I knew it was too good to be true!!!!! Grrrrrrr......

[SpikeOne]

Turned out to be a software switch in the ECU, which sounds odd to me.
Anyway all fixed and they're doing, would you believe it, another free service for me for my trouble.
What as dealer!!!!!

[SpikeOne]

Wehey - it's back...

On further investigation, he hasn't got a clue what it was!

Nothing wrong with the bulbs, (he tried 3 altogether), and he never rebooted the ECU, or disconnected the battery.
He changed the microswitches on the brakes and it started first time.
Just to be sure, he checked with Kymco, and, indeed, the back light MUST be lit, it's in circuit serially.
He said that he was gettign 12 volts through the fitting, BUT it still wouldn't light the bulb, (which rather suggests to me that there was no amperage being dragged through).

Strangely enough, when I checked the final bill, (I insisted on paying for the service parts, about 20 quid), the odo showed twice as many miles as I had done, and when I check the dash, it had reverted back to K, and the clock was out by 3 hours, so there must have been a glitch in there somewhere.
Either the ECU had temprarily failed, or, maybe there's an intermittant earth problem somewhere.
It is just possible that the earth terminal on the battery isn't connected properly, as I had that apart to fit a charging lead when it was new.
Anyway, I'll give it the once over this weekend - all's well that ends well....

[Data]

Hello Spike, good news you have her back. But puzzeling too. No definitive answer. Question, was it damp weather when the original fault occurred? One other point...I would look more closely to see if you do have a starter interlock switch. Most bikes do have them now. If when you go to start your engine the headlights go out as you press the button, then you will almost certainly have one. It is normally built into the starter switch so may not be shown in the wiring diagram separately. Casting no aspersions, but it is not too uncommon for techs to not know about the starter interlock switch causing this type of problem, or to simply forget about it as failure of the starter switch is not common. The fault can be intermittent but will usually eventually fail completely and can be then seen for what it is. A fault will only show when you go to start the engine of course and it can be difficult to diagnose. Loose batt terminal/s will do it too causing a spike!!! or tiny interupt in the power supply tripping out an ecu software switch which is what the tech may have been referring to. I've found that to be the case on a few occassions and it happens in cars too. Cars have a KAM (keep alive memory) which makes finding such faults a bit easier sometimes. I take it your charger cable is insulated at the ends?

Anyhoo, lets hope that's the last of it and it continues to give good service. In any event, if something fails altogether, it's easier to find the problem and fix it so you have no worries.

On another note Spike, you being a Kymco man. Do you know if the Kymco Myroad 700i is coming into the UK? Just asking as you mix in the right circles. Bye for now.

[SpikeOne]

There's definitely no starter interlock mentioned in the circuit diagram, and certianly the lights don't go out when you press the starter. In fact, they don't even dim!
Interesting thinking about the charger cable though. When I fitted it, I ordered one with a plastic cap over the end, but on receipt I realised I had ordered the wrong gender, so chucked the whole kit and caboodle away, and made one up from the original that came with the charger by cutting off the crocs off the end.
Now, that DOESNT have a plastic cap, and I keep it stored in the PDA pocket under the seat pan. It's easy to get out, as I coiled it and slipped it through the rubber grommet, so all I have to do in the winter is pull it back through and uncoil it. However, it is effectively out in the open under there, and although I rarely take the bike out in the wet, (and it wasn't wet on Saturday when it broke down), I suppose it's entirely possible that damp could have shorted across the terminals at the plug end. I might review that and do something about it when I check the terminals this weekend - it won't do any harm.

As to the MyRoad, I dunno. It's a bit beyond my requirements to be honest so I've not followed it. Now the Maxsym was one that I was interested in, but SYM weren't interested in talking to me about it, so I dropped the idea. At the time, Yamaha and Kymco were the only ones, locally, who were interested in the business.

[scootersthefuture]

Hello. I might be talking rubbish as i am sitting here quaffing a few cans, but I am a retired old mechanic and the second most important part of an electrical circuit is a good earth. The golden rule of electrics is, if it is doing strange things that don't make sence ? It's probably a bad earth. You can test a live feed through a test light, but the test light is connected to a good earth isn't it ? So you have a good feed, but you haven't checked the earth.
As for ECU's, they are fantastically reliable, and you couldn't have got it running without the ECU working [unless there is another secondary ECU for the starter, doubtful on a scooter]. Motorbikes are exposed to the weather more than cars [obv] but the ECU and the starter, and even the buttons are pretty well protected, but the earth points have to go to the frame eventually, and that gets weather and heat, and frost, and salt, and all sorts of muck all over it. And it costs nothing to check the earths, just disconnect and clean up and re-fit. And if I sound a bit patronising, I'm not being, bad earths have caught me out many times. Good feed, [good connections for sure] but don't forget the earth, because without the good earth, the good feed has no-where to go, and it's easy to get worried and start pannicking about expensive scenario's. When our pride and joy doesn't start, we instantly worry and think the worst, how many of us think, ah it's only something simple ?
So we overlook the simple things [like a bad earth]
Really sorry for sounding pompous, it doesn't come out too well in print.
Good luck.

[SpikeOne]

Took it for a 50 odd mile round trip this afternoon, and everything seems fine.
I checked the earth last week and it seemed very good, but I made a pretence at cleaning it up and reconnected it anyway.
Maybe he was right, praps it was just a dodgy micro on one of the brakes.
They're not that expensive, I might invest in one for the toolbox, just in case.

[scorpakid]

i have made do with a bit of kit kat wrapper bodged in place to get me home..... too many leccy gadgets do me nut in to be honest...i just wanna ride and not be messed up with un necessary safety switch bollox... i have left sidestand down a few times... but ya soon remember to put it up, its more embarassing than scary...

[SpikeOne]

Ah yes, I remember it well....What a twat you look, especially, if your mates a stood on the kerb watching you pull away...

[Data]

I got killed doing that once! Or was it, I didn't get killed...I dunno. Can't tell half the time!

[SpikeOne]

If it's good enough of for Jeremy Clarkson, it's good enough for you Data...