Modern Buddy

I have a 02 Vespa ET4 with only 1400 miles on it in,,,Took it for a ride the other day and then parked in garage. Now it won't start.. lights horn all work strong but I get nothing. Won't even kick start. Any ideas? It has that anti theft device on this model and the light on dash blinks as usual until you start the scooter. Ignition fuses are Ok. What is this vapor lock I hear about? Could that be the cause??

Kill switch?

PCM wrote:I have a 02 Vespa ET4 with only 1400 miles on it in,,,Took it for a ride the other day and then parked in garage. Now it won't start.. lights horn all work strong but I get nothing. Won't even kick start. Any ideas? It has that anti theft device on this model and the light on dash blinks as usual until you start the scooter. Ignition fuses are Ok. What is this vapor lock I hear about? Could that be the cause??

I would also put the same question to the Modern Vespa (MV) forum.

Bill in Seattle
'14 matte green Hooligan

Have you tried the kickstarter?

PCM wrote:Won't even kick start. Any ideas?

az_slynch wrote:Have you tried the kickstarter?

Dooglas wrote:

PCM wrote:Won't even kick start. Any ideas?

az_slynch wrote:Have you tried the kickstarter?

Yeah, derp...it's been a day. Now you've got me wondering what other bad support advice I gave today?

PCM, better suggestion now...check to make sure the spark plug cap is firmly clipped onto the sparkplug.

PCM wrote:I have a 02 Vespa ET4 with only 1400 miles on it in,,,Took it for a ride the other day and then parked in garage. Now it won't start.. lights horn all work strong but I get nothing. Won't even kick start. Any ideas? It has that anti theft device on this model and the light on dash blinks as usual until you start the scooter. Ignition fuses are Ok. What is this vapor lock I hear about? Could that be the cause??

I'm assuming the engine is cold, but vapor lock is usually caused by an overheated fuel system.

Check the basics first: spark and fuel

Pull the sparkplug, put the ignition lead on it, press the body of the sparkplug on a bare metal part of the engine, then crank it over with the electric starter. You should see a nice fat spark across the sparkplug terminals. Be careful to not electrocute yourself in the process. Not necessarily fatal, but unpleasant none the less.

Couldn't find any information on whether your Vespa uses a carburetor or if it's fuel injected, but if it has a carburetor, you can check the float bowl for fuel by removing the float bowl drain screw. If it's fuel injected, I'm not sure how you check for fuel flow other than disconnecting the sparkplug lead, cranking the engine over for a few seconds, then checking to see if the sparkplug is wet.

Since your Vespa is 13 years old and has only 1400 miles on it, it's spent a lot of time just sitting around. There is a possibility that the fuel lines/system is blocked by debris especially if the fuel tank is made of steel. Water could have collected on the bottom causing rust which got sucked into the fuel system.

You can also check if it's the fuel system by spraying some starter fluid directly into the air intake (bypassing the air filter) to see if the engine tries to start.

If all that fails, it's time to dig deeper. Is compression good? Pull off the valve cover then crank the engine over - are the valve lifters moving?

If all else fails, guess it's time to haul it to a Vespa mechanic. Hope you get it fixed soon.