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Hi all,

I've come across what i think is an electrical issue. My scooter is a TGB r50x 49cc, 2007.  Two-stroke.

I know jack about scooter maintenance, but the symptoms I got the other day, were:

1) The scooter was running fine. In fact I had just hit 40+ mph on a local city street.
2) I stopped at a light. When I did, and she was idling, the lights started to dim, and the idle went below 1000 rpms, then the engine cut off.
3) It did not cut off super abruptly -- more like frittered away in rev power (with headlight and dash light dimming), then stumbled to a halt.
4) I was able to get it started up again with the ignition start, but only after a few tries. Before it succeeded, it would not quite turn over.
5) I was actually able to get the scooter going, and strangely enough was able to get the engine gas while going up to high 20s in speed. Mind you, the output was nowhere near as strong as it usually is, and I could tell I was almost kind lucky to get her going at all. But when I had to come to a stop at the light, I could already sense that the scooter wanted to call it quits. The lights dimming issue would appear, but also the throttle clearly wasn't getting juice to the engine somehow. When the scooter hit idle, it immediately wanted to die, and no amount of revving would help. She would just kind of cut out, but more like someone slowly falling into a crawl before lying down, not like someone falling flat on their face, if you follow… it was slightly more gradual, but the result was that she eventually died on me.

I have seen some great vids on here on how to use a Craftsman or other multimeter/voltmeter to test the battery and then test the stator.


I wanted to know if folks could tell me which one I should get (I am on a budget), and also which component I should check first. For example, maybe this is just a spark plug issue? Maybe a wire got dislodged from something or other when I went over a bumpy patch of road, maybe the battery needs a charge from a battery tender, and maybe either the stator or rectifier needs rewiring or replacement?

My knowledge of electronics is rudimentary, and when I see diagrams of how they work I start to feel ill lol. But I am a fairly quick study, so if anyone can tell me:

(1) which part I should test first,
(2) how to use the voltmeter,
(3) which one to buy on a budget, and
(4) where to buy locally since I don't want to wait for shipping..

Thank you!!

Hey all, jhwood is a stand up guy who has my total respect.
He drove 30 minutes from outside baltimore to help me out after I found out that the local "mechanic" repairs proved to be imaginary. I was out 140 for parts and labor, and jhwood checked my scooter out, took the carb out, unclogged the main jet, checked the rest of the carb, put it back in the scoot, and then spent 20-30 intense minutes getting my idle and fuel ratio screws JUST RIGHT.
My scooter now rides awesome and tthose old issues (dying mid-ride, high revs at idle, etc.).
I'm super grateful for all of your time and help. But J deserves some kind of medal for driving down to bail me out when I was down in the dumps.
T.

Hey guys!

Long time since I've posted anything.

Wanted to let y'all know that after beating my head against the wall, I (the total, absolute noob) waved the white flag and took 'er to the local shop.  Feel free to berate me for that decision here.

I spoke with the head mechanic, who charged me $65 for a full, however-long-it-takes, diagnostic, but who told me that whatever repairs + parts I choose to pay for, the $65 eventually gets swallowed up into that cost (i.e., $80 of labor and/or parts means I only pay $15 more on top of the sunk $65).

Anyway, he did a test of everything, which he said were fine.  Carb had no issues, he said.  No cooling probs, no filter or spark plug problem... He then, as the last thing, figured there was maybe not enough spark, so he tested a new CDI box, and she looked like she was revving way better.  He's now going to ride her around the city to make sure this was the fix.  So far this is all diagnostic, so i haven't contracted for repairs or parts yet, by the way.  He'll call me in a couple hours to let me know whether that fixed it, but he seems very confident that was it.

I asked him what a CDI costs, and he quoted $41.00.  I was happy to find out from youtube that switching out a CDI is so quick and non-complicated i could probably teach my cat to do it, which = LOW labor costs.  But I am ALSO curious whether $40 is more or less what a decent CDI, for THIS scooter, would cost me if I bought it online.  I know that not all parts are created equal, and I would bet dollars to donuts that there are super crappy $9 CDI's out there.  But amazon also suggests that good CDI's with lots of great reviews go for $20 or less.

