Modern Vespa

So I am thinking about buying my friends Piaggio LT150 with 5000 miles on it, so my overall scooter experience is about 2 weeks now.

I picked it up from the shop for her to try it out for a couple weeks, and now it won't start. The shop says they cleaned and tuned the carburetor, tuned up the scooter, changed the oil and the sparkplug. But, when I was picking it up from them it wouldn't start and they said it was the battery and then got it started for me. It rode fine for about 120 miles, but now when I try to start it, it sounds like it's turning over but the engine won't start. Does this sound home fixable?

Have you tried turning the throttle to give it a little gas before pressing the starter button? I have an LT150 and that usually works for me.

congrats on the LT, best small MV piaggio ever sent here. Just turned 13K on mine. It should start with very little effort, when the engine is hot it likes a bit of throttle before hitting the starter but that should be it. If it won't start easily hot or cold you might want to have the shop look at it again. I hate it when the say 'oh its the battery' if the engine is turning over its not the battery, most likely spark plug or carb issues. Was the scooter kept outdoors in the weather? left sitting for long periods? Really not many reason why it shouldn't start. Cheers!

Did they change the battery? If not put a new one in. I have a LT and it's super dependable. My battery just died and it was the original '03 battery Came home from 5 wks vacation and it wouldn't turn over. Lights came on but wouldn't start. Put in new battery and all is well. Good luck

So, without a kick start I guess there is no way to get an LT running if you have a weak battery?

The LT-150 is a fantastic scooter. I bought this one for my wife, and it's as much fun to ride as my GTS. At 233 pounds, it handles like a small motorcycle, and the Leader motor has plenty of power.




Check the battery to see if it's bad.
Buy a battery tender or check the stator to see if it's recharging the battery.

Its almost always the vacuum fuel valve at the bottom of the tank....

Sniff the exhaust, does it reek of gas?....prolly should if the fuel valve is working properly.

Loved my LT.

R

8)

Is the fuel valve easy to replace? My LT150 will run for 15 min then start to surge. It then cuts out a few times before it stalls.

I have to let it sit for 5-10 min before I can start it again.

I though it might be overheating but this could be it as well.

Other thing to get checked for hard starting on one of these is valve clearances, although that is probably not the problem at 5000 miles, though not completely unknown.

Are you talking about the fuel tap? Part 575321?

What page in the parts manual is the part you are talking about?

does anyone of you have an Lt 150 manual, not the parts manual?

my scooter it started when i got it but then all of a sudden it stopped starting,
will the scooter not start if some things are not in place I.E. front wheel, headlight, backlight, and also the kick stand?
im in the proccess of fixing the scooter and its on the kick stand and without some parts,
the motor turns but not enough to start it up.
help if you can.

Aloha PAULSTER and welcome to the forum. I have the LT 150 manual but if what your saying isn't on it and just "unplugged" it should start. I usually say start with the battery because that's the usual suspect if it hasn't been ridden or changed out in a few years. If yours sat it might need a new battery. Mine lasted 5yrs (original battery) but that is way past normal. Did/could you have accidentally unplugged, disconnect something while you took it apart?

its not the battery, it almost started to start but choked really fast, i checked the spark plug there wasnt any spark there on the new one and the old one, i put it back.
tryed to start it, and bam by with a little throttle it started but they choked really fast, it seems to me that the fuel isnt getting into the carburetor.
i took off the fuel valve that goes into the carburetor, everything looked fine or so i guess, i changed the gas.

can the fuel valve be faulty? or is there some other explanation to this problem?
any one help please

Is your fuel line cracked? The scooter is 8yrs old and the rubber lines tend to crack as they age. I have the parts manual. Just email me ( from your email address)it's on my info page and i'll send you the PDF on the parts manual.

