We go outside to run an errand, to go to school or work, and UGH, our scooter won’t start! How frustrating. Here are some basic things to quickly check to get you back on the road.
- First: The basic questions:
- Did you hold down the brake? (Some scooters require the right brake to be depressed)
- Is the circuit breaker turned off?
- Is the key fully on? (Sounds silly I know, but as a repair shop manager, I get scooters here all the time where the ignition is sticky and won’t fire all the way. Owners cringe when I make sure the ignition is on all the time. Go ahead, and the scooter starts right away. It always works for the mechanic, right?)
- Second: Will it start working? Try to start it. When starting hard, do not give the scooter gas (you could flood it). Try starting it 5-10 times. If that doesn’t work, give it some gas and try again.
- Third: Check the fuse next to the battery. Most fuse boxes next to the battery have an extra fuse in case the original one blows. Check the fuse first. That only takes a minute. If it’s shot, replace it with the extra one found in the case.
- Fourth: Jump Start-it: Scooters are not like cars. A scooter’s battery can be so depleted that there is nothing anyone can do to start it except charge the battery or replace it. So in the meantime, skip. Now a word of caution. These little scooter batteries can burn out quickly, so if you choose to jump on it, just run the cables for a few seconds, quickly turn it on, and unplug it. If you lay cables for 5 to 15 minutes, you can destroy the battery. These scooter batteries cannot handle the amps that car batteries put out. If you want to buy a slow charger, get a 2 amp charger.
- Fifth: Take out your can of starting fluid (you know, the one you bought when you bought the scooter – every scooter owner should have a can) and spray some of the fluid on the UNI air filter you have on your carburettor. They try to start over. If it starts, keep it running on the throttle. Keep your starting fluid with you on the seat until you figure out what’s going on with your scooter.
These steps should get most scooters up and running. If this doesn’t work, it could be something more serious, but at least we did the basics and saved ourselves a repair bill for something that was silly or easy to fix ourselves.
Happy riding.