So, basically, I just wanted to test you all's knowledge to see whether I am getting hosed.  Frankly, i have little control here, as I dont have a truck, and my home is too far to wheel my scooter back so that I can put my OWN CDI on (best case scenario if I could do it).  Plus, even if he is charging me $15 more than i would pay online, I might be OK with that considering the convenience of having someone else do it and save me from looking on videos etc. (I have little spare time these days).

So, that's my question.  Also curious if you could explain why some CDIs are more expensive than others, and maybe help me be able to be savvy about whether he is selling me a good one for $41 or a middle of the road/crappy one for $41.  Maybe TGB scooters only take CDI's that are little more costly, for example?

Any input greatly appreciated as always!!

PS: If I should create a new thread for this, I understand. Rich, you could take care of that for me, if need be?

t.

Here's pics of everything...
First is from right side of scooter. Second is from front of scooter facing back.

Bashan

Thanks Rich! I appreciate your vote of confidence. I will forge ahead. However, I will ask you to define these new terms. I am afraid I don't know what the throttle cable looks like, or a "weather boot," or "air cleaner hose" or "butterfly spring." Once I locate those things I can look inside to see if one of them is causing this bizarre revving situation.

Tx.

Alleyoop 

Hey fellas,

sorry for the gap in communication.  I had a busy week at work, plus some nights with rain which made it hard to work on the scoot.

Anyway, update -- I did the rich-lean test last night.  I am frustrated. I might just have to fork over money to a local shop.

I got the scooter going, got it hot for 5 mins or so.  On its stand, I then turned that gold screw (the one with the spring under it) 1/8 to the right.

(1) The rpm while idling went up a LITTLE.  But I could not tell if it went up enough to warrant continuing to turn clockwise, as the test asks.  I turned it a hair more.  Because I felt the rpms were not still going up, I turned it back 1/16 (my closest guess of 1/16... VERY hard to reach in there and turn it).  Then, scratching my head, I gave it some gas.

(2) It revved, but AFTER I LET GO OF THE THROTTLE, the scoot continued to rev as if some invisible man were twisting the throttle to the max.  Was really going, up to 8000 rpm, and I was no longer even touvching it.  I kind of freaked out then shut her down.  I re-started her, and the same thing happened when I gave her gas.  One time, in fact, without me even TOUCHING the throttle on the handlebar, it started revving all by itself. Poltergeist!!

(3) So, each time I re-started her I tried to re-adjust the gold screw, trying to get it back to where she was before (when this revving thing was not happening).  Once I felt like I got there, and it idled normally for a brief period... but then it did it again after I gave it gas... AND, I was NOT sure that I got it back EXACTLY to where it was before.  I was not doing huge turns of the screw, just little tweaks right or left, and I'm pretty certain it's now back more or less where it was before.  But I am 100% frustrated and puzzled by thjis development.

I was totally expecting to go through the steps of the air/gas carb-tuning test you showed me in this link (http://scooterdoc.proboards.com/thread/7678/2ts-carb-tuning).  But this new problem is freaking me out.

Any ideas, guys?  Thinking maybe I should just find some local shop.  I am a smart guy, and in law school I learnd to problem solve and fix puzzles.  But I'm clearly out of my depth in engine land, and I am finding it really hard to grasp on to all the new terms and learning where things are and what they do, with me being so removed from y'all, and having to rely on pics and vids and back and forth with you guys, etc.

Would love to learn to be a true DIY home mechanic, but I feel like I'm bumping my head against the wall.

Also, do you guys know how much I should expect to pay a mechanic, assuming the issue is just adjustments on outside of the carb, and not getting inside the carb itself?  100$ maybe? More?

Also, is it possible that I was in fact turning the idle screw, and that maybe i never even tinkered with the air ratio screw??

Tx, and Happy 4th guys!!!

t.