Battery and starting problems By griffo (Read 471 times)

[griffo]

Hi I have a Jonway Qt 50cc . The scooter has not been ridden for 3 months I got it started by heating the spark plug and putting the battery on my optimizer. The scooter starts ok but when I take the charger off and try and start it after a couple of hours it won't start it needs to be charged again. The spark plug is black at the bottom and smells of petrol , I am wondering if the scooter needs a good run to clear its self out and charge the battery it's self as I don't think it charges on tick over .. Thanks any ideas

[rob63]

Was it running ok before you laid it up ? My initial thoughts are that the battery may have a dead cell from sitting around doing nothing for 3 months. How long did you charge it for ? With a trickle charger like an optimizer it would probably need a good 6 hours.
To check the charging you need a multimeter, connect the leads to each of the battery terminals and see what voltage you are getting whilst the scoot is running. At idle you should get about 12.5 volts, when revving it should increase gradually to about 14.5 volts.
I wouldn`t worry about the spark plug colour for now if you`ve only had it idling with the odd rev up. It would definately need a run around the block to clear the cobwebs out.

[griffo]

Thanks. I bought the scooter in December not sure when it was last used. The scooter will be used on a regular basis from now on as my son has passed his test. When I had it going yesterday it stated while connected to the optimizer and showed 13v I disconnected it and after about 5 mins I turned it off when I tried to turn back on it was dead connected the optimizer back up and showed 11.9 v ... Fingers crossed it just needs a good run

[griffo]

Forgot to say left it on charge for a couple if days prior to yesterday

[rob63]

Sounds like the battery is knackered, even if it was sat on the scoot for five minutes it should be capable of giving three or more starts at least after having been fully charged.

[griffo]

I thought that just hope it's nothing more than a new battery. It wouldn't start on the kick either but all the lights and indicators are working fine so no problems there. We will take if for a good run for about and hour or so and leave it overnight and see what happens. One thing though how does a scooter charge it's battery

[rob63]

Behind the fan cowling there is an alternator, this feeds voltage to the regulator/rectifier, which then feeds the battery.

[griffo]

Thanks .. I'll let you know how we get on

[Alleyoop]

Yes, to find if the charging system is working, you need a volt meter and attach it to the battery then start the scoot and give it some throttle and if it is charging the you will see the volts go up on the volt meter. If the volts do not rise when giving it throttle it is not charging.
Alleyoop