The clues are in the wiki, and in the www link in this post, but you'll find them here:
http://www.wotmeworry.org.uk/manuals/More%20Manuals/Piaggio/LT150/
and on the US mirror here:
http://www.scootermanuals.us/manuals/More%20Manuals/Piaggio/LT150/index.htm

I forgot i sent you my LT stuff. Thanks JIM

i have no idea what might be the problem with the scooter
here is a vid, maybe someone might know what might be the problem.

when i press the choke to turn the scooter on it starts and then dies, if i dont touch the choke and try to turn it on, it wont try to start

the only way it starts and dies, is only if a press the choke on and off after it dies

Check for inlet manifold leak. There needs to be a vacuum from there to your fuel tap. Check for fuel supply from fuel tap to carb. Check your auto choke. The manual will help you to do this. I suspect a fuel problem as there is a spark because the engine catches and then doesn't continue to run.

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I'd suggest that fuel supply is the problem.

It sounds as if the engine is trying to start but is being starved by some fault in the fuel system.

A few thoughts...

1) Fuel Tap - is this fully working? - a way to test this.... If you do have a strong spark, you next need to check that fuel is being delivered to the carburetor. Make sure there is fuel in the tank first and if so you can move on to checking the fuel valve. Most scooters use either a gravity fuel feed by locating the fuel tank higher than the carburetor, or some use a vacuum-fed petcock (on/off tap) controlled by the vacuum created at the carburetor. The carburetor has two fuel-related pipes connected to it. One is from the fuel tank and is for the fuel supply, the other provides a vacuum to suck the fuel from the fuel valve. If you disconnect the fuel supply pipe from the carburetor, fuel should flow out when you crank the engine (be careful to catch the fuel if you do this and don't do it with a hot engine), if fuel doesn't flow out then the fuel valve may be faulty. You can try applying a vacuum to see if fuel flows by sucking on the vacuum pipe(but make sure it's the vacuum line, not the fuel line if you try this!). Another Tip: If there is a spark but you are unsure about fuel supply... squirt a little bit of fuel (a spoonful) into the spark plug hole and then replace the spark plug and try to start the engine.....if it starts and runs for 5 seconds and then dies then you can check for fuel flow to the carb, or blocked jets.

2)Vacuum - If by sucking on the vacuum line there is fuel supplied at the fuel line, then you're safe to say that fuel is being supplied to the carb. The only thing I would say here is that sometimes if there is a slight leak in the inlet manifold then the vacuum generated isn't strong enough to suck the fuel down the supply pipe, check the tightness of the manifold clips to ensure a good fit, and also look at the overall condition of the manifold (if its one that's made of rubber then its possible that it may have perished slightly)

3)Carb Float Bowl - (I'm assuming this is a carbed engine) You can check whether the float in the carb is sticking..... slacken the carb's fixings and turn the whole carb upside-down (put some paper towel down to catch any fuel spill). Unscrew the bolts fastening the bowl to the carb and you will see the fuel float....check its condition and whether it moves freely - also is the float hinge functioning correctly.

4)Carb Jets - Finally, whilst the carb is opened up check the condition of the jets, in particular the idle jet, to see whether it is clogged, you should be able to remove it easily and blow air through it to ensure that the opening isn't blocked.


Hope this helps.

All the best

Fabio

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i tried everything that was on the list except the fuel tap and it still doesnt start.
the fuel tap looks like it works.
the vaccum line should have a suction right? i dont have a suction what might make this to be like that

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The engine "turning over" provides the vacuum via the carb to the vacuum pipe which in turn "sucks" on the fuel tap, which opens the flow of fuel on the fuel supply line.

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i checked the spark plug today, and it stops working after like 2-3 seconds, when i try to start the scooter. i click the red choke button then turn it back on try to start it back again and spark works for 2-3 seconds and turn off.
is that okay? or there is something wrong?

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That doesn't sound good....

Take the spark plug lead off the spark plug and clean it out inside to ensure a good connection, refit it snuggly again ensuring a good fit.

