Modern Vespa

So I had an ET4 for a couple of months. It has always been a bad starter. It will not start at all from the kick start. Sometimes it starts straight away - but if I am not careful it can die again, and then it is hard to start again. However, whenever it is started, I have to twist the throttle back slowly until revs build, if I do it too quick it will die. Even while riding, if I let the revs off to slow down and then go to pull away quickly the engine can cut out - so always need to be gentle with throttle which is not good at junctions when I need to be quick off the mark etc.

To top it all, I tried to start it yesterday, and it started straight away, but then it died and would not start again, I ended up draining the (fairly new) battery. I had the old battery fully charged spare so I popped that in. I then tried to start it and after turning over a couple of times the starter stopped completely. The lights etc all work and when pressing the start button I can hear the switch next to the battery - but that's it.

I did notice the battery had water condensation on it. Have I shorted something?

Really grateful for any help. Cheers

J

Sounds suspiciously like the auto choke not working.

You being in Brighton I'd ordinariy offer to drop in and have a look but it's the week before Christmas and I'm a self employed electrician. You can guess how much free time I have.

There's an ET4 tech manual on here somewhere. That should explain the operation of the choke and how to test it.

A simple method is to block the air intake with your hand and see if it starts up normally.

That was quick - cheers. I found the manual so will check out the choke. Really appreciate the advice.

J

Hard to start and poor cold running, with a tendency to stall at idle? Classic symptoms of the valves needing adjusting. It's not always the cause, but unless you've had it done you'll never know.

Thanks, sounds like I may need to take it in! Anyone got any advice about the factor the starter isn't working now?

Jim's right. The choke is probably easier to check first, though.

If all else fails, Kevin at CD scooters knows the insides of Piaggio auto engines intimately.

When you've re-charged the original battery, I bet it'll get the starter working. The old battery may well have a shorted cell or a higher than normal resistance, which will light the lights just fine, but fail to turn the starter over - you'll just hear the click of the relay.

Yeah, I will try having a look at the choke - CD scooters is literally just down the Road from me,

Yeah cheers Jim, that's exactly what I hear. My new battery will be charged by tomoz.

If you venture down there tell Kevin that Ged sent you...that should get you kicked out and locked out!

So I mention your name and they put the price up right?

Nope you mention I sent you and the price stays the same...for you.

It's me that gets the credit and brownie points for next time.

Kevin's a great guy, really.

Cool, when I go I will def tell them you sent me!

J

This thread right here is what makes modernvespa.com just about the best forum online.

Such awesome resources, from people that are so genuine.

Seasons greetings, one and all.

OK, So I have fully charged my battery. I switch on the ignition, the lights come on. when I try the electric start I hear the relay switch clearly but it seems nothing at all is getting to the starter motor. The lights do NOT dim at all.

OK, so no current is flowing through the relay to the starter motor. This could be:
Relay contacts dirty and pitted (easily cleaned, though a replacement is very cheap).
Big red cable connections to the relay dirty, corroded or fallen off.
Bad +ve connection to the starter.
Worn or stuck brushes or dirty commutator in the starter motor.
Poor grounding of the engine - have you had the transmission cover off recently?

Thanks, I took the relay switch to CD scooters (cheers GED!) and they tested it and it worked fine, but they told me it is a relay switch for the lights! So they gave me the correct unit, hay presto! It works!

Thanks so much for your help, really, really appreciate it - I'm back on the road!

Good news... One of the reasons I love this site .. Someone somewhere always has answers or can help no matter how obscure the problem

Well fixed.

Well pleased - scooting around happy as larry, zipping here and zipping there all day. Thanks again all!

This is great news!

Does Kevin still have a couple of ET4s for sale in the shop did you see?

Yeah, I think he did have one. I can double check tomoz if you want coz I'm just down the Lewes Rd ad will be passing by CD's tomoz.