scooter shut off during ridding!

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wmbg.pamp
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scooter shut off during ridding!

Post by wmbg.pamp »

i looked around and didn't find anyone talking about this... i am sure i missed it but anyway... i was hoping someone out there could maybe offer me some insight, tonight i kinda had a funny thing happen. i was leaving my shift at the coffee shop and went out side a few minutes before i was going to be ready to ride off and started the scooter. well i got all geared up hopped on and off i went as usual.. only this time after traveling only about 200 ft. the head light dimmed and scooter shut off. i was heading down hill toward a stop sign so i stopped and re-started then continued on. there seemed to be no farther problems.
i was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what might have been going on?
thanks so much
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armacham
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Post by armacham »

did you hit the kill switch accidentally?
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

Most likely vapor lock, or you hit the kill switch by accident.
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Eazy
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Post by Eazy »

Is it a stella?
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Lostmycage
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Post by Lostmycage »

Depending on when it was last serviced, you may need to adjust the idle. With this colder weather, the throttle cable might have worn a little loose with both break-in and the temperature shift. This happened to me a few times.

If you're looking straight down at the carb through the access door, the brass screw that's on the right side of the carb (it's attached to some linkages which the cable connects to) is the screw you're looking for. Try 1/4 turn clockwise to increase the throttle just a little, it might do the trick.

Of course, it could just be a random fluke. Mine did this to me as well (on my Blur, which is basically the same engine) and a little adjustment and I've never had it happen again.

Let us know what happens.
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chicagoscooterclub
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Post by chicagoscooterclub »

what kind of scooter...does it have a Choke...did you leave it on?
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

If everyone can read, he states he owns a 150 pamplona :wink:
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chloefpuff
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Post by chloefpuff »

This happened to me when I rode to work on a cold morning (32 degrees F.) It cut out on me twice, once in front of a turning bus. The consensus was that it wasn't warmed up enough/needed idle adjusted for cold weather riding.
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Post by jfrost2 »

I took off a bit early before letting it warm up properly last night around 9PM, frost was on the seat when I went out. I should have let it warm up more, when I tried getting into Higher rpm's it stalled a bit until finally I heard the engine zoom up in the rpm's and act normal again.
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wmbg.pamp
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Post by wmbg.pamp »

jfrost2 wrote:If everyone can read, he states he owns a 150 pamplona :wink:
actually i am a chick and yes it is a pamplona 8)
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

+1 on the idle setting. Mine pu-pu-puuu stopped a couple times yesterday both coming and going to work, but started right back up each time. i'm no scooter scientist, but it was the coldest day yet.
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Post by Vic »

If it continues and the excellent suggestions here do not help, you might be afflicted with the dreaded Stator problem.

The first time mine died it happened exactly like you described, started right back up again and we were fine. Next day, it died again, started after a fe minutes. Then died again and started again later. For my scoot, it is an intermittent problem, but we are nearly certain it is a bad stator.

I am still recovering from what has been dagnosed as PBSD (post-breakdown stress disorder) which is characterized by a sense of dread at the thought of getting stuck again by the side of the road, hypervigilence and being stressed out every time your engine makes the slightest hiccough or even at dips in the road, and not wanting to ride your scooter without a truck capable of giving you a tow within 50 feet of your rear rack. :lol:

Take it easy out there and good luck! I sincerely hope it is NOT a bad stator.

-v
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

i hope it's not the stator as well, i think lisalisa is still waiting on hers to arrive. she's been down for a couple weeks.
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Post by LisaLisa »

:cry:
Det finns inte dåligt väder bara dåliga kläder.
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wmbg.pamp
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Post by wmbg.pamp »

well thank you for all the advice. it happened again today and being a tech novice i might just be taking it to chelsea at scoot richmond for a little visit.

thanks for the info thought!!!
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

How much gas was in your tank? Could be vapor lock. If it shutting off right away and just dying? Or it it stalling and then dying?
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wmbg.pamp
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Post by wmbg.pamp »

full tank... and it starts fine then putters and shuts off...
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

Sounds more like vapor lock than a bad stator to me.

