Having a power wheelchair means that you can operate it electronically. Still, there may be times when you need to move the motorized wheelchair to transport it. To protect your power wheelchair and keep it in good condition, there are some good habits to follow to avoid damage to the wheelchair while moving it manually.
Your Quantum® Power Wheelchair is equipped with a manual freewheel lever mounted to each motor. The freewheel levers are easy to spot because they have a bright, yellow tip. Using these levers, you can disengage the drive motors, allowing you to push the wheelchair manually.
Using the wheelchair freewheel levers requires bending down, pushing and pulling. You may need assistance disengaging and reengaging the freewheel levers. Please ask a caregiver or loved one to operate the freewheel levers and push the power chair for you.
Turn Off the Power to Your Power Wheelchair
Before you disengage the drive motors on your power chair, it is important to turn off your electric wheelchair. If you don’t turn the power off, you may get an error message on your controller. If this error code appears, you can clear the error by turning off the controller and placing the electric wheelchair in drive mode. When you turn the controller on again, the error code should be gone. If it isn’t gone after turning on the controller again, there may be an issue. Please contact your authorized Quantum provider for service.
Operating the Freewheel Levers on Your Power Wheelchair
Once you’ve identified the yellow freewheel levers and made sure the power to the electric wheelchair is turned off, push down on both levers to put your chair in freewheel mode. The drive motors are now disengaged. Now, you can manually push or move the wheelchair. When you are done pushing or moving the wheelchair and are ready to reengage the drive motors, simply pull up on both manual freewheel levers. This puts the power wheelchair back in drive mode.
Things to Remember When Using the Freewheel Levers
When disengaging the motors on your wheelchair, avoid doing this on an incline. If you disengage the motors on a surface that is not level, your motorized wheelchair may roll on its own.
When your motorized wheelchair is in freewheel mode, the braking system is disengaged. When disengaging or reengaging your freewheel levers, be sure that the individual stands on one side of the motorized wheelchair and not directly in front or behind it.
Please be gentle with your freewheel levers. Applying excessive force could be harmful to the wheelchair’s freewheel levers, motors and brakes. Feet should not be used to move the freewheel levers into the desired position. Do not stand on top of the freewheel levers.
Do not use the freewheel lever handles as tie-down points to secure your motorized wheelchair during transport. This can also damage the freewheel levers, as well as the chair’s brakes or motors.
For more information on using your electric wheelchair’s freewheel levers and pushing your electric wheelchair, please consult the owner’s manual.
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