Service guide
An electric pallet jack is a simple machine, and most of what goes wrong with one is slow wear that nobody looked at. This checklist sets out what to check every shift, every week, every month and every year, for pedestrian and stand-on pallet trucks with lead-acid or lithium batteries.
Always follow the manual for your model. Before any work under the truck, lower the forks fully, switch off the key, press the emergency stop and disconnect the battery.
Every shift: the operator’s two-minute check
Done by the person who drives the truck, before the first pallet.
- Battery charge. Read the battery indicator. Do not start a shift on a nearly flat lead-acid battery.
- Emergency stop. Press it and confirm the truck will not drive or lift. Release it.
- Horn and belly button. The reverse safety button on the tiller head must stop the truck and drive it back from the operator.
- Brake. Move the tiller to the top and to the bottom: the truck must brake in both positions. Let go of the tiller: it should rise and the truck should stop.
- Lift and lower. Raise and lower the empty forks once. Listen for unusual pump noise and watch for jerky movement.
- Wheels and forks. Look for chunks missing from the drive or load wheels, string or shrink wrap wound round the axles, and bent or cracked forks.
- Leaks. Look at the floor where the truck stood overnight. A drop of hydraulic oil today is a failed seal next month.
Any failed item: take the truck out of use and report it. A pallet truck with a weak brake is not a minor fault.
Every week
- Clean the truck. Blow out dust and remove film, straps and paper from the wheels and fork rollers. Wrap round a load wheel axle is the single most common cause of worn wheels.
- Lead-acid batteries: check the electrolyte. After a full charge, the level should be above the plates. Top up with distilled water only, never acid. Clean any white deposits off the terminals.
- Lithium batteries: no water to add. Check the connector and cable for damage and that the battery locks firmly in place.
- Charger and cable. Check the charging plug and cable for cuts, burns and loose pins.
- Tiller return. The tiller should spring back up firmly. A slow return is a weak gas spring.
Every month, or about every 200 operating hours
- Wheels. Measure the drive wheel and load wheels against the new diameter. Polyurethane wheels that have flattened or delaminated cause vibration and wear the bearings.
- Lubrication. Grease the pivot points of the fork linkage, the push rods and the tiller pivot. Use the grease specified in the manual.
- Hydraulic oil level. With the forks fully lowered, check the oil in the pump unit tank. Top up with the hydraulic oil grade in the manual.
- Fasteners. Check the bolts on the drive unit, the tiller and the wheel mountings.
- Electrical connections. With the battery disconnected, check the main cables, the contactor terminals and the fuse holder for loose or overheated connections. Discoloured terminals are a warning sign.
- Brake air gap. On electromagnetic brakes, check the gap against the manual. A gap that is too wide gives a weak brake.
Every year, or about every 2,000 operating hours
A job for a trained technician.
- Change the hydraulic oil and clean the tank filter.
- Check the drive unit gearbox for leaks and change the gear oil if the manual requires it.
- Inspect the drive motor: brushes on DC motors, bearings and cable insulation on all motors.
- Check the forks for cracks, especially at the heel, and the fork tips for wear.
- Read the controller’s fault log. Repeated codes point to a problem before it stops the truck.
- Test the battery capacity. A lead-acid battery that no longer lasts a shift may have one weak cell rather than being worn out.
- Carry out any statutory inspection your country requires for lifting equipment.
Battery care, the part that saves the most money
The battery is the most expensive single component on an electric pallet jack, and the way it is charged decides how long it lasts.
- Lead-acid: charge fully, ideally once a day at the end of the shift, and let the charge finish. Avoid running the battery completely flat and avoid short top-up charges during breaks. Keep the electrolyte topped up.
- Lithium: opportunity charging during breaks is fine and normal. Store the truck partly charged, not empty, if it will stand for weeks.
- Use the charger supplied for that battery. A charger meant for another chemistry or voltage shortens battery life.
For the cost side of the choice, see lead-acid or lithium: the five-year cost.
Wear parts worth keeping on the shelf
For a fleet, or for a dealer, these few parts prevent most of the long stops:
- Drive wheel and load wheels, with bearings
- Main contactor and main fuse
- Emergency stop switch and key switch
- Tiller gas spring
- Hydraulic seal kit for the lift cylinder
- A spare charger, or at least a charging plug
When something does fail, start with our guide to why an electric pallet jack stops lifting.
Copy this checklist
| When | Who | Check |
| Every shift | Operator | Charge, emergency stop, belly button, brake, lift and lower, wheels, forks, leaks |
| Every week | Operator or supervisor | Clean wheels, battery water (lead-acid), charger and cable, tiller return |
| Every month | Maintenance | Wheel wear, grease points, hydraulic oil level, bolts, electrical connections, brake gap |
| Every year | Technician | Hydraulic oil, gearbox, motor, forks, fault log, battery capacity, statutory inspection |
Every Accelift truck ships with its operating manual and service intervals for that model. If you are a dealer or fleet owner and need the manual or a parts list for one of our trucks, contact us.