SEGWAY BATTERY COMPATIBILITY
FRI, 10/26/2012 - 2:50PM
Over the years Segway has gone through several changes in their battery technology. Early on P-series units use a non lithium ion (Li-ion) battery that is still available but for about 99% of people viewing this site the only change that will matter was the switch they made from nickel metal hydride (NIMH) to Li-ion.
This is perhaps the easiest trouble shooting task for someone to perform as it is completely visual. The older NIMH packs (right) are grey in color and the Li-ions are black. As you can see by looking at your Segway the bottom side of the platform is entirely battery so a quick glance will allow us to see what you have. The NIMH battery packs also have a different surface design than the Li-ion (left). Unfortunately you cannot mix and match battery technologies so if one of the NIMH packs goes bad youre stuck buying a pair of the Li-ion's. If you are one of the unfortunate customers that is stuck not only buying battery packs but also upgrading the software you will have to schedule for your machine to be sent to Segway either through Segway Parts USA or another dealer.
Earlier model Gen 1 units used NIMH batteries which are no longer available. Later model Gen 1's and all Gen 2 LeanSteer models use the Li-ion batteries. If you own an older unit still using the NIMH batteries and they go bad the PT must sent in to Segway for a software upgrade in order to be able to accept the newer Li-ion battery packs. There is no way around this if you want to have a functioning PT other than finding a working set of NIMH batteries, however, this is a difficult and risky task. Considering the age of these battery packs chances are if you can find one for sale it is either not working as advertised or is close to going out, landing you back where you started. Some companies offer rebuilt batteries but understanding what that means is another article which can be read about here. So how do we tell what kind of batteries we have on our Segway PT?
Lithium ion battery
For more trouble shooting on the subject of batteries please check back as we will have articles in the future that go over trouble shooting "how too's". If you have anymore questions on the issue we encourage you to send us an email before ordering as batteries are not an item that is returnable.
