Modern Vespa

Gave my scooter a good wash yesterday and went for a quick ride after and all was fine. Started it up again later and was running very sluggishly, next to no throttle response and eventually cut out. Speedo was flickering around whilst idling too. Would turn over when starting but now left it overnight and won't even turn over. Dashboard lights now showing this (see attached - and they weren't showing this yesterday).

Surely must be electrical. Thought it just needed to dry out. Have I somehow killed the thing?!

Check the battery and blow out all the connectors and apply dielectric grease. Hope you didn't power wash it.

And if I did..?

That's why I said to blow out the connectors. If you did you're probably going to have to do the headset as well as the rest of the bike. The bike is water resistant not water proof.

Understood, thanks. That's the plan for this evening!

I had a 2009 LX150 that I aggressively washed one day and afterwards it refused to start. I had the dreaded blinking dash light and I thought that I somehow managed to ruin the thing.

Turned out that there was too much water in and around the key slot that fouled the wire antenna that the ignition uses to recognize the coded key. I left the bike out in direct sunlight and it all dried out and everything worked perfect once again. Lesson learned.

Interesting. Going to grab my master key in case that immo light is genuine and I need to re-pair my key. But will certainly have a look round the antenna itself for water. Thanks

Pressure washer on a Vespa is not fundamentally wrong, but it is important to reduce the power, do not hold directly into openings (lock, air intakes, sideways into the handles, etc.), do not spray directly on the engine and preferably always from an angle above.

Haven't used a power washer on a motorbike for, probably, thirty years, and then it was during a road trip where it just had to have the bugs and junk blown off of it.

These days, it's just a bucket of warm water and my array of wash rags, etc, then a low pressure garden hose rinse off.

I haven't experienced any problems with my various bikes doing it that way, including my GTS.

I'm sorry about your issues with your Vespa concerning the pressure wash.

Can you put it in a big bag of rice?

ahh ... aren't those normal on a prima when the engine is not running?

Edit: Ignore this, i just noticed the immobiliser light. But rest are normal

Thanks for the responses. As an update, last night I removed battery and leg shield and gave everything a good airing and sprayed wd40.

It fired up first time this morning with no effort and I took it for a decent spin and was working like a dream.

Now it's not starting though. It is turning over perfectly fine (not struggling or sluggish at all) but is not firing.

Spark plugs on these things are a massive fiddle and I've not the tools nor expertise to get the spark plug out of the little gap you have to work with. Have had a feel of it and cleaned around it best I can but still no joy.

Would all this turning over and trying to start it have soiled the spark plug or something perhaps? Feel like the original issue is solved but I might have created a new issue. If I can't sort it today then it's going in the van for a tow of shame to the garage!

It could be the plug is fouled, but I think it's just as likely the battery has run down. Do you have a charger?

Yes, have been charging battery between efforts as was pretty much done last night. Battery seems fine. It is turning over nicely now, just not firing.

Unplug your ECU, Exhaust probe, coil connection, etc. and set it in the sun all day. That's my last WAG.

Electronics and water do not mix well. I have never pressure washed a bike, even a really filthy dirt bike. Even on a bike without electronics, a pressure washer can force water through wheel bearing seals, fork seals, engine seals, suspension seals, into the air intake system, the throttle assembly, brakes, cables, all places water shouldn't be. I just used a water hose without a spray nozzle to rinse it off.