There could be a list of issues:

Vapor Lock (most common, everyone gets it when they first buy a new bike)
Spark plug not igniting gasoline properly
Slight clog or gum in the fuel delivery system
Bad idle set

Remember when you fill the tank up, to keep it 2-3 inches from the neck, DO NOT FORCE gas into it. If you do, gas will go into the vapor recovery tube, be delivered into a charcoal canister, and choke and sputter until dead, then it may take a minute or start right back up.
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

if the tank is excessively full, it might be the vapor lock problem, if this is your problem, you will most likely see gas leaking out onto the exhaust pipe area. there is a simple fix for this. if your tanks is virtually empty, i don't put more than 1.1 gallons in there, and you should also drill out the gas cap, i can't find the original post where someone posted picture of the drilled whole, i found one post where i copied the image of the top part of the cap:

Image

does anyone remember that post, i suspect it was eric or one of the moderators that posted the pictures of the cap since they are hosted directly on the files section of the domain.

anyway if i remember correctly using a 1/16 drill bit put a hole as in the above picture and one in the bottom of the cap. incidently, if you drill and then continue to overfill, you'll still have the problem. the gas will splash around and block the holes, pressure builds, shut off....
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

If you own a 2009 buddy, no need to drill the gas cap. But the overfilling problem will always happen to any bike if you put gas up to the rim.
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Post by eldoroddo »

My '09 gas cap needed to be drilled.
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jfrost2
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Post by jfrost2 »

Genuine claims all 09's come with a new style gas cap that require no drilling, havent seen one for myself, but I guess drilling wont hurt.
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Lostmycage
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Post by Lostmycage »

vapor lock tends to happen in hotter weather unless I'm mistaken. I've personally never had an issue with Vaporlock. Ever.

Have them check the idle and tell Chelsea I said Hi... and I want my Blur parts, lol.

Any recommendations for places to visit in Williamsburg? I'll be down there this weekend with my wife for a little get-away.

Let us know how it works out and what the issue ends up being in case it's a new issue.
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Post by eldoroddo »

jfrost2 wrote:Genuine claims all 09's come with a new style gas cap that require no drilling, havent seen one for myself, but I guess drilling wont hurt.
After a few miles of riding the next day after taking delivery, I unscrewed the cap and was met with a pressurized blast of gasoline. Did the cap mod in about 90 seconds. All is good for now.
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

Lostmycage wrote:vapor lock tends to happen in hotter weather unless I'm mistaken.
it happened to me last week in 50 degree weather, but it was own dumb fault for not paying attention when i was pumping the gas, and overfilling. :evil:
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broke
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Post by broke »

verdecalavera wrote:...if this is your problem, you will most likely see gas leaking out onto the exhaust pipe area.
I am quite positive that my problem was vacuum lock and quite certain that I've overfilled many times, yet have never seen the gas leak out. I know where to look and have tried to catch it, but have never seen this. FYI

verdecalavera wrote:i can't find the original post where someone posted picture of the drilled whole
Here is a link to the post indexed to the original photos:
viewtopic.php?t=4628&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=64
(and you can find this post linked from Eric's "VAPOR LOCK" thread in the technical forum.)
verdecalavera wrote:i found one post where i copied the image of the top part of the cap:

Image
And here is the other photo in that thread:
Image
BTW, the officially modified gas caps from Genuine have the top-most hole of the cap ACTUALLY drilled UNDERNEATH the top shiny (nickel?) plated part of the cap. The trick is to get one hole INSIDE the rubber seal, and get the other hole OUTSIDE the rubber seal. They picked a location outside the rubber seal, but still under the top piece of the cap. It still allows air to bypass the rubber seal, and won't raise as much suspicion at your friendly local DEQ station!
verdecalavera wrote:incidently, if you drill and then continue to overfill, you'll still have the problem. the gas will splash around and block the holes, pressure builds, shut off....
I actually do not believe this is true. With a vent in the cap, no pressure can build.
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Spinergy
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Post by Spinergy »

It's not pressure building, just the opposite, vacuum. As broke said ^ if the cap is vented/ drilled properly this shouldn't happen at all.
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

Spinergy wrote:It's not pressure building, just the opposite, vacuum. As broke said ^ if the cap is vented/ drilled properly this shouldn't happen at all.
it happened to me and my cap is drilled. but as i said, i way over-filled to the tip-top. but i think you are right that if you don't overfill and the cap is drilled properly, then you shouldn't have this problem again. main thing is to pay attention when filling, duh me!
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broke
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Post by broke »

verdecalavera wrote:it happened to me and my cap is drilled. but as i said, i way over-filled to the tip-top.
Hmmm. That is interesting. I wonder if the carb. pulls air in through the vapor canister as well? So your overfilling flooded your canister and the carb. couldn't get air...

nah, that would cause a problem even trying to get the bike started... let alone stalling while you are riding. vacuum lock will happen while you are riding long enough to drain a reasonable portion of your tank.
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verdecalavera
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Post by verdecalavera »

it started back up but was dripping gas. so i assumed it was the vapour lock problem as i had pre-drilling.

having said that, i'd be kidding myself if i actually thought i knew anything about the mechanics of the scooter beyond put gas in, turn kill switch to on, turn key to on, pull brake, hit starter, twist throttle. go to destination, turn kill switch to off, turn key to off, :lol:
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