Modern Buddy

I've ridden a couple of hundred miles this spring with no problems. Put the scooter away last night after getting home from work. This morning I started it up, rode down the driveway, turned up the street and it died. It will start and idle fine, but anything from 10 to 30 seconds it will just cut off. Feels like it must be ignition, not fuel.

I will go over the wiring looking for loose connections, but has anyone else had a similar problem? Are the ignition modules flaky on these?

Did your coil bracket break and let it short out on the frame or cowl?

Or did your kill switch get wet anytime?

Lol, I forgot there were still some connected

Water is a definite possibility. I washed it last weekend. I rode it a couple of times since, but was thinking that water could have worked its way into the electrics.

Is there an easy way to bypass the kill switch? I never use it.

Take the screw out that holds it in, and cut the (yellow?) wire.

It will start and idle fine, but anything from 10 to 30 seconds it will just cut off.

What aspect of this symptom makes you feel this is an electrical problem instead of a fuel issue? Not trying to be a wise guy, just wondering if there is something else going on that makes you feel that.

mayhem wrote:I've ridden a couple of hundred miles this spring with no problems. Put the scooter away last night after getting home from work. This morning I started it up, rode down the driveway, turned up the street and it died. It will start and idle fine, but anything from 10 to 30 seconds it will just cut off. Feels like it must be ignition, not fuel.

I will go over the wiring looking for loose connections, but has anyone else had a similar problem? Are the ignition modules flaky on these?

Does Main vs Reserve on the fuel tap make any difference?

Have you put an inline spark tester on it, Do you see it loosing spark?

My gut told me that it wasn't fuel, I've had lots of fuel issues (like every time it goes on reserve) and this felt more like I hit the kill switch. No coasting then catching, just abrupt loss of combustion.

I cut the wire to the kill switch, and the scooter still died twice yesterday, but at longer intervals, and it ran fine for about 15 minutes at the end of my ride. I'm guessing that it wasn't the kill switch but that it was water-related, and has gradually dried out.

I'm slightly concerned since I'm planning a trip from Boston to Montreal in June and I don't want to be worrying about rain. Is there anything else that can be done to protect the ignition system from water? I certainly won't wash it with a hose again.

The kill switch is the only issue with water. Once they are disconnected the stella is pretty water proof. I have ridden mine in soaking downpours for a an hour with my raingear on with no issues.

When the bike quits, do you wait a few then it starts? That may be fuel. draining the floatbowl then it refilling?

Could also be a broken wire going to the coil, also, check for a loose spark plug cap. Loose on the wire. If it pulls right off, trim a 1/4" off of wire and reinstall cap.

CDIs do go bad, too. See if you can swap it out for a known good one. And I second checking all the wires and connectors of the ignition system, something could be loose and causing it to cut out. Also, might want to look over on Modern Vespa: Not So Modern, where the vintage guys hang out.

Have you checked your compression both hot and cold?

I had a bike that was loosing compression once it warmed up, It'd just idle down and stop, Once it cooled back down it'd run again till it warmed up again.

Thanks everyone for the help. The scooter is running fine now, but I have ordered a spare CDI and a couple of spare plugs for my upcoming trip.