Hey guys, first post here! I got my beautiful baby blue Stella a few weeks ago and have been slowly learning to ride her on the back roads. Yesterday, I was fiddling around with the stuck kill switch (she came with that) and soon afterward couldn't get her to start.
I know having a functional kill switch isn't strictly necessary, but I'd love to keep her various parts as functional as possible, so I'm looking to replace it. I can't for the life of me find a replacement online though.
Anyone else have experience with replacing the kill switch? Did you order a new one or just finagle it to get it to work again? If the former, where does one find such a small Stella part?
Replacement Kill Switch?
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Star in my Jar
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Stitch
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http://www.monsterscooterparts.com/kiswforgasen.html
If you want a cheap one to mount somewhere.
If you want a cheap one to mount somewhere.
"Stella" is Latin for "use threadlocker on all fasteners"
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Star in my Jar
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Star in my Jar
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Dug a little deeper today...
Okay, so it looks like I might have spoken too soon about that kill switch.
Stella won't start. The story goes, yesterday I tried to start her up. Auto start wasn't doing the job, so I kickstarted her. She turns on. Sounded a little ragged, but not much (maybe the idle speed is slightly too low?) I put her into gear, tried to give her gas, and she died.
I managed to start her up again briefly, but she stalled out again. For the next hour, I tried kickstarting her, but to no avail.
At first I thought I flooded the carb, or that it was a carb issue, since I had left her sitting overnight with the gas lines on. So I turned off the fuel lines, pushed in the choke, held the throttle open, and kicked her over a bunch to clear the chamber. Turned gas on, choke on, ignition on, gave a little gas, and tried to start. Still nothing.
Okay then. Maybe my spark plug is wet? Took that out, dried it off with a paper towel. It looked a little moist, but not soaking. Are those things supposed to be bone dry? While the plug was out, I closed the lines and choke again, and tried kicking it over to clear the chamber. Smelled a little gas, but nothing seems to be sloshing around in there. Put spark plug back in, gas and choke on.. Still nothing.
Sigh.. okay. What about this kill switch thing? Took off the horncast, found a lone green wire (that I'm pretty sure is the kill switch) and disconnected that. Nope. Nothing.
So that's where I am now. She won't start, and I'm not sure what else to look for... Any clues?
Stella won't start. The story goes, yesterday I tried to start her up. Auto start wasn't doing the job, so I kickstarted her. She turns on. Sounded a little ragged, but not much (maybe the idle speed is slightly too low?) I put her into gear, tried to give her gas, and she died.
I managed to start her up again briefly, but she stalled out again. For the next hour, I tried kickstarting her, but to no avail.
At first I thought I flooded the carb, or that it was a carb issue, since I had left her sitting overnight with the gas lines on. So I turned off the fuel lines, pushed in the choke, held the throttle open, and kicked her over a bunch to clear the chamber. Turned gas on, choke on, ignition on, gave a little gas, and tried to start. Still nothing.
Okay then. Maybe my spark plug is wet? Took that out, dried it off with a paper towel. It looked a little moist, but not soaking. Are those things supposed to be bone dry? While the plug was out, I closed the lines and choke again, and tried kicking it over to clear the chamber. Smelled a little gas, but nothing seems to be sloshing around in there. Put spark plug back in, gas and choke on.. Still nothing.
Sigh.. okay. What about this kill switch thing? Took off the horncast, found a lone green wire (that I'm pretty sure is the kill switch) and disconnected that. Nope. Nothing.
So that's where I am now. She won't start, and I'm not sure what else to look for... Any clues?
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Robbie
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OK.....hold on the Scooterworks call.
I always recommend trying another plug just to reduce brain damage and take it out of the process.
I have had plugs that will show spark when attached to the wire and grounded but, that same plug would not fire under compresson pressure.
Just a thought.
According to the wiring diagram the green wire is the wire from the ignition switch to the kill.
The other wire should be black and that one leads to ground.
So, in simple terms the green wire gets grounded when the kill button is pushed.
If your wire was hanging free and not grounded, it would have no effect on the engine running from a ignition standpoint.
Rob
I always recommend trying another plug just to reduce brain damage and take it out of the process.
I have had plugs that will show spark when attached to the wire and grounded but, that same plug would not fire under compresson pressure.
Just a thought.
According to the wiring diagram the green wire is the wire from the ignition switch to the kill.
The other wire should be black and that one leads to ground.
So, in simple terms the green wire gets grounded when the kill button is pushed.
If your wire was hanging free and not grounded, it would have no effect on the engine running from a ignition standpoint.
Rob
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magnato1
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Ok, so I have a 4T, so I don't know how the 2Ts act, but I did grow up riding 2 stroke dirt bikes. That said, in a pinch, when they don't want to start, give it full choke and full throttle and a couple of good kicks will usually get them started unless the plug is totally fouled. If you'd having an electrical problem, this wont help, but just something to try the next time you're having a problem. But I would definitely put a new plug in and try that first.
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Star in my Jar
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Just thought I'd post an update--
Turns out I was looking at a bad spark plug! The scooter is still pretty new (140 miles on it) so i kind of dismissed this idea early on. But sure enough, we went step by step, testing for IFC (ignition, fuel, compression), and when we tested the plug for spark, it was so sooty the charge wouldn't bridge the gap. If it had been the kill switch, we probably wouldn't even have gotten spark.
Thanks for all of the suggestions! The kill switch is still borked, but now I know that wasn't the thing keeping Stella from starting. I think I'll probably order the handlebar attachment at some point to replace it.
Turns out I was looking at a bad spark plug! The scooter is still pretty new (140 miles on it) so i kind of dismissed this idea early on. But sure enough, we went step by step, testing for IFC (ignition, fuel, compression), and when we tested the plug for spark, it was so sooty the charge wouldn't bridge the gap. If it had been the kill switch, we probably wouldn't even have gotten spark.
Thanks for all of the suggestions! The kill switch is still borked, but now I know that wasn't the thing keeping Stella from starting. I think I'll probably order the handlebar attachment at some point to replace it.