Modern Vespa

hello there new to the group but not new to vespas and scooters
anyway i'll get to the point with this post
i've owned my medley since new 2019 and recently lost the key (black one not the brown ) this came off my key ring and was lost on the street somewhere

Anyway i was left with a spare Brown key and was told that i'm able to cut a replacement key with this so headed off to the local locksmiths who claim to be able to copy such things

£60.00 later i'm given a new key that he plugged into a machine and copied the code from the brown key and this worked (i mention this as not sure if this matters later on )

Anyway new key works ok for a week and then the bike starts to reject it
when the key is inserted i'll get a light dash on the dash board (bottom
right this flashes twice and will not start the bike nothing works but the power stays on etc it just won't fire up )

low i assume its problem with the code inside the key or something but i have no clue about these things i just paid the shop and assumed it was just a case of copy and pasting the code from the brown key into a new key ?

anyway i've taken the key back to the shop and explained its intermittently not working but the shop cannot find a problem with the key i will add that the brown key starts the bike first time everytime without fail so it's it the bike at fault here

anyway reason for this post is that somewhere in the house i think and hope that i've mislaid the brown key now so im now stuck with one key that works when it wants to JMA key

now how important is this brown key ?
i have a key with a copy of the code inside it which i hope is enough to get another one cut ?
but why is this key not working at times and others it works great ?
today it's been really bad i take the key out out it back in and then maybe it works maybe it don't i've yet to find a reason why

what would you guys do here ?
is it a faulty key ?
can i get another copy cut or will that also act strange without the brown key?

worried that im stuck with a nice bike thats been well maintained that wont start due to a dodgy key

where do i go with this next ?

cheers and sorry for the long post

Welcome to MV and congrats to your first post!

The brown key is the master, the blue or black key is the driving key.

If I understand you correctly, the locksmith "cloned" the brown master (he didn't programmed it to the vehicle by using the brown Master?, see link to guide below).

The problem with "cloning" is that locksmiths do not give a guarantee on the cloning process (they already know why).

The brown master is normally used to program the blue/black key. However, you have received a 1:1 copy of the master (which causes problems).

You should find the brown master again and then program the blue/black driving key using the procedure.

Guide for key programming: ALL: Programming New Keys (see part below the line)

As you currently have a 1:1 copy of the master, you can of course also try to teach in a driving key with this. It is best to get an original Piaggio blank and make sure that the blank matches the year of manufacture of your scooter (check compatibility using the VIN).

thanks
so if i'm understanding this correctly it's it the end of the world ?
i get another blank key online and then get that copied using the key i have ?


sorry im a little confused

Get a Piaggio blank, get it cut, then program the bike's ECU to accept the new key using the current master key clone (or better still the original master key) to achieve this.

ALL: Programming New Keys

new cut key no longer works
the bike won't go past the immobiliser
stage
what's the next option ?
need the bike for work
have the cloned brown key still but this alone don't work
east sussex area need help asap happy to pay

Find brown original Master or you have to replace ECU (or find a option to revirginize your current ECU). New ECU is pretty expensive…

let's say i can't find the brown key there must be a way around this with the cloned key i already have ?
it will start the bike on occasions

It's not the end of the world, but to put it this way: you're not far away from it...

Since the copied key works from time to time, a defect in the vehicle can be ruled out in my opinion. Logically, it must then be due to the copied key.
You can of course try to program a new blue key with the master copy (I already suggested this above, instructions are linked above). But whether it is possible to program a new blue key with a "bad" master copy depends on an attempt.

The fact is: if there is no working brown master, then the ECU must be revirginized or replaced in order to be able to create a new master (and blue Keys for daily usage)

I don't expect a key to work intermittently. It might be the antenna on the ignition.

It is NOT the original brown key it is a cloned one by a local locksmith.

The copy only works a few times, while the original brown key worked fine. Now the original brown key has also been lost. This leads me to conclude that there is no defect in the vehicle (antenna). See initial post.

How close would a brown key need to be for the scooter to start?

ok thanks for suggestions i'm not clued up on this sorta stuff and need it resolved asap as it's used daily
could
someone recommend a local company that could come to me
and help seeing as the key has got much worse over the coming weeks
cheers

i'll be happy to get it revirgiized but who does this in the south east ? and what's it involve ? stripping the parts out or is it a special machine that goes into the ignition ?

And....once you get this sorted, purchase the correct year key blank with transponder from an actual Vespa dealer - as a least one spare key! So total = 3 working keys.
Then hang the new brown master key from the ceiling...where you can see it, but you can't touch it!
Good luck.
O.S.

So let's start again:

One set of keys is programmed to the ECU, one is always the master (brown), the other is the driving key (blue) for daily use.
If the keys are lost, the ECU must be reset to factory settings (before programming any key). Only then can new keys be programmed.

Resetting an ECU usually works by mail. You (or someone else) remove the ECU and send it in, then you will receive it back virginized. After installation, both keys (master and driving key) can then be programmed (ATTENTION: first key with reviginized or new ECU = master).
An average dealer will probably want to sell you a new ECU rather than try the virginization method.

Someone will surely be able to tell you a service provider for resetting the ECU in your region.

Give me the first nine digits of your VIN and I'll link you to a suitable new throttle valve (contains the ECU).

There is a video made by robot about the throttle body/ECU/key topic: (Note: The principle is comparable between Vespa and Piaggio)

But I'll be honest: if you have no idea what we're talking about, then you should take the thing to a Piaggio dealer...

ok thanks any idea on a price roughly
if i take to a dealer
vs trying to do t is
myself

thank you for your help thus fashat confused my the most is why the new key i had cut was working for a while and then decided to not work

What I'm about to tell you is admittedly not going to solve your issue, but I also have a duplicate key - made by the guy in the video, Robot - that only works intermittently. After a failed attempt at starting with that key, flip it 180° and try again. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't.

You ain't crazy, or we both are.

Have a chat with Brighton Moto who are the main dealer in East Sussex for Piaggio / Vespa.

They should be able to give you a price beforehand.

funny you should
mention this as i've found the same the bike is now running again for some strange reason i can't get my head around how sometimes it works and others it don't

Keep looking for the original brown key. That's your best bet. Good luck!

I've been told that the electronic component in the duplicate key is only present on one side, not both like the original. Hence the 180° flip (that, this very morning did not work). But on this topic I've been told a lot of things by a lot of people. No one at the dealership where I had it copied mentioned any difference between keys but I wouldn't have known to ask as 3 years ago I was an absolute newbie. Still am compared to 90% of folks here.

pic showing the chip in the master key. blue will be the same just non removable.

this is won't care about a 180 flip

I wish the master had come with my lx150. Steelbytes, do you know how it could be possible that a copy could work sometimes and not others?

I suspect reasonably close.

related: when I swapped my ecu with a 2nd hand I was able to wrap my original blue in aluminium foil (and cover with tap to hold it there), stick it in and then hold the blue that came with the 2nd hand ecu against the side of original blue and turn then and it would always work. I rode like this for a few months. later I had the original blue copied _without chip_ and use that with the 2nd hand blue held with it. rode like that for a year.

seems the bike is getting worse accepting the key and i've ran outta places to look for the master key around the house
dealer quoted me crazy money £900 which is more than the bikes worth probably
they are not aware of a service that can reprogram the ecu but said they are willing to take the part out but then charge £15 a day storage which i guess is fair
so not much of a choice really just hope the ecu reprogrammed will do the trick
i've seen a lot of places online offering this service as wel as ebay seller

So this morning I drove to work and shut my engine off - one click to the left. Before I got off the thing I realized I had to move to a different spot. Tried starting again, after never having removed the key. Wouldn't turn over. Flipped the key 180° and voila. Entirely arbitrary.

Fuggin' MADDENING is what it is.

since it is sometimes so sensitive to such a micro change of position of the chip when flipping 180, might be the aerial that is failing

Yeah. Ideally leave the key in the same orientation and flip the scoot 180° to check if it's the scoot or key.

Are you aligned with magnetic north?

or maybe ship the scoot to Hobbiton

Sussexlad, no one in the Southern Hemisphere understands us.

Hi everyone,

I've got a 2016 Piaggio Medley 150, and I'm having some trouble with the ECU. The central unit gave out on me, so I grabbed a replacement from another bike. The problem is, this new ECU didn't come with keys, and I only have the keys from my old unit. Couple of questions:

Can I reprogram the new ECU to work with my old keys?
Is it maybe possible to clone the old ECU's data to the new one?
Any other solutions I should think about?

Any tips or advice would be awesome. Thanks a lot!

Cheers,

Z.