Is there an end in sight to this failed wire?

[Tam Tam]

My 2009 is at 4200 miles, and last week, the electric starter died. I still have battery power, but when I depress the starter, all i hear is a lil single 'click' coming from over on the battery side. She does kickstart, though, so I had been telling myself - 'perhaps it's not that bad'....(so far, after a blown main fuse, a new plug and plug cover and battery, fixing the throttle arm after it tipped over, the horn going silent, the rear brake light not lighting when I squeeze the lever, and some new carb gaskets and such, the scooter is doing great!)
Is there a point where the scooter will level off with problems? In all honesty, I am grateful that the headlights or turn signals have not gone out. (The horn died suddenly, but the right brake lever lighting up the rear died slowly over time).
Any folk have any preventative ideas? Or, should I begin to see about replacing the wiring? I had read before how wiring problems were sure to come, and even my dealer told me most of my mech. troubles would happen with the controls, as 'all of those wires and cables are all squeezed down thru this lil skinny neck.'
I love that Stella, but am kinda afraid of it in the 'now what' way.

If anyone has any tips/trick/ nightmare/success stories about wiring and the Stella, I would be your best friend for life if you would share. While part of me wants to approach this ala Homer Simpson (hide under a pile of old coats, and hope that somehow it all turns out okay) I need to attack this potential problem ala Han Solo ("No No No! This one goes here, that one goes there!")
Thank you folks and fellow scooterists, 'cause I really want to keep my Stella running as long as I can (although at times I have yelled at her "Vintage my a**! I'm gonna trade you in for a Honda!"). But gosh darn, to me ( and not just a few of us) Stellas are the BEST looking scooters in the world.

[Anachronism]

If you are getting a click when you hit the starter button, then that seems to rule out the headset wiring.

Sounds like 1 of 3 things.

1. Your starter relay is bad. A relay is an electrical switch that allows a low power circuit to switch on and off a high power circuit. This keeps the high amperage electricity needed to run the starter from having to run through the starter switch. The click you are hearing is almost certainly the starter relay engaging. If it is broke, it may make noise but not actually turn on the starter circuit.

2. The wiring from the battery to the relay is bad.

3. The wiring from the Relay to the starter is bad.

4. The starter is bad.

The check for this is pretty straightfoward, you just need to start at the relay checking for electricity and work to the starter. With a multimeter, you should see voltage going into the relay on the starter side of the relay, (#2 above) if not, you have bad wiring from the battery to the relay. With the starter switch depressed, you should see power on the switched side of the relay (#1), if not, the relay is bad. If you have power at the switched side of the relay, you should then have power with the switch depressed at the starter (#3), if not, it is that stretch of wiring. If you have power there, then the suspect is the starter.

This all assumes you have a charged battery in good working order.

In answer to your question, no, repairs really don't level off on these. I guess they would level off if you basically replaced every component with quality Italian parts, and then you would get it up to the level of 1970's Vespa, which isn't really a high bar in itself. If you have 4000 miles and haven't been through two complete engine rebuilds because of crap cranks, you are doing better than me. I have also had several electrical issues, just see my thread a few posts under.

[Tam Tam]

Thank you for the detailed breakdown of the current problem. I am certain I will be referencing your note many a time. And thank you to you and all the other Stella owners who have helped with tech advice since I entered the world of manual shift scooters. While I have not yet had a chance to really get into that situation, I really have since discussed the idea of rewiring as much as possible on Stella with a mechanic friend who has wiring/rebuilding experience on motorcycles and old scooters as well.

Truth be told, reading your response (and some of your other posts) has all the more moved me to keep the Buddy Blackjack in tip top shape. The blackjack has just 9000 miles, and I plan to give her a complete service, and change out her cvt belt. After all, these two are now my primary vehicles, and I have faith in Bonegirl, the rider who went 50,000 miles on a Buddy.

[Robbie]

For the most part, IMO, the wiring system itself is OK.
Some posters have found various connectors not fully seated or correctly crimped.
This is no different than wiring harnesses on new cars and bikes.....same issues, nothing has changed....harnesses are assembled by humans and humans make errors.
That being said, it appears to me that most of the electrical problems stem from misrouting of the harnesses.
At some point in time the top of the handlebar must be removed and the horncast removed to inspect and likely re-route some elements of the harness.
I swear, each Stella I have looked over appears to have its harnesses run differently......this one has its harness all balled up in the left handlebar.....that one has its wiring in knots arownd the switching relay, the next one has its slip connectors only half seated....yada yada.

So, get the covers off and start by turning the handlebars full left/full right and watch the harness.....it should follow the motion but not pull on any wires.
Some wires will be pulling.....look them over and determine what can be re-routed yet not be crushed when the covers are reinstalled.
Same goes for the cables.....you may find they are interfering with the wire harness or vice versa......same routine....try and come up with a better routing.
Take your time, visualize what is happening to the harness......motion is OK, pulling/stressing is not.

Regarding your current (had to say it) issue with the starter.....remove your spare tire for maximum battery terminal access.
Be certain the battery water level is acceptable.
Look for corrosion on the terminals and loosen/tighten both battery terminal bolts to assure a good connection.
Try the starter.
If no change, attach jumper cables from your NOT RUNNING car to the scooter.
Try the starter again.
Still nothing.....then start the testing with the voltmeter.....a test light would be handy as well.
I would start by attaching the test light cable to the positive battery post and then touching the probe to the starter body (not the cable).
If the light lights, you have proven a good ground exists.
Attach the cable to the negative battery terminal and hold the probe against the terminal of the starter while someone pushes the starter button while holding the clutch lever in.
If it lights up, bad starter..maybe, but now you know the relay is working.....no light, same test at the relay output terminal.....no light..... now you can start testing the small terminals from the starter switch.....if they test good, try this.
Using the jumper cables, attach one cable to the battery side (big terminal) of the starter relay......then using the other side of the jumper cable, touch the starter side of the terminal.
If the starter is good, it will crank.....if it does not crank, touch the terminal of the starter itself with the jumper cable.
If it still doesn't crank, you have proven a bad starter.....if it cranks, you have proven a loose or corroded connection at either the starter or the solenoid at the starter side.

A long, long winded way of saying I bet it works normally when the jumper cables are attached to the battery per my first paragraph regarding the starter question.

Rob

[Tam Tam]

Holy moley, I will have to re read and re re read your post but thank you for the information! The Electric start is my new project....just after I can get the scooter to idle...

Yep. On the way home from work tonite, it died. It would kickstart with the choke out, but when I pushed the choke in, the engine would rev and rev, and then die. I know it is bad, but i rode home (2 miles) with the choke out.

Once home, I took off the air filter and -lol- looked in at the carb, kinda like an old timey surgeon, the one who first opened up someone's abdomen, saw all the tubes and bulges, and said, "Oh good God..."...but I know in the Hippocratic Oath it says something about 'do no harm', so I closed it back up, and decided best to take it to the shop. I read here tonite in a different post where someone advised the poster to 'take it in to the shop - if you are at the point of posting, the problem may be beyond your abilities."

....then again I have been digging thru posts here and abroad looking for a possible solution.

Thanks again all you awesome tech folks who pass on your knowledge and info!