Segway Lithium battery pack fasteners ("bolts"): important information

The incredible range and performance of Segway Personal Transporters (PTs) is provided by a pair of large Lithium ion battery packs. Packed with 92 individual cells and advanced electronics that form an integral part of the Segway PTs Battery Management System (BMS), you can learn more in our article Segway Batteries - advanced technology developed together with Valance Technology. The batteries are attached to the Segway PT by cap-screw head fasteners (a Kiwi would probably call them "little bolts" in our local vernacular). From time to time you should remove them and check for corrosion. Here is a photo showing one example of how a fastener should look , and two examples of corroded fasteners - one slightly, one severely so. The yellow colouration at the end of each fastener is thread-lock compound. This prevents the fastener from vibrating loose. The brown and the orange colours are rust!

If the fasteners that attach your Segway Lithium battery packs don't look like the one on the left, then replace them immediately.

Regular checks are particularly important if you regularly use your Segway PT near salt water, or in other wet and damp conditions where the underside of the PT does not get regular opportunity to dry. If corrosion gets in, the fasteners can seize and become very difficult or impossible to remove. Removing seized fasteners can require tools that may seriously damage the battery pack and/or the PowerBase (i.e. the Segway platform). Each battery fastener has a small rubber O-ring around the underside of the head of the cap-screw. This O-ring ensures a water-tight seal that prevents moisture ingress and subsequent corrosion of the threaded shaft.

Visually inspect the O-ring to ensure it is not damaged. If it is, replace the fastener (do not re-use it).

If the O-ring becomes damaged or if the fastener is not tightened to the correct torque then moisture can leak up into the thread, causing corrosion and seizing. Leaking can occur if the fastener is under-tightened. The O-ring can be damaged by over-tightening. The correct torque to tighten the fastener to is 1.6 N-m. Replacement battery fasteners are available from Segway New Zealand, and come with thread-lock compound pre-applied. This is a circumstance where any old bolt will not do the trick. Here are instructions for the correct procedure for attaching the battery packs to your Segway PT.