Stella Turn Signal Replacement

The original 2-stroke Genuine scooter and its 4-stroke manual and automatic offspring

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ericalm
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Stella Turn Signal Replacement

Post by ericalm »

One of the first mods a lot of owners make to their Stellas is disabling or replacing their audible turn signal. The stock signal sounds like a truck back up alert—it's loud and as much a distraction as safety feature. Because I'm still adjusting to having the signals on the right grip, I need the reminder so decided to replace the stock one with a new buzzer.

Tools: Philips screwdriver, wire stripper/crimper, electrical tape, small flat screwdriver
Materials: 20-18 ga. crimp-on quick disconnects, 12v DC Piezo Buzzer
Cost: <$10
Time: 30 minutes or less

1. Open the glovebox and remove the 2 screws in the back which hold the horncast in place.
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2. In the front of the scoot, at the top of the horncast, carefully pry the Genuine emblem up and off and remove it. It's very easy to break this. I use a very thin flat screwdriver to gently pry the emblem up at the right side. Then insert the head of the screwdriver and gently push the tab in to release the emblem. (See second pic below).
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3. Unscrew the Phillips screw behind the emblem and remove the horncast.

4. The stock horn is located on the right side (if you're facing the scooter). If you just want to disconnect it (and not replace it), just disconnect the purple wire.

If you're replacing it, also pull the red/yellow wire.
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The buzzer is held onto a bracket with a pair of tapered rubber fasteners. You can remove the signal with some pliers, pulling the fasteners to stretch them then wiggling the buzzer off. If you want to pull the whole bracket, it may be easier; it's held in place with an 8mm nut at the bottom. This also holds a bracket for the brake line, so keep an eye on that.
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5. Crimp a pair of male connectors onto the ends of the wires on the replacement buzzer (below; also pictured is original buzzer).
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6. If you want to use the original fasteners on the bracket, you may need to use a 1/4" drill bit to widen the mounting hole on the buzzer.

7. Connect the new buzzer to the wires in the horncast. Black wire on the buzzer goes to the red/yellow wire in the; red wire connects to purple in the scoot. Test the buzzer before installing it into the scooter.
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8. Install the new buzzer using the original fasteners or bolting the signal onto the bracket. Tuck the wires back.
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9. Replace horncast and screw it all back in.

Now, the first time I did this I used a pulsating buzzer. Because the signal is already on a relay, it sounded a bit like I was strangling a duck and was a bit too loud. (If you use an alternating/pulsating buzzer, you can disable the relay, which is under the cowl by the battery.) I then replaced it with another signal that beeps, just not as obnoxiously as the original. Unfortunately, I tried to make it a bit quieter by wrapping some tape around it and made it too quiet. So, I'll probably go back in eventually and pulling some of that off.
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Last edited by ericalm on Tue May 10, 2011 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…
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ScootLemont
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Post by ScootLemont »

Thanks!!!
& GREAT step by step

Not sure if I am replacing or killing the buzzer... but yeah... stock it is way too loud especially at a quiet residential intersection
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Silver Streak
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Post by Silver Streak »

One word: Audicator.

Google it. Not cheap, but the best solution.
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ericalm
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Post by ericalm »

Silver Streak wrote:One word: Audicator.

Google it. Not cheap, but the best solution.
I'm familiar with this and have heard from others on MV that it's a good product. I'm just going with the less-intelligent/ghetto/$10 solution for now.

I don't have a buzzer in my LX and am pretty good about habitually turning the signals off. I'm still adjusting to having them on the right grip on the Stella and having the lights in different places on the gauge, etc.
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Post by siobhan »

ericalm, it's good for you to be switching around all the time. I've gotten to the point that I can ride anything without thinking about it. If I'm taking something different than I rode the day before, I do a quick "horn right" or "blinker right" outloud talk. Only once have I gone for a horn and turned on the brights! And it wasn't a big deal. I keep joking all we need is a Brit bike with the right-side shift and we'll have every possible set-up covered.

Mind you I was on a bike this weekend and the guy told me to stall it out as the kill-switch was broken and the key was impossible to get to because of the replacement bars he put on it. I stared at him, stared at the bike, and for the life of me had no idea how to stall it out. The funniest part was, I've stalled out bikes plenty of times when I didn't mean to!
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is there an even cheaper way?

Post by Lovelandstella »

this is all very helpful!
my original plan was to just cover the original with a bit of tape, make it quieter... is that a bad idea?
since I don't yet have my stella ;-) it's possible I'm underestimating the annoyance level of the stock buzzer. is it really so bad it makes you want to full on replace it and get a new one?
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Post by lmyers »

Personally, I LOVE the annoying tone. I only wish it was as loud as a Bajaj :)
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Re: is there an even cheaper way?

Post by ericalm »

Lovelandstella wrote:it's possible I'm underestimating the annoyance level of the stock buzzer. is it really so bad it makes you want to full on replace it and get a new one?
It really sounds like a truck backing up.

On the other hand, part of me just wanted to do it. :)
It's a new scoot with no performance parts available yet. I gotta tinker with something!
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Post by ScootLemont »

the stock signal beeper is really annoying me & I am going to do something this weekend....

has anyone put tape on the stock one to quiet it down?
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Post by ScootLemont »

I just put some tape over the stock alarm & it is much quieter (maybe too quiet)

Eric - the instructions are perfect - I WOULD have broken the genuine badge without your instructions & the photo - thanks!

Seems to me that moving the alarm into the glove box would be a good idea - but I dont want to hijack this thread with a tangent so I started a new one
topic16082.html
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Post by ericalm »

Sweet! Glad it was helpful. And moving it into the glovebox is a great idea!
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Post by Lovelandstella »

ScootLemont wrote:I just put some tape over the stock alarm & it is much quieter (maybe too quiet)

Eric - the instructions are perfect - I WOULD have broken the genuine badge without your instructions & the photo - thanks!

Seems to me that moving the alarm into the glove box would be a good idea - but I dont want to hijack this thread with a tangent so I started a new one
topic16082.html
well shoot! I wanted to do the tape method and not really the move the whole thing method so I;m discouraged to hear its almost too quiet.

how much tape did you use?
maybe I'll use thin strips or something.
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Post by ScootLemont »

I used one strip of 1/2" wide vinyl tape (similar to electrical tape)

My opinion is that with the stock buzzer, if you use tape or another way to quiet it down to the point that it is not annoying, then it is really not loud enough to hear when riding because it is on the wrong side of the leg shield

I think I am going to ride a while with the tape & if I find that I am forgetting & leaving a turn signal on, then I will move it inside the glove box
I dont see that being that difficult - just drill a small hole (& seal the paint) and mount it inside + that way you can easily add or remove tape to adjust the volume
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