Strange electrical behavior

Popejoeii · Joined: 18 Nov 2019 Posts: 5 Location: Denver **RH50**

THIS IS A CROSS-POST FROM THE RH FORUM, BECAUSE THAT FORUM GETS NO TRAFFIC. Sorry about that, and thanks to anyone who actually bothers reading it.

So, a couple weeks ago I bought a crashed RH50 from the city impound auction. Front forks mangled all to hell, few bits of destroyed plastic, figured it wouldn't be a bad investment for $250.
A set of $325 forks, some plastic bits new and used, new locks with keys, and some other little things, and all of a sudden I'm in for almost a grand so I hope this thing is as much fun as I've read. Lol.
I get almost everything back together, but before I do I start her up to make sure everything is good, and I discover a super weird electrical problem. Before anyone asks, not only did I search the forums but I also browsed through all 19 pages of the RH forum looking at posts for a problem like mine. I really did try.
First, the scooter will start just fine with the push button, but not at all with the kick-start.
Then, when running, none of the lights on the instrument panel work, nor the fuel gauge, blinkers or hazards, tail light or headlight. But the horn does, and so does the kill switch and speedo.
I looked around for a loose ground, but all I could find was the one by the voltage regulator and it was quite snug. I wouldn't expect it to be a battery problem because the electric starter turns over strong, but maybe the regulator or generator perhaps? Not sure where to go from here, all thoughts are appreciated.

Stanza · Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 3:37 pm Post subject:

Two days is not a long time to wait, this forum sometimes takes a day or two. Please see my response on your original post.

ucandoit · Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:45 pm Post subject:

I dread electrical problems, but remind myself to persevere. It's cool that you have rebuilt a lot of the scooter. Get a copy, if you haven't yet, of the electrical circuit pathways of the RH. You can probably get it off the RH site. That will help you figure out which wire goes to the horn, starter, lights, etc. Also, double check the main fuse. On the Buddy it is down by the battery. Even if it looks intact, it may have separated from either cap at the ends. This fooled me once because the fuse looked very intact, but it was actually broken under that little cap. I wasted a lot of time assuming the fuse was good. It controls a lot of things. You've done a lot of work so this info. is maybe obvious to you and not helpful. Don't give up on the Buddy site as there are some really good mechanics on this site.

ucandoit · Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:50 pm Post subject:

I forgot to mention that another site, 49ccScoot, has some very helpful scooter mechanics, too. They are about all kinds of scooters, not just 49cc.

JettaKnight · Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:41 pm Post subject:

Does the battery die?

Kind of sounds like a stator issue.