Modern Vespa

Kudos to Scoots Richmond.

Over the last few rides I noticed that the engine hesitated at speeds over 58 mph. I called the dealer and she said to do the following:

1. Start the engine and let it idle without doing anything.
2. When the cooling fan kicks in and stops, stop the engine.
3. Go for a test ride.

It worked! No more hesitation!. Something to do with resetting the ECU.


This got me thinking about the programming of the ECU. Did some programmer somewhere write code that says: If that and that happens, make the engine hesitate, then, if it idles until it over heats, stop doing that?

There must be more lines of code in this scooter than were in Apollo 13.

I don't know about a Vespa, but many modern cars have more that 100,000,000 (that's one hundred million) lines of code. http://tinyurl.com/zwczp55

So, yeah, probably.

Here is Apollo 11:

Well, slow down a bit.

I took the scooter to Elizabeth City, about 25 miles, and, oh my, the symptom re-appeared. I called Scoots and they said try the reset thing again. I did and it was OK for a few miles, then, once I left town and got on the highway, it came back with a vengeance.

It seems OK until I reach 70 mph, then it will exhibit the repeated hesitation between 58 and 68+.

I called the dealer again and was told that there is not much they can do over the phone. Bring it in and they will put in on the computer. Gone are the days when one could clean the points with emery cloth and re-gap the spark plug with a playing card by the side of the road.

The symptom is a regular, almost rhythmic, hesitation in the engine. It could be any of a lot of things, or none of them.

1. Rev limiter kicking in
2. Traction control kicking in
3. An issue with the throttle cable
4. Plain old wind gusts - although riding both directions, on windy and still days, no truck wash, all to no avail.
5. A clog in the fuel system
6. Brief engine seizing ????
7. ECU (EFI?) program error
8. ASR program error
9. Sensor error
10. A temperature-related issue


I put it on the truck and drove to Richmond. The mechanic test rode it and then asked me lots of questions as he did not experience the fault. Nothing showed on the computer so they sent the data files to Piaggio who are not there over the weekend. I left it there and came home.

It began in early June. I did not experience it whilst at Amerivespa, probably because the speeds were lower, then it came back with a vengeance once I returned.

This is absolutely not a proper solution to a hesitating problem. Makes no sense on any level frankly.

SDG

It won't reset the ECU?

That solution reminds me of the time I called the cable company about missing channels. The call center person had me shut everything down, disconnect the cable from the wall, blow on the end of it, reconnect and turn everything back on. It worked, but only because it all had to be off for a certain amount of time for a reset as the cables were properly seated. Blowing on the dang thing served no useful purpose but to make us both look stupid.

I know the feeling though, I was tooling along on my little PV last week and felt a few hesitations. Didnt think it was the wind, necessarily. That feeling- wth?!

Hope it gets sorted in short order.

No.

Parameters will obviously fluctuate anytime the bike is running however there is no "reset"'or "update" happening by simply letting a bike run long enough to have the temp sensor tell the fan to turn on. It's just not a fix.

SDG

Did you try disconnecting the battery?

Ah, yes, 2ga, the life support approach. Turn it off and then on again to see if the patient gets better

Nope. I just did the fan thing and took it to the dealer.




(Now I have an image of me in a nightclub wearing nothing but some large feathery fans. Get. It. Out. Of. My. Head.)

Shoot, now you have MY eyes burning!

Just another Friday night with the Hertford Scooter Club.

Could be the placebo effect.

Update.

The dealer called yesterday. They do experience the hesitation just as I described which is a big advance. They have been working constantly with Piaggio to try to resolve the issue. So far no luck.

P suggested that they swap out the throttle body (did I hear them right?) and the ECU from a working GTS. They will need my Red Key for this.

I sent them the red key so that they could install another ECU. Problem solved. Pick it up Wednesday, I hope.

They swapped out the ECM and Throttle Body. Lo and Behold! It worked.

They ordered one from P. and installed it. I picked the vehicle up yesterday. All fixed under warranty.

Test rode it today. feels great. Problem solved.



PS. How do I update the thread title to show it is fixed?

See if you can add Prob fixed to the title. Or something similar. Can't remeber how many letter you get up there. Glad it's fixed. 8)

Yes, it was fun sitting on the side of the road adjusting your points. People seem to forget how often stuff had to be done on cars of the 60's and earlier.

If you made it to 75,000 or 100,000 miles you had a great car. Today at 100,000 miles your car is just broken in if you maintained it right.

I love my simple GT's more each day.