tabs are too long and stay engaged when you get off. This is easy to fix but again requires you to take your hoverboard apart. Once you have it apart you can trim about 1/8 of an inch from the rubber plungers so that they no longer interact with the sensor when there is no weight on the hoverboard. But before you take it apart watch which side is acting up when you get off and that will be the side to trim. The plungers are easy to trim with scissors or a sharp knife. Just be careful not to cut yourself. Once you put it back together hop on and give it a try to make sure it no longer vibrates and shakes when you get off.

              Those are the two main reason why your hoverboard would shake, vibrate or spin out when you ride it or get off of it. Now I’m not saying that it’s not possible that you don’t have a defective side board (the sensor) but more times than not one of the above listed two repairs will solve your shaking hoverboard problems.

Recalibrating the hoverboard

If you notice that the wheels do not operate in sync and that you have to press on one side more than the other or that they don’t seem to be responding properly usually recalibrating the board will solve the problem. Now this won't fix every board but it does fix many issues. To recalibrate your hoverboard you simply set the board on a level surface and follow this procedure.

1.       Make sure the board is level and the foot pads are even. Setting it cross ways on the shipping box works well for this.

2.       Start with the board turned off

3.       While everything is level press and hold the power button for 5 - 10 seconds.

4.       The board will beep and the lights will flash.

5.       Release the button.

6.       Turn the board off and back on.

7.       Your board is now calibrated and it's ready to go.

Take it for a test drive, if it still does not feel right try to calibrate it again. If the condition does not improve please call us for help with diagnosing it.

One other thing you should be cautious about. When calibrating your hoverboard DO NOT press either foot pad. If you press the foot pads while in the process of calibrating it, it may damage your motherboards.