Is It Safe To Ride My Electric Scooter In Light Rain?

Scooters are a convenient and cheap mode of transport that is quickly becoming popular however they do have limitations. While most scooters come with a water resistance rating it is NEVER safe to ride your scooter in any moist conditions. So how does that work? Water resistant but can't be used around water.... let me explain.

Anyone who's ridden a scooter for a while will notice that things will inevitable become loose. This is especially true for brand new scooters. A combination of factors including the forces at play while riding and vibration from small motors at high RPM are very effective at loosening bolts and other connections. For this reason most sellers recommend a "run in" service at around 100km giving them the opportunity to correct issues like loose bolts. After the initial run in period things will still work their way loose just not as fast.

Now, to water proof a scooter you must have tight seals using things like silicone or rubber gaskets. These seals are between parts that are held together by bolts, bolts come loose, seals are no longer tight and water can get in.

Regular maintenance is key to maintaining the water resistant ability of your scooter however its still not the be all and end all. 

There is a big difference between "water proof" and "water resistant". Water proof guarantees no water will get in up to a certain depth and time. Water resistant on the other hand means it can take a light mist or wipe down with a wet (not soaking) cleaning rag. NO scooter is water proof! 

A little light rain purely under the effect of gravity is different to a little light rain riding at speed. Water droplets under the influence of gravity only will run over most joins and seal without issue however when you are moving, air pressure adds an external force that can cause water to be pushed in-between seals and into the scooter. 

Yet another factor to consider is temperature change. Sealed environments such as decks and hub motors change in temperature dramatically between use and sitting idol. This in turn affects the air temperature inside also. When air heats up it expands so when you go from a cold start to hot from a big ride the air inside your scooter will increase in pressure and look for a way out. If the pressure increases enough or your seals are not up to scratch it will allow this hot air to escape. No big deal in most cases. The problem comes when riding in wet conditions, once you've finished riding the air inside will start to cool again. This causes the revers to happen, instead of increasing in pressure it will decrease and cause a vacuum. This vacuum has the ability to suck water droplets off a moist scooter inside so if your scooter gets wet while riding, dry it off as best as possible once you stop.

Once water gets into the electronics of your scooter it will cause all sorts of interesting (and devastating) effects.

Getting a large amount of water into one of the electrical components/areas is immediately obvious. Water will ultimately make contact with live wires and cause a short that will shut down the scooter.

In most cases a small amount of water won't be noticed at first leading most people to believe that it's ok to ride in the rain. Unfortunately this is not the case, as hard as it is for water to get in its just as hard to get out. A small amount of water inside (if it doesn't directly contact major electrical components) will evaporate from the heat during use causing a humid environment that inevitably covers everything with a fine layer of condensation as it cools post-use. This process repeats over and over until one of two things happens.

The first possibility is effectivly the same as getting a lot of water in the scooter. The condensation accumulates on a major electrical component causing a short that will shut down the scooter.

An electrical short (which can be caused by many things other than water) trips the safety system in the Battery Management System (BMS), a kind of self resetting circuit breaker. In most cases the BMS catches it early resulting in immediate shut down however sometimes the short causes major damage and the scooter will require immediate repair to be revived.

When a short has occurred due to water and it hasn't caused major damage, most of the time, once dry the scooter will work as normal. Its the old "leave your wet mobile in a bag of dry rice overnight" trick Yes it will resolve the immediate problem of it not turning back on and you may think your out of the woods, unfortunately not. This brings us to the second possibility and the real (silent) killer.

Possibility number 2. So either the scooter has had a short and dried to spring back to life or only a small amount of water has gone in unnoticed. Water is not pure, even falling from the sky it contains impurities, once it makes contact with your scooter more chemicals and minerals are added via dust and residual maintenance chemicals. When the scooter dries out the pure H2o evaporates but a microscopic film of impurities remain. Over the coming days, weeks or even months these impurities cause corrosion to start growing. Electrical corrosion can be easily identified by its green or white crusty powder like growths. These growths have the ability to conduct electricity so if enough accumulates between two connections it can cause power to go where it shouldn't or cause a short. Power going where it shouldn't causes things like lights to go on or off at will as well as many other strange effects. 

Corrosion will also eat through wire connections and even travel up wires under the plastic covering. It is a cancer that will continue to grown until ultimately the scooter will cease working altogether. 

As if all that wasn't reason enough to stay out of the wet here's the kicker. A major short can be easily diagnosed, corrected and the scooter revived without too much cost (unless it's in a major component like the battery). What can't easily be identified is where water has and hasn't been in contact short term after drying. This means when it comes to water damage it really is a gamble. Without replacing all electronics at a cost in excess of a replacement scooter there is no way of gurenteeing that once a major short has been resolved more issue may pop up. As stated previously this may be in as short a time as a few days or as long as months after the damage/repair. 

In summary NO scooter is safe to have near ANY moisture whatsoever. I will not ride in fog, wet grass, or just after rain. Ive seen everything from Segway scooters to wolf king GTs severly water damaged and its never enjoyable to explain to the owner. Don't do it... it's just not worth the risk. 

Hopefully this has been enlightening to some extent. Be sure to check out our other articles for more helpful information and tips.

As usual the information in these articles is based on the experiences I've had over my years working in the scooter industry. While I may be knowledgeable I do not consider myself an expert by any stretch. I do my best to keep information accurate however if you believe I am wrong, have your own point to add or even just want to share a story then be sure to let me know in the comments section.