Modern Vespa

Hello everyone, love this forum!! Newbie looking for help. My rally 200. Was running fine , suddenly won't start no spark even with purple wire at junction disconnected. Removed stator. Did resistance check ign coil and pick up ok, condenser open, should be 250 ohms?
Confused about how to check condenser . Definitely needs rewire. Wish I can check my femsa cdi.
Really want to keep everything original . Or should I get new crank and vape 12v ign and go through my engine.
Thanks for any advice. Floyd

Although my Haynes book only covers for the P/PX 125, 150 and 200 with the other kind of ignition.

I found the info, there you go:
Cable colors of the original Femsatronic:

The capacitor is 250ohms.

Blue = resistance = 250 Ohm
Green = PickUp = 280 Ohm
Red = Excitation voltage (charging coil) = 170 Ohm
Measure all values against ground, without connected ignition box (CDI).
Distance of the PickUp to the cam: 0,25-0,30mm


also, here is your answer as well:
http://www.vespa-klub.dk/Rally_CDI.HTM

Thanks scooterist, what's throwing me off is the capacitor, I got another one but it's still shows open like the original one.

I don't see a capacitor symbol on that Fluke 88, looks like a basic automotive model. I use a 287, it has capacitance built in. A capacitor only passes AC voltage not DC, so it should charge up and read open. More detail below if you want some light reading. There's a capacitor symbol around 1:00.

https://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/blog/digital-multimeters/how-to-measure-capacitance


Maybe that resistance reading is in place and really isn't the capacitor but a parallel path?

Problem probably isn't your capacitor. The pickup wires look like shit. Need to insulate those. Replacement pickups are hard to come by so it's best to salvage what you can.

Do they make a Femsa Vape? Thought it was just limited to the late model Rally's with the p200 cranks.

Thanks, I'm going to rewire and use original components and go from there. I want to keep all original. But if I can't figure it out I was thinking of this from sip. https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/conversion-kit-sip-performance-by-vape-e-ignition_510019RA

my favorite thing about this bike is the Dead Kennedy's and reminds the time when Biafra ran for the Mayor of SF and one of his platforms was the all cops must dress up as clowns. that doesn't help you, but thanks for the post.

https://www.scootermercato.com/

https://www.thatscootershop.com/onlineshop/stator-re-wiring-kit-diy


Try here for a wiring kit for rebuild.

I have rebuilt a FEMSA stator about 15 years ago. Resoldered all the connections, replaced the wires and replaced some of the coils. I think I managed to find a spare pickup. It's worth overhauling the stator to save conversion to the Ducati system.

You can get repro pickups now (I had to find a second stator)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vespa-Rally-200-Femsatronic-Pick-UP-Unit-by-CEAB-/294037876191?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0



The bike was prone to blowing the repro femsa electronic box. I used to put a second bajaj coil on it, using the electronic box without its coil and wiring in the second coil.

That setup was fairly reliable as I remember. The flywheel bearing probably had some play in it so every now and then the second coil would go but it was a cheap part and I could put a new one in.

if you need a crank. or you're rebuilding the engine that's a good option.

it's not original and you'll need to swap out some components to get your signals to work but it's a good option if you don't want the hassle of sorting out the FEMSA stuff.

My son's Rally200 has an old CEAB replacement from back in the day. The ignition has died and it seems like I just fixed it a few years ago. So I did a search and it's been EIGHT! Rally cutting out, spark or gas? HELP!!!

I'll check the coil and the readings from the stator then report back. We are prepared to try this solution next thanks to scooterist :

After that, San Francisco made a rule that you have to use your legal name to run for office.

If you haven't seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Jello Biafra has a cameo where he's giving architectural tours on a Segway.

I would totally recommend the Scooterwest stator rebuild. They did a really nice job, and even included the rubber piece that seals the back of the engine case.

https://www.scooterwest.com/stator-plate-re-wiring-labor-stator.html

GOOD NEWS!

We first tested the stator output with a small LED and got solid flashing on the red wire, and more faint but definite flashing on the green. So then we tried the Ducati CDI solution but had to fake the 1K resistor with a piece of pencil lead and by golly we got a nice blue spark!

Yeah, we were in kind of a hurry and just wanted to KNOW! But I think this is a viable fix if your stator is OK. Now we just need to round up a real 1K resistor and wire it up properly.

That's awesome!

RALLY RECOVERY REPORT

After we tracked down a 1K resistor this was professionally assembled and installed by my electronic engineer son. Then he added some gas, he fired it up, he donned my helmet and he took off for a nice little test ride. Not bad at all w/ no more stock parts to be had, and me having a spare P200 CDI just laying around. He's gonna do a good mounting bracket, and wrap and bundle the connections neatly at home where he has all his best gear.

After he rode it, KC told me that it's now BETTER than when it ran before, it would hesitate and now it has nice linear power.

^^^^
All of this!!! Lolz.

Update:

Thanks guy's !!!

Got her running with Ducati cdi, so I know my charging coil and pick up is working. Still not sure if it was the condenser or original femsa cdi that caused no spark. Re doing stator wires again.