Modern Vespa

Hi there.

I'm hoping somebody can help me out with some very specific "won't start" issues. This is for a 2010 LX50 4v.

90% of the time the scooter starts fine.

The other 10% of the time...turn the key and absolutely nothing happens. No lights come on. Starter doesn't even attempt turn over. It's like there's a short in the ignition or something. This baffled me for a while and I figured the battery was dead so I tried kick starting it.

Eventually, after a few kicks, the lights and such started to flicker. So I tried the ignition switch and it fired right up.

This happened for the first time about a month ago. Then it was fine for a while. Now it seems to be happening a lot more often. Same thing. Nothing. Try to kick start it a few times. Lights flicker. Fires right up. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help. Did some searches but nothing like this seemed to come up.

First make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight. Then you need a cheap voltmeter these are only a few pounds/dollars and are indispensable for electrical troubleshooting. Connect the voltmeter to the battery before switching on. Anything less than 12.5 volts indicates the battery is not fully charged. Switch on the ignition and if the voltage drops to less than ( say) 11 volts it is completely flat.

If the battery voltage remains above 12 but the lights etc. don't come on then the fault is elsewhere and related to switches, relays or wiring.

After you have kickstarted the engine check that the battery voltage rises with engine rpm up to about 14.5 volts. This indicates that the charging circuit is good.

Regards Roadster

It's a duff connection somewhere - possibly just the ignition switch itself, not uncommon. Check all connections and volts as above.

Thanks guys. I'm not much of an electrical guy, but I'll take a look.