Permobil Wheelchair Speed?

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BlsdMama

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PALS
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05/2017
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Cedar Rapids
So I got my wheelchair outside for the first time ever!! I thought my wheelchair was supposed to be speedy? 3mph is my top speed?

But I pressed a button or something tonight and not it will only go a top speed of 1.5 mph. What did I do and how can I fix it? I took it out tonight and I wondered if I could have beat me in my walker! 😂
 
On Permobil wheelchairs, there are typically two profiles. One is "Indoor" and the other is either "Outdoor" or "Normal". These names can be changed, so yours might be different. Also, I believe there can be more than two, but I have not yet seen a wheelchair configured that way.

The "Indoor" profile typically has a lower maximum speed. The "Outdoor" one typically has a higher max speed. You can change which one you are using and the way you make that change depends on the joystick you are using. It is harder to explain how to do this than to show you! Your user's manual should have a section on the joystick and its controls.

On the old style joysticks (there are several flavors), there is a Profile button. Pressing this toggles between those two profiles. On the new style joysticks you change it by moving one of the toggle switches.

There is a separate control that provides one of 5 separate speed ranges within each profile. On the old style joystick, you change the speed range by pressing one of the two buttons (left for slower and right for faster) directly above the joystick itself. If you have the lighting package, these will be between the left and right turn signal buttons. Otherwise, they are in a row by themselves.

If you have the new style joystick, you can change to the desired speed range with the right toggle switch.

It is hard for me to remember how to do this, because my wheelchairs are always set to the highest speed range of the "Outdoor" profile:).

Steve
 
we had a 'turtle' and 'hare' mode on our chair that limited the speed no matter how hard you pushed that joystick forward.
Wish my son had taken note when he played in it inside the house on hare mode ...
I'm thinking turtle is indoor mode 🤣
 
i was about to call permobil dealer to complain about a sudden loss of speed but discovered the chair was in the increased height mode. - i felt foolish !
 
i was about to call permobil dealer to complain about a sudden loss of speed but discovered the chair was in the increased height mode. - i felt foolish !
This might explain the Max of 1.5 last night. Hmm

It’s the Permobil F5 VS

The chair has a max speed of 7.5. I have two profiles set up - indoor (max of 1.5mph) and outdoor (max of 3 mph) and both show a turtle.

It looks like I need to add another profile where speed isn’t limited? Thoughts? I’ve had it for over a year, but haven’t had it out and about, so new tricks to learn! Thanks guys!
 

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Does your control look like mine? If so, like Tillie said, the turtle and hare control is above the joystick on the right. Push it up to increase speed, down to decrease. The on/off button is on the left and if you push it up that will toggle the profiles like Steve said.
 

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Nope. I have slow and fast buttons. I’ll take a picture when I get back but even when I push them to their max, they seem still limited by the profile and cannot go beyond that limitation?
 
thaanks ,Blessed Mama, for your thread. with discussions here i have tweaked my f5 to go faster than i have ever wanted or needed to go!
 
you might have to have the tech come back and adjust the settings.
 
If you have an amber turtle showing in the display, then it means the wheelchair thinks it is configured in such a way that it would be unsafe to operate at high speeds.

This can occur because one or more of the seat actuators is not in an acceptable range for the wheelchair to operate at full speed. This could be from the legrest being too high, the seat back being too reclined, the seat being too tilted, and/or the seat being elevated.

So, the first thing to do is to make sure that the seat is in a proper configuration for high speed travel.

It is also possible that there is a failure in one or more sensors that detects whether or not an actuator is out of range.

There are other switches in the chair that can affect the turtle. On my C500 vs, I had one that was not being properly closed when the wheelchair was not in the standing position. That caused the wheelchair to think I was in the standing configuration when in fact I was sitting down. This required a trip to the wheelchair shop to be repaired.

My recommendation is to move all the seat actuators through their full range of motion, one at a time. You might find a configuration that turns off the turtle. If that does not work, you will probably need to have a technician look at it.

I wish I was there to look at it for you!

Steve
 
Hi, Blsd. If you can look at or ask someone to show you the manual, there's probably a section for your controller.

I have the rabbit and turtle icons (M3) on the right-side toggle switch. On the display there should be an indicator of some kind that changes each time you push the switch toward one or the other icon. That is setting a range not making the chair advance, and the more indicators lit the faster the chair will go when the joystick is pushed.
I get to the indoor and outdoor speed ranges using the left-side toggle switch. Back is power off, and forward cycles among indoor, "Normal" (outdoor) and seat height. Be careful when experimenting - the higher speeds are too fast for indoors.
 
BlsdMama, how did you make out with the chair speed? If it's now working, what fixed it?

Regards,
 
I have gotten mine up to 6.7mph in a grocery store aisle. I have a lift but it needs to be completely low to achieve that speed. Permobile M3.
 
I regularly run my Permobil F5 (non VS) at 7.5 mph. Still feels too slow, though:).

Steve
 
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