Starting issues

Moggypearl · Post by **Moggypearl** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:17 am

Ive read the other post where people have similar problems, so I have a few ideas of possible causes, but was wondering if one cause may be more likely than others in my particular case. I found a few contradictory statements in my searching through other posts too, so have some confusion.

Here are the details of my problem- about a month ago I noticed the electric starter sometimes would be a little slow to start up, I occasionally would have to try a couple of times to get it to fully start. Wasnt everytime, usually started up just fine. Now nothing happens. The fuel guage works fine, and the rear brakes turn on but are weak. The turn signals dont do anything but make that buzzing noise. I can get it running using the kickstart and I notice that once it is running the brake lights are much brighter. Also once ive been riding it for a few minutes after kickstarting, the turn signals will come on, the buzzing stops but the normal ticking is extremely slow and light just stays in instead of flashing. Everything seems to work slightly better when I have the throttle on but less so when idling.

Does this sound more like a battery, fuse, relay, or other problem? The only things ive been able to check so far are the fuse by the battery ( looks like new), and made sure the battery and all the battery cables are secure, no corrosion, loose screws, etc.

Tocsik · Post by **Tocsik** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:29 am

How many miles on the scooter?
How old is the battery?
Was it recently stored/Winterized or not ridden for a while?
Do you use a battery tender?
What is the distance or time of your daily ride?
Do you have the deadlights wired up as running lights and, if so, are the bulbs stock incandescent or LED?

Need more info.
Could be a simple battery issue or could be the stator.

Moggypearl · Post by **Moggypearl** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:48 am

Tocsik wrote:How many miles on the scooter?
How old is the battery?
Was it recently stored/Winterized or not ridden for a while?
Do you use a battery tender?
What is the distance or time of your daily ride?
Do you have the deadlights wired up as running lights and, if so, are the bulbs stock incandescent or LED?

Need more info.
Could be a simple battery issue or could be the stator.

It has 11030 miles on it.
The battery is about 10 months old, was new when I bought the scooter used almost a year ago. It hasnt been stored, the winter was mild so ive been riding it to and from work almost everyday since Ive had it. My daily commute is around 12 miles/about 40mins total each day. Never used a battery tender. I have no idea about how the lights are wired, need to get a hold of the right sized tools before I can get in to look at any of the electrical stuff. I got itused from the dealer, who said theyd done all the work on it for the previous owner and no alterations aside from routine maintenance had been made on it, all regular stock parts.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:33 am

The first thing to check out would be the battery. It might be something else, but there's no way to know without verifying first that the battery is both putting out the correct amount of juice and getting properly recharged when the scooter runs.

If you have a multimeter (or feel like buying one), you can check the voltage at the battery when the scooter is off, when it's on, and under load when it's being revved (pretty high).

A Battery Tender may be a good idea anyways. Even if everything is running properly, short trips may not be enough to recharge the battery and can run it down.

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:56 pm

ericalm wrote:A Battery Tender may be a good idea anyways. Even if everything is running properly, short trips may not be enough to recharge the battery and can run it down.

The OP rides for 40 minutes every day. I'd say that's more than a short trip. A battery tender would be overkill, IMHO. As a point of comparison, I ride a total of 12 miles roundtrip, 5 days a week. My deadlights are hooked up and running with the original bulbs. I've never put it on a tender. I'm still on my stock battery from 2008.

It sure sounds like a battery issue, but given the age of it and your riding habits, that would be unusual. Still, if the battery was new 10 months ago, maybe it's defective? Do you have another vehicle you could try jumping it with? If you can successfully jump it from a known good battery, then I think that would confirm that your battery is the issue.

Moggypearl · Post by **Moggypearl** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:11 pm

pdxrita wrote:
ericalm wrote:A Battery Tender may be a good idea anyways. Even if everything is running properly, short trips may not be enough to recharge the battery and can run it down.
The OP rides for 40 minutes every day. I'd say that's more than a short trip. A battery tender would be overkill, IMHO. As a point of comparison, I ride a total of 12 miles roundtrip, 5 days a week. My deadlights are hooked up and running with the original bulbs. I've never put it on a tender. I'm still on my stock battery from 2008.

It sure sounds like a battery issue, but given the age of it and your riding habits, that would be unusual. Still, if the battery was new 10 months ago, maybe it's defective? Do you have another vehicle you could try jumping it with? If you can successfully jump it from a known good battery, then I think that would confirm that your battery is the issue.

I didnt know if it was ok to jump it from a regular car battery in cables? So if I can jump it and the lights work normal, then I can assume its the battery right? And I would also expect that it probably wouldnt hold the charge and problems would return once I stopped it then tried to restart?

And if the lights and everything continue to malfunction while the battery is connected to the jumper then do I assume its not the battery? What would be my next course of action?

Moggypearl · Post by **Moggypearl** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:17 pm

Also will a regular auto parts store test the battery for me or do I need to go somewhere 2wheel specific?

pdxrita · Post by **pdxrita** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:18 pm

I'd say yes, you can jump it from a car. You probably should not have the car running when you do it, however. That being said, please wait for at least one other poster to come on and confirm my opinion. I am not an expert, by any means. If it were me, a successful jump from a car with all of the electrics functioning correctly while jumped, would make me go buy a battery. They're really not expensive - seems like the low hanging fruit of troubleshooting.

As for whether a regular shop can test it, yes, they should be able to. Really, any place that carries a selection of automotive batteries should also have motorcycle batteries and be able to test yours. If you have that done, try to ensure they test it under a load.

TVB · Post by **TVB** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:32 pm

Moggypearl wrote:I didnt know if it was ok to jump it from a regular car battery in cables?

Yes, but leave the car engine off. The car's alternator puts out a lot of current when it's running, more than you need for the scooter's starter, and probably enough to blow a fuse or two. The car's larger battery should put out plenty of current just sitting there. Hook it up to the scooter the same way you'd hook up a dead car: red to red, black to black.