Power wheelchair switches off and shows two red lights flashing

[risina79]

TL;DR

Same problem with two brand new wheelchairs, Invacare and Sunrise medical

Hi,
I would like to hear if someone had similar experience. I got a brand new Invacare wheelchair last year which started to show an error after I was driving outside on a warmer day. After being outside for many hours with the wheelchair resting many times, the wheelchair started to switch off on its own and show error, two red lights flashing like in the video. After this happened for 3 times and Invacare could not find the problem, I returned the wheelchair and got a Sunrise Medical Q300. I have it for 2 months and yesterday since the weather was nice and warm I went for a longer walk and I got exactly the same error. My battery level was 57 % when the issue occurred.
What this might be? My husband also in a power wheelchair, was with his Sunrise Medical Quicki M2, which is older wheelchair and none of these 4 times I experienced the problem on a warm day he got any issues with his wheelchair. Is it possible to be some feature on the new wheelchairs that creates this issue?
My feeling is that there is some oveheating system in the new wheelchairs that is set too sensitive and that's why I am getting such problems? Any similar experiences? Thanks!

 

[berkeman]

Welcome to PF.

TL;DR Summary: Same problem with two brand new wheelchairs, Invacare and Sunrise medical

the wheelchair started to switch off on its own and show error, two red lights flashing

What does the Owner's Manual or the Manufacturer say that the error code indicates? Is it an overtemperature in the motor or battery perhaps?

Are you traveling on flat ground when this happens, or traveling on hilly ground?

 

[risina79]

The manual says "The left hand motor has a bad connection. Check the connections to the left hand motor." But the motor connection was checked, also the whole motor has been replaced on the first wheelchair, but the problem persisted. The Invacare representative was clueless, he initially said the system needed update, then he said its the motor and replaced it, but when the issue repeated he said lets put bigger batteries that will solve it.
Out of 4 times, 3 times it happened on a hilly ground and once on a flat ground. This is now on my second brand new wheelchair, different brand and model, but still it behaves the same. On a hill it suddenly stops and shows two red lights flashing. After that it is driving slowly.

 

[sophiecentaur]

If you can't get any joy from the suppliers then I'd be inclined to approach other wheelchair users and see what their experiences are of using chairs in your particular district. Your own 'Which Report" could be a good source of useful info.

The problem with asking PF for this sort of advice is that the members who answer would be experienced DIYers with loads of know how and equipment. Some so called 'service engineers' may have little of either. Make a proper fuss with the suppliers and demand a solution.

 

[Tom.G]

The chair may be in "Lockout Mode." That is a mode that keeps kids and others from using it without knowing the Unlock code. See if the user manual lists a Lockout Mode.

Here is a youtube video that demonstrates it for two different chairs (not yours though).
(Found with:
https://www.google.com/search?&hl=en&q=sunrise+medical+q300+wheelchair+"flashing+red+lights"+site%3Ayoutube.com)



Cheers,
Tom

p.s. I found the manual for the QUICKIE Q300 M Mini Power which mentions that chairs that have a power seat have a "Creep Mode" under some conditions (pg. 14).

 

[risina79]

If you can't get any joy from the suppliers then I'd be inclined to approach other wheelchair users and see what their experiences are of using chairs in your particular district. Your own 'Which Report" could be a good source of useful info.

The problem with asking PF for this sort of advice is that the members who answer would be experienced DIYers with loads of know how and equipment. Some so called 'service engineers' may have little of either. Make a proper fuss with the suppliers and demand a solution.

sophiecentaur Thank you very much for your response. I am new to this forum, will look and find my way to "Which Report".

 

[risina79]

The chair may be in "Lockout Mode." That is a mode that keeps kids and others from using it without knowing the Unlock code. See if the user manual lists a Lockout Mode.

Here is a youtube video that demonstrates it for two different chairs (not yours though).
(Found with:
https://www.google.com/search?&hl=en&q=sunrise+medical+q300+wheelchair+"flashing+red+lights"+site%3Ayoutube.com)



Cheers,
Tom

p.s. I found the manual for the QUICKIE Q300 M Mini Power which mentions that chairs that have a power seat have a "Creep Mode" under some conditions (pg. 14).

Hi, thank you for looking into it. The wheelchair stops while I am driving, so it wont be the lock mode. I looked at the videos and does not seem to be the same issue.

 

[sophiecentaur]

sophiecentaur Thank you very much for your response. I am new to this forum, will look and find my way to "Which Report".

Sorry, you misunderstood. We don't have a "which report"; I was suggesting that you compile your own, based on usage by local people. None of the producers can be relied on to give worst case performance figures for very hilly regions.

Out of 4 times, 3 times it happened on a hilly ground and once on a flat ground. This is now on my second brand new wheelchair, different brand and model, but still it behaves the same.

Ye gods. I hope you didn't have to pay for the replacement; they are pricy.

This is strange. It makes me wonder what knowledge your supplier has about these machines. They may just be 'box shifters', only interested in selling and not in the products they sell. I have experience (in an entirely different matter) of suppliers knowing nothing of the stuff they supply. If you want info on a wide range of situations then I suggest you try googling 'wheelchair user groups' or similar . It can take a lot of looking but google often helps you to home in on what you want if you repeat searches. You could always use the model number (both machines???) in your searches. Good luck.

 

[surgicalfpv]

The joystick is locked, which is a security feature. You can try following the instructions on this DIY forum for scooter and wheelchair users: https://www.mobilityscootersdirect.com/forum/topic/how-to-unlock-your-power-wheelchair-joystick/