Stella 2 stroke : Electricity strikes back!

[Tam Tam]

First of all, thank you to all with your advice and encouragement for my first
"Foolin' around with the electrics" on my Stella 2T - and now, THE SEQUEL!

So, after taking off the spark plug cap, and the insulated wire that runs into the cap off, and removing the spark plug, I saw that the receptacle for the wire into the spark plug cap was splitting. That piece I electrical taped, and then inserted the wire back in. The spark plug was set back in, everything was hooked up again, and she started up on the first kick! (cue rebel alliance theme)....but then-
-about 20 min. into my ride (top speed 40 mph), when I was idling at a red light, the scoot died, just winked out. I pushed it into a parking lot, and when I turned the key, no electrical power at all-no neutral light, or horn etc... It started on the first kick and I went straight home.
2 weeks after, I go to test it. The key, when first turned, showed nothing, but after approx. 5 seconds, a faint glow showed in the neutral indicator. Then, she starts n idles on 3rd kick, and we have a good 30 min. ride. But when I return home and shut her off, and turn the key again, no neutral light, no horn, so I'm assuming the battery is dead/not charging.
Except for the faint glow of the neutral light before first starting it...a mystery.
I have one month left on the warranty, and am at a loss - does anyone have any idea/guess/experience with these symptoms? I have heard many stomach sinking stories about the myriad of electrical hassles that can occur in a stella...could electrical taping the spark plug cap tear cause an issue like this? is a new battery needed?

Thank you everyone for any advice/stories/rants concerning electrical hassles...

[viney266]

Sounds like the battery has crapped out. Most shops have the ability to test a battery and can tell you if you need a new one.

[lmyers]

The battery is kinda nice when you have it, but I've been riding red Stella with a dead one for a couple of years now.

[Lokky]

As Imyers mentioned, the battery is not necessary to operate a Stella.

Sounds to me like your scoot dying while riding was a random hiccup, I have it happen before and it could be any number of things from your jet trying to pass an obstruction to the spark plug cap coming momentarily loose.

Go to your dealer and have him check the battery out. If the dealer is too far you can easily do this with a multimeter (many models available for less than 20$ and a great tool to have). Simply set it to detect voltage on a 12V scale and place the leads on the battery terminals (for positive voltage to read put positive to positive and negative to negative, the opposite will work with digital meters, showing negative voltage, but may not work with an analog instrument).
The battery should register as a strong 12V, but even this is not enough to show the battery is good. What you have to do is monitor the voltmeter and start the scoot using the electric starter. Voltage should remain at around 12V, if it drops significantly when you hit the starter then your battery is dead.
If your battery is still working properly then get to a dealer asap and make use of your last month of warranty!

[Tam Tam]

The Electric starter stopped working back in June. If you held the button pressed, and then slowly squeezed the clutch, about halfway thru squeezing the clutch, you would hear the 'urr urr' of it trying to start. I'd hoped that by allowing the electric start to be sacrified on the scooter god altar, I'd be spared....but it didn't work

I think the best bet, as it was suggested, to take it to the dealer.

Thanks ya'll for the advice!