Fabio

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this happens to both of my spark plugs, the old one and the new one that i bought recently

I checked it and there is nothing wrong with the spark. The lead in the spark is good and clean and it still has the problem. There is a spark for a few second and then no more. There isn't a spark until I use the kill switch. Can there be a problem with the kill switch? Or is there a problem with the coil? Or one of the computers are defective?

Any one? Any ideas

Thanks

There is no choke on my 2003 LT150. The red switch is the engine cut off switch. Leave this in the run position when starting the engine and the entire time you want the engine to run. Turning it off turns the ignition spark off.

I'm hoping for you that it is something this simple. Perhaps I just misread your post.

Bill

Yes what Italianmotofest said.

However, assuming you are not simply turning it off with the kill switch (you seem to be saying you have to 'fiddle' with the kill switch to get it to fire initially?), which I'm sorry would be quite , then it is a defective kill switch.

Yea I meant the red engine cut off switch. When it's on there is a spark for a second or two then the spark disappears. I won't get any spark unless I turn the red cut off switch off then on and try to start the scooter.

The problem is that the spark disappears and doesn't return unless I turn the cut of switch off and on.
if the spark did not disappear than the scooter would start because for the little time that there is a spark the scooter starts but dies after a second.

Certainly your next step is to replace or bypass the switch.


Bill

+1 I'd bypass the switch. I can't imagine that it could have an intermittent fault causing your issues (but, that doesn't mean much!). Rule it out & move onto the next item.

My kill switch started to have issues late last year before i went to Africa. Didn't fix it because it was going to a new home. If i accidentally turned the kill switch off it was a bitch to get it started. I'd have to turn the switch on and off a bunch of times and pray. Good luck

it wasnt the red cut off switch, i took it off and connected the 2 wires, and it still has the same problem, what might be it?
can it be the sparkplug coil? if so how can i check if it is faulty?

I had exactly the same problem on a similar engined mojito. It turned out to be a corroded connector in the block that plugs into the cdi. Check it's connected properly.

Follow all the ECO switch wires back to the aformentioned connector and ensure that they are not shorting on a piece of metal. It's interesting that if you move the switch the spark comes back for a moment.

Just another idea. Do with it what you will.

Bill

No idea how the kill switch is designed to work on your scoot but did you try it with the wires not connected?

GAZZ good idea. My LT was flawless but i did have kill switch issues. Mind you after my accident the cops "lost"only to be found a few months later lying on it's side in a tow yard. Started right up tho Vespa would of pitched a bitch.

so here is the problem or so i believe, i took the scooter to this guy to look at it, he messed around with it and he told me that the scooter has a weak vacuum, what do you guys think might be causing this?

i checked the inlet manifold and its in great shape and no leaks, the fuel lines are good. what might cause a bad vacuum?

Yes that's what I suspected it was.......... .

Check the pipe from the carb to the fuel tap for any leaks - if its looking slightly sad then think about replacing it - also put a smear of light grease in-between the mouth of the intake and the carb to seal any leaks.

Hope this helps

Fabio

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lol, i found out what the problem that it didnt want to start and keep going. it was the antenna, just because the antenna wasnt in its right place. once i put it where it should be the scooter started right up.
Although what im having problems is when i give it high rpm it starts to die out but when i release the throttle it goes back to normal.

any ideas? can it be that the jets need to be set?

When i start the scooter it starts to gain speed without me touching the throttle, i just drove it after its been stored for a few months. drove good until i tried to park it and thats when it started to give me this problem.

when i start the scooter it begins to turn the wheel at a speed of over 10mph(guess) without me touching the throttle. also the brake light is on without me touching the brakes.
i twisted the throttle couple times and it seemed fine to me.

could the throttle cable be stuck? or is it some electrical problems?

Edit, i cleaned the carb, checked the throttle cable and still not difference
messed with the idle air/fuel mixture and still nothing