Modern Vespa

Morning everyone,

I recently got a call from a friend of a friends daughter who is in SF and whose 2006 LX 150 isn't starting. She went out for the evening on it and now it won't start. Via FaceTime, I had her check a few things and sadly couldn't get her running. Hopefully tomorrow I can grab the scoot and bring it to my work to help her.

My question though, with the key on, motor not running the lights turn on but if you squeeze either brake lever, does your brake light turn on? Or does the scooter have to be running for it to light up? It's too late/early morning and I'm at work and can't remember.

Kickstarter wasn't working for her tonight and the scooter does nothing when started normally, not even a click. Fuses were good, battery was replaced earlier in the year and shining the lights bright according to FaceTime. All hoses and carb looked seated and intact. Plenty of gas, killswitch cycled a few times, no brake light from either lever and I forgot to ask her about the dash LED blinking sequence.

Yes, brake lights should come on when levers are squeezed. No brake light, no start (you only need one though). This is a common failure mode, but switches are cheap

https://www.scooterwest.com/brake-switch-plug-in-style-for-modern-vespa-and-piaggio-583575.html

Z- Thanks for the reply. Do you need to squeeze the brake while kickstarting for the CDI to fire? Again I can't remember all the specifics.

My understanding is that a brake need to be on so when the engine starts the scooter can't launch.

From the manual:
In order to start the engine, it is necessary to pull either the rear brake lever "B" or the front brake lever "C", before pressing the starting button, "A ", so as to disengage the safety switches.

But it doesn't say anything about that when kickstarting...
Put the scooter on its stand "E"; make sure that the rear wheel is off the ground, turn the key switch «D» to «ON» and use the kick-starter «F».


Kickstarting is kinda hard though, even with a good battery, there's a real technique to it (I think I've done it twice, when the scooter was warm).

https://manuals.wotmeworry.org.uk/Vespa/LX150/LX150E3%20Owners%20Manual.pdf

Z- Thanks again.

Works got me busy until lunchtime and then hopefully I can get over to the scooter. Its hard with my work to plan things out (maritime.)

If the CDI is recognizing the key, I think I'll try opening the headset, bypassing a brake switch and see if i can get it the motor to turn over/ fire. Then its just a matter of getting it someplace safe till parts arrive.

My lx will kick start without holding the break lever.

Have her try pulling in the other brake lever.
If neither of them come on, the odds are that both switches are bad. But it should kick start. It's just hard for someone who isn't used to kickstarting a scooter to get the hang of the LX150 paddle lever.

Brake switches are cheap enough that it's not a bad idea to have an extra one handy. We have the OEM Piaggio switches for about $9.

https://scooterpartsco.com/ricambi/021-vespa/brake-light-switch-583575

Thanks everyone for the responses. We muscled the scooter to my work and found the both brake light switches and the starter relay are done.

A little hot wiring and a battery charge later, we got the motor to fire and idle.

Taking a break to grab replacement parts and hopefully the owner can ride it home.