Modern Vespa

This is odd. I noticed the little plastic caps were full of oil...I popped them off, a little bit drained out, put them back on, and now the thing won't start. It just cranks and cranks. It ran perfectly just a little while ago.

And your immobiliser LED blinks *exactly* what at you when you turn the ignition key to 'on'?

I'm not seeing anything in the display out of the ordinary. Nothing blinks, no error messages.

Nothing blinks? Your bike doesn't even know there's a key inserted...

What I meant, is it doesn't do anything out of the ordinary.

You may need to check the Vespa manual. I just read about the key thing a few days ago. You may need to reprogram the main key with your "code" key. But heck I don't know. may not be the prob.

Ok..when I switch the key ON, the CODE light blinks ONCE. Is that what you are referring to?

I am curious ....

The little caps you took off were they on the (sitting on scooter) left side below the cowl?? If so that is part of your fuel system. You might need to wait, and call your local shop in the morning when you can.

Yeah, they are the little caps that collect excess oil from the air filter. I just popped them off, since they looked full, and put them right back on.

I've put almost 4000 miles on it..I know the starting procedure.

Draining the caps could only be a coincidence with the starting problem.
Saw that you were getting crank re-reading your initial post. Edited the brake lever out out.

ok, hmmmm.... i don't know . that shouldn't mess with the immobilizer setting but could affect airflow, suction for the air intake system. Call your local dealer in the morning. I wouldn't mess with it any further. might be really a honda posing as a Vespa!!!! hahahaha!!! JK'ing!!!

My bike suddenly refused to start a few months ago. Turned out the spark plug wire had come loose from the boot.

Has the scooter been dropped? If so it is probably flooded. Twist the throttle all the way back to full and engage the starter while holding the throttle in place on full. Don't run down the battery, just try it 2-3 times. This worked for me.

Good luck.

What I'm P.O'd about is the scooter, not anyone here.

No, never dropped, and I already tried that. Nothing. It ran perfectly earlier today.

No worries. I wouldn't have brought it up if I'd read a little more carefully.
But do have a look at your spark plug lead. Mine just popped out suddenly with no warning at all.

Where is the spark plug in this little thing? I thought about checking that, but I don't know where it is

It's on the right side of the engine, toward the front. Pokes out diagonally with a green collar around it.

As Cincinnati John said, it's just a coincidence that you drained the caps and now it won't start. I drain mine (two GTS') every couple of weeks. That did not cause the no-starting problem.

#1-I would look for a loose spark plug wire.
#2-Locate the Main Fuse under the seat and see if it is blown. This is something that has happened to several people who have posted on the forum.
#3-Take off your gas cap and see if you hear a whooshing sound as you remove it. If you do, the in-line valve that is part of the
EVAP system is defective. (I removed then entire EVAP system from both of our GTS's because they're nothing but a potential problem looking for a place to happen)

Check your fuel level, If it low and you have any incline it may not be feeding through. I was riding my wife's GT and one day the fuel was low and it didn't want to run because I was on a small incline on the road. Hell i hope you find out soon or it turns out to be simple.

I checked the plug wire, that's fine. I checked the gas cap, that isn't it either. I haven't checked the fuse yet.

Is the EVAP that tube that runs from the air filter housing to the engine?

3/4 tank of gas and it's on a flat garage floor

How did you remove it?? I was wondering if it could be safely removed.

Remember; the GTS is fuel injected. Fuel pump is right in the tank.
I'm still thinking ignition. Did you give a bit of a tug on the wire? Could be at the coil end too...

There is an overflow hose just below the fuel cap that runs to the evaporative canister and then to the engine on the GTS. I cut the overflow line, then routed it to the ground by using a coupler in case I overfilled the tank (which is easy to do).

Then, I removed the canister and valve. The line that runs to the fuel injection unit needs to be plugged. I put a bolt in this line and a hose clamp for insurance that it won't come out. The engine will idle better and you no longer will have to worry about overfilling the tank and having the canister plug up so the engine cut out (or not run)

Search for threads about doing this and you'll find several with pictures. I would advise that anyone with a GTS or GTV perform this procedure.

Cool I may look into this further. I think the EVAP system caused some probs with my wife's GT200.

I would recommend you disassemble the entire engine and make sure the little whatchamathingy is correctly hooked up. Then unhook the computer looking thing on the top of the engine and throw it out, you don't need that. Just start unhooking everything until you have a big pile of parts, and that should do it. After that, you should sell everything piece by piece on Ebay and you'll be able to buy a brand new scooter.

hi, let us know how you get on with the starting prob, thanks..as it could help somebody ...martyn

Have you checked the 'kill' switch?

The engine won't turn over if the kill switch was moved.

It's either one of the things I mentioned above or the immobilizer is defective.

I'm going with this one!

Immobiliser is OK, as shown by the single 'blink' of the LED when the key is turned on. The CDI is integral with it, so the odds are good that that is OK. So that leaves fuel supply or spark. The coil/HT lead is a prime suspect, check by removing the plug, grounding the outside and looking for a spark. The fuel pump can be checked by listening for a 'whirr' for a second or two from the tank when the ignition is switched on.

If it still won't work then it's off for a diagnostic tool check...

Jimc's got it...cept I wouldn't monkey around with the checking spark...I guarantee you the coil "neck" is damaged. It comes from Vespa installing too short of a plug wire. If it's under warranty, take it to the dealer and tell him.
If it isn't, take out the pet carrier, locate the coil by looking down at the engine (from the right side of the scoot). In the upper right corner of the "opening" below the engine (nearest the floorboard) you'll see the coil. Other ways include removing the battery service door and battery and the coil is behind the battery cavity to the LEFT. Pull the wire out of the coil, that should be all burnt up.
Replacing it is a breeze...Dealer sold me (and installed from a bike in inventory for $160.) INCLUDING INSTALLING A LONGER SPARK PLUG WIRE.

GOOD LUCK

I bet what's wrong is not what anybody above has suggested. I think your fuel injector is dead. I see from this thread that you had one of those Cosa black boxes in your scoot. I bet your injector shows an electrical open circuit when you test it and your scoot will run fine as soon as you swap it out. A dead injector is something that shows up on the Piaggio electronic diagnostic device, so your mechanic will definitely find it very quickly if that's the problem (assuming s/he has a Piaggio diagnostic computer).

Any idea what an injector is worth. My BV is down for the count and I suspect that's the problem - not to mention how long it would take to get one.

Dave

Thanks for all the replies folks. Turns out, the coil wire had come off entirely. It must have worked it's way loose from vibration, and popped off in the garage. I noticed something wasn't right, but had to fish around quite a bit to find the wire. Anyway, it's back to running like new again.

I also noticed I had a coolant leak...the lower hose to the water pump had cracked at the clamp, and it was leaking all over my exhaust. I was able to remove the clamp, cut off the bad part of the hose, and put it back on with a screw type clamp. So, problem solved..for now anyway. I figure, at 3800 miles, I better start worrying about the belt and rollers now, LOL

I yanked the corsa box some time ago.

Cute.

Actually, I am considering putting the whole scooter on Ebay...without disassembling it of course. The way I ride, might be a bit much for this poor Vespa. I might be better off with a proper motorcycle. I'm thinking about how much my reserve should be.

Squonk I am glad you did find out what is wrong. Next time I agree wit just totally disassembly of the scoot, then going and